Chapter 1250 Past Events
Xiong... Xiong Yuting?
When that name appeared in his mind, Gu Chengyuan's heart, which was as calm as a deep pool, was unusually and violently stirred.
This was not because of the unbelievable violence of breaking down the door, nor because of the other party's awe-inspiring entrance at this moment.
It's because of... that face!
That face, stripped of all its youthful innocence and vibrancy, now covered with a layer of deathly stillness and eeriness, could still instantly pierce through the barriers of time.
"Xiong Yuting! It really is her!"
The floodgates of memory were suddenly flung open by an indescribable force the moment our eyes met.
Time flows like a film rewinding, rapidly fading the bloodshed and iron gray of the apocalypse, revealing the pale golden light and shadow belonging to another peaceful era, sealed away in the corners of the soul.
It was the first spring after Gu Chengyuan returned from his military service at Xishui Park. The willows were just turning yellow, and there was still a chill in the air.
He wandered aimlessly by himself, enjoying the long-lost tranquility that belonged to an ordinary student.
At the beginning of his encounter with Xiong Yuting, there was no hero saving the beauty or any romantic encounter; it was purely because he was being "targeted".
A girl wearing the 'Tsinghua High School' uniform and with a ponytail, like an excessively beautiful little deer suddenly leaping out of the spring sunshine, stood in front of him, impulsive yet with a strange certainty.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes were strikingly bright, she clutched her phone tightly, and her voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but her words were exceptionally clear:
"Excuse me, hello... can we be friends?"
To be fair, Xiong Yuting at that time was already at the pinnacle of beauty, enough to cause a sensation on any campus.
Her skin was porcelain white, and her features were so exquisite that they resembled a masterpiece created by a painter. In particular, her deep brown eyes were clear and bright, as if they held the brilliance of stars. Her figure, in particular, revealed a breathtaking curve under her well-tailored school uniform.
Judging from the chat screenshots she occasionally shared later and mentioned casually, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in her school, with suitors lining up from the classroom to the school gate.
But for Gu Chengyuan, the term "handsome guy" was already something he was immune to.
His growth story is itself a walking chronicle of a handsome man.
During his elementary school years, love letters were commonplace. Two girls even made a shocking proposal, like the legendary heroines Ehuang and Nüying, to share a husband. But at that time, he thought women would only affect his thinking when solving problems.
The junior high school versions are even more outrageous: "On the first day of school, he was surrounded by a crowd of ninth-grade girls during evening self-study"; "A week after starting school, he inexplicably gained more than a dozen 'pretty god-sisters' who insisted on recognizing him as their younger brother"; "My school card is never used up because pretty girls are always vying to give me snacks"...
High school stories: "My brother's crush, the aloof goddess, confessed to me after the New Year's Day bonfire party"; "A paranormal event: Every morning, a different breakfast would automatically appear in my desk"; "Shocking: I actually have a self-organized fan club and anonymous fan group at school"...
As for university? There are too many options to list. The excessive attention his appearance received had already exhausted and even annoyed him, building a high wall around his heart.
Therefore, when a "beauty queen" of Xiong Yuting's caliber came up to him, Gu Chengyuan couldn't be said to be completely unmoved; at least his focus wasn't entirely on her appearance.
Because of the 'decency' he was raised with, he is never used to embarrassing people in public. So he never refuses those who want to add him as a friend, but whether he responds after adding them is another matter.
In the beginning, Xiong Yuting was like any other girl with budding ambitions—clumsy yet passionate.
Every day, the greetings of "Are you there?", "Good morning!", and "Good night!" ring out like clockwork, but Gu Chengyuan's replies are extremely stingy, usually just "Hmm," "Oh," or a string of ellipses...
Even so, the girl was not discouraged at all. Every day, she was full of energy and seized every opportunity to find common topics with him and share her daily trivialities:
The food in the cafeteria was awful today. My deskmate told a lame joke. The magnolias outside the window are blooming... Occasionally, or rather often, I would "unintentionally," under the guise of sharing, send out selfies from various angles. The angles are innocent, the smiles are sweet, and the eyes are bright and expectant of a response.
Gu Chengyuan saw right through her little scheme, but he responded to her burning desire with a silent snow mountain, his responses so infrequent and brief as to be almost cold.
However, sometimes we have to admit that time is the most wonderful solvent.
Even the coldest and hardest snow-capped mountains cannot withstand the daily erosion of gentle affection, especially when that affection is cloaked in the guise of "understanding" and "fragility".
He saw her offering caring but never blaming concern when he neglected her; she would analyze and record his habits from his casual conversations; she would add cute emojis to the end of every sentence; she once waited alone in the early winter wind for nearly two hours on his birthday when he was partying with friends until late at night, just to personally give him a beautifully wrapped gift; in the huge gift box she gave him in return on his birthday, each small gift had a handwritten sticky note attached, densely filled with the reason for giving the gift and clumsy blessings...
Human hearts are not made of iron or stone.
Gu Chengyuan's calloused heart began to soften and loosen in a corner as Xiong Yuting gave and waited for him day after day without expecting anything in return.
He began to consciously stop trying so hard to create distance between them, occasionally replying with a few more words, and even asking "What's wrong?" when she was clearly in a low mood.
He even seriously considered it one late night: Let's wait until she finishes her college entrance exam. If her feelings haven't changed by then, maybe... we can give it a try.
Habit formation is terrifying, and emotional dependence is even more silent and insidious.
But just as Gu Chengyuan himself was unaware that he had gradually grown accustomed to such a persistent and warm beam of light in his life—
Eiko has appeared!
It was just a simple encounter. Even though Ai Ke's looks couldn't compare to Xiong Yuting's exquisite beauty, and her temperament wasn't exceptionally outstanding...
But I feel that this kind of thing never makes sense and is completely unfair.
Like a dormant volcano suddenly finding a fissure to erupt, like a lost ship suddenly spotting a lighthouse, that fleeting glimpse brought a thrill so unfamiliar and intense that it instantly shattered all his previous hesitation.
There was a brief struggle...
On one hand, there are the gradually accumulating habits and emotions; on the other hand, there is a sudden and intense feeling of being moved. The scales are swaying violently in my heart.
Then, reason, or rather, selfishness driven by instinct, prevailed.
He almost decisively extinguished any lingering feelings or possibilities he had previously had towards Xiong Yuting.
From then on, he consciously reduced the frequency of his chats with Xiong Yuting, from "occasionally replying" to "repeatedly", and then from "repeatedly" to "read but not replying".
Her long posts, careful greetings, and holiday wishes gradually sank to the bottom of his message list, like pearls abandoned in a corner of time, covered in dust.
He was so engrossed in exploring and anticipating his new goals that he had no time for anything else.
As for that high school girl who once waited in the cold wind, filled her diary with his name, and regarded him as her entire starlight, what kind of loss, confusion, heartbreak, and even despair will she experience because of this...?
These are not things that Gu Chengyuan, blinded by new "likes," would bother to consider.
The things we like when we're young are often like this.
It is intense and blind, coming and going quickly. It can easily elevate a person to the clouds or push them into an icy abyss, without them realizing how cruel the force of the fall is.
