Chapter Seven: Can I Chase You Again?

He Tianran did not want to see Wen Liang. That was the honest truth.

Or, to put it another way, he currently cherished every single opportunity to meet Wen Liang far too much.

A person's impression of another naturally shifts and evolves as their acquaintance deepens. The so-called "hope" He Tianran spoke of was nothing more than the desire that, every time he laid eyes on the girl, he could find that soft version of her—the vanished version of her—somewhere within his memories.

Yet, human emotions are ultimately worn thin by repeated bouts of pessimism and disappointment. This was why He Tianran believed that by seeing and interacting with Wen Liang as little as possible, the "she" in his heart might not be entirely superseded by another version of her the next time they met. At the very least, the moon he loved could still cast a faint, lingering glow across the ocean of his heart.

This was his "hope," and the very last flicker of light he had left.

"Brother He, why aren't you eating?"

Jiang Xixi, scooping up a bite of strawberry ice cream, kept the spoon in her mouth as she cast a worried look at the distracted He Tianran.

The boy snapped out of his reverie, offered a smile, and said, "I am. Just had a lot on my mind. By the way, Xixi, is there anything you've always desperately wanted to do?"

The young girl looked bewildered. "Desperately wanted to do?"

He Tianran nodded. "You know, the kind of thing you've always wanted to do, but somehow never got around to doing."

Jiang Xixi pressed her lips together and thought hard for a moment before finally shaking her head. "I suppose there is... but... I can't quite think of it right now..."

"I do."

"What is it?" Jiang Xixi asked, her eyes widening with curiosity.

"Today, I want to take you to the movies..."

"Huh? Really? Yay!"

Jiang Xixi didn't think this was anything out of reach. Hearing the suggestion made her genuinely happy; after all, what newly minted girlfriend wouldn't want to spend a little more time with her boyfriend?

Yet, as He Tianran continued with his plans, the young girl's mind began to drift uneasily.

"Right, and then tomorrow, I'll take you over to the Harbor District. We can spend the whole day eating and playing around, and then in the evening, we'll go watch fireworks by the sea. I heard that's a holy grail for couples in Gangcheng, a place I've always wanted to visit..."

The more He Tianran spoke, the more it sounded as though these typical romantic gestures had been plotted out by him long in advance.

Normally, there would be nothing wrong with this, but the more he carried on, the more unsettled the young girl felt.

"Things you've always wanted to do, but never got around to..."

If she hadn't run into Wen Liang today, Jiang Xixi would have considered herself the happiest person in the world. But right now, those words—"He will treat you the exact same way he treated that person"—were still ringing in her ears.

They left the young girl feeling anxious and insecure.

Throwing caution to the wind, she interrupted He Tianran's rambling itinerary of "romantic" visions.

"Brother He..."

"We can also—what's wrong?"

He Tianran swallowed the rest of his sentence, failing to understand why Jiang Xixi wouldn't adore these little romantic gestures meant for couples.

"I just wanted to make sure... Am I... really your girlfriend?"

Jiang Xixi kept her head down, her fingers nervously rubbing against the chilling plastic cup.

"Of course you are!" He Tianran answered decisively.

The little girl let out a sigh of relief, lifted her head, and smiled.

"Then you must like me, and love me, which is why you're being this nice to me, right?"

It was a completely natural assumption to make, and Jiang Xixi expected a completely natural response—something like "Of course," "Definitely," or even just the simple, singular word "Yes."

Instead, He Tianran, who had been talking endlessly just moments before, suddenly froze. The smile on Jiang Xixi's face faded right along with him. She lowered her head once more and fell silent.

He Tianran forced a strained smile onto his face. "Did—did the plans I just mentioned scare you? There's no rush, we can take things slowly. We still have time, we still have time..."

His voice tapered off from forceful to weak, and by the end, his spirits had plummeted entirely.

When it came to lying, he still bore deep, lingering scars.

"..."

"I'm sorry..."

After a long silence, those three words finally slipped past his lips. He let out a long breath; even before he could truly fall in love with Jiang Xixi, He Tianran had been forced to speak the truth.

"It's alright..."

Jiang Xixi shook her lowered head rapidly, stubbornness lacing her tone.

"I mean... Brother He, it's okay even if you don't love me..."

Jiang Xixi stared down, forcing her eyes wide open in the belief that it would keep the tears from falling. Her voice choked with sobs.

"But... if that's the case... I can't let Brother He take me to do those things anymore... Because those things only have meaning when two people truly like each other..."

A profound gloom shadowed the boy's eyes. From the very beginning, all he had wanted was to be a little better to someone who liked him, yet he hadn't realized that doing so could also hurt someone else.

His romance had begun with a breathless "You're still alive" and ended with a desperate "I love you so much." This emotional trajectory, so utterly detached from ordinary people, had made him eager to answer back in kind.

Yet, when someone finally gave him the chance to answer, he understood in a sudden, blinding flash...

Just how agonizingly difficult those words were to say.

Jiang Xixi was an understanding girl. Even now, she didn't throw a tantrum, and instead found herself regretting that she had ever asked that question in the first place. If not for her own suspicion, everything would still be peaceful and undisturbed...

At the very least, she would still be the "girlfriend" in Brother He's mouth; at the very least, she could still stay by the side of the person she adored.

The young girl figured Senior Sister Wen was right; she was truly such a fool.

She and Brother He had only been matching profile pictures for a single day, and she still hadn't gotten around to asking him for all those fingerstyle guitar tips...

As it turned out, there really were still so many things she had always wanted to do, but never got around to...

At that thought, a wave of grievances rushed over her all at once. Her shoulders trembled violently, and just as she was about to give in and sob aloud, a warm palm gently stroked her bowed head.

It was as if she had finally caught hold of a life-saving straw. Jiang Xixi clutched that large hand, her voice choked with tears.

"I don't want to change our matching profile pictures..."

"Mm."

"I want to make videos with you too..."

"Okay."

"I don't want to just be your little sister..."

"You were never just my little sister to begin with."

"I don't want to break—"

She stopped short before finishing the sentence, having lifted her head to look at He Tianran's expression. She knew that if she were to ask not to break up, he would undoubtedly say yes.

However, until that earlier question received an affirmative answer, staying together would hold no meaning whatsoever.

"Brother He... can I try chasing you properly, just once?"

At that moment, Jiang Xixi's stubborn, resolute gaze left a deep impression on He Tianran. He had never looked at this innocent, brave girl with the same careful attention he gave to Wen Liang.

She was endearing to the core. The corners of her mouth turned slightly upward on her small face, as if she were perpetually smiling, making it seem as though even her tears couldn't entirely mask her optimism...

Just like her name, whenever it was spoken, it effortlessly coaxed a smile onto people's faces.

If she ever asked him what he liked about her again, He Tianran felt he would finally know how to answer.

Well then, let's leave that for next time.

"Not during class, though," He Tianran smiled.

"Okay!" Jiang Xixi nodded vigorously.

And just like that, an absurd confession reached a brief, gentle pause through a sincere promise.

Twenty-four hours—that was the lifespan of this romance.

Yet no matter how brief the time, and no matter how muddled their beginnings, the magic of love remained unchanged: it always had a way of guiding at least one person out into the clear light of truth.

As for He Tianran, he was always the one left behind.