Chapter 6

I placed the gift at the very bottom of my desk, trying to comfort myself with self-deception: "Xin Ning's words are unreliable. She's just a little girl who has probably read too many romance novels... Yes, yes... We're just simple childhood friends. Maybe we've just been too close on a daily basis, but you have to believe that you two... are purely friends." Xin Ning's words planted a seed in my heart, and I began to recall everything that had happened over the years. Things that once seemed insignificant now felt like they carried hidden meanings I had overlooked. We would go to the snack street together, and he would accompany me as I strolled up and down the same street three times. I once hesitated over a small knitted flower, and when someone else bought it before I could, he noticed my disappointment and took the initiative to negotiate with the buyer, eventually purchasing it for five yuan over the original price. He accepted all my occasional tantrums and bad moods without complaint, always smiling as he stayed by my side. I flipped through my photo album, and he was present in nearly 80% of the pictures. I casually turned to a photo of him and my mother in the kitchen, with a timestamp in the lower left corner: August 14, 2013. If I remember correctly, that was the first day I got my period. Under my mom's guidance, he made me a spicy brown sugar ginger tea. While I drank it, he sat beside me, constantly asking, "Does it still hurt? Does it still hurt?" ... I found a picture of a snowman. It was one of those rare heavy snowfalls in Ning City. When I pulled open my curtains that morning, the world outside was covered in white. I heard someone calling my name and looked down—Jiang Huaiyang was waving at me, standing next to a chubby snowman. The next photo was of Xu Jingchen’s face covered in snow, with me standing behind him, holding a snowball Jiang Huaiyang had just handed me. Both of us were laughing so hard our eyes disappeared into crescent shapes. Mom had taken the picture for us. ... A few pages later, I came across a photo of myself crying uncontrollably, clutching a pair of high heels in my arms. It was my fifteenth birthday. That day, I received many gifts, but my absolute favorite was that pair of high heels—my very first pair. It turns out we have so many memories that belong only to us. "As long as you're there, Huaiyang-ge's eyes never leave you." In an old town, a photo of me, Jiang Huaiyang, Xu Jingchen, and Song Wei. The three of them were looking at the camera, but Jiang Huaiyang was looking at me. On New Year's Eve, we took pictures playing with sparklers—one showed me at the front, laughing as I held up a sparkler, while behind me, Jiang Huaiyang was gazing at me, his eyes shining brightly. Things I had previously ignored surfaced before me. Besides feeling flustered, I also felt... happy. I closed the photo album, confused about why I felt this way. When you realize that your childhood friend might actually like you, and you feel a little happy about it—what does that mean? Before I drifted off to sleep, I found the answer: it means... you might like him too! On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, it had been four days since I last saw Jiang Huaiyang. During this time, we hadn’t even exchanged WeChat messages. The last time we met, things had ended on an unpleasant note, and I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t as if I was intentionally avoiding him—these past few days, I had been busy visiting relatives. It wasn't until the fifth day that I finally had some free time. Once I was free, I started thinking about my relationship with Jiang Huaiyang. I had to admit, Xu Xinning’s words had a huge impact on me. I began recalling our interactions, even unconsciously analyzing them. I collapsed onto the sofa in frustration. Heavens! Earth! What did I do to deserve this?! I internally screamed in despair. Footsteps approached. I looked up to see Xu Jingchen grinning at me, his wide smile making my scalp tingle. "What?" I sat up as he handed me his phone. "Are you insane?" "Nope. It’s a call from Huaiyang-ge." "Huh?" He explained, "Huaiyang-ge called your phone, but you didn’t answer, so he called me instead." I checked my phone—it was on silent mode. I instinctively cleared my throat, took the phone, and put it to my ear. "Hello..." My hand clenched unconsciously. "Oh? I thought you had gone missing." His sarcastic tone immediately irritated me. "Right back at you. After all, you were the one who suddenly turned cold without a word. I wouldn't dare provoke you." Xu Jingchen patted my hand and scolded me, "How can you talk to Huaiyang-ge like that?!" I smacked his hand back, making him wince in pain. On the other end, Jiang Huaiyang chuckled. "That day, I was in the wrong. I just felt... like someone took my place! And then..." I mercilessly cut off his nonsense. "Get lost. Even a three-year-old wouldn’t buy that excuse!" "Hehe, that’s why I’m using it on a sixteen-year-old." He kept bantering with me, patiently humoring me no matter how I snapped at him. Eventually, my anger faded. "So why did you call?" "I want to eat Madam Wang’s grilled cold noodles. No cilantro, please." "Oh, and how is that my problem?" "How rude! I’ll be waiting for you." I hung up, tossed the phone back to Xu Jingchen, and went back to my room. After the call ended, Jiang Huaiyang glanced at the phone screen and smiled slightly. Outside, the weather was beautiful, the sun shining brightly. He thought, today's sunset would surely be breathtaking. That day, he had only been hurt by the way Xu Jingyue avoided his gaze. She had grown so used to his presence that if he didn’t make his feelings obvious, she would never realize them on her own. If he didn’t openly confess his feelings, she might never notice them—not even if he were long gone. He knew Xu Jingyue didn’t quite understand love, but even in her naivety, she always favored him. And that made his heart waver even more. Fingers intertwined—what they had bound was his heart. When she mischievously raised their clasped hands and asked, "Are you plotting against me?" Yes, I’ve been plotting against you for a long time. But Jiang Huaiyang would never gamble Xu Jingyue’s future on a love destined to end in tragedy. She was still too young. In the future, she would meet many people. Among them, there would surely be someone who loved her just as much as he did. Sitting in the sunlight, Jiang Huaiyang’s sorrow was something even the sun could not dispel.