Chapter 19.4| Unknown stories

"Are these two not the same thing?" Xipei succinctly summarized the afternoon events with rapid speech, while Xiuze grasped the main point. 

"Is this the point?"Xipei incredulously glanced at him, then patted her shoulder in a veteran manner, saying, "If it's not just me who can't tell, then I can rest assured." 

Xing Xiuze remained silent. 

Fortunately, the two temporarily stopped arguing about this matter, shifting their attention back to the other two individuals not far away, taking out their phones and diligently playing the role of passive onlookers.

Meng Yin gazed persistently into Xu Zhiyi's eyes, hoping to see her reflection in his dark and bright pupils. However, the night was too dark for her to make out anything. 

Xu Zhiyi asked softly, "Why are you drinking?" 

He always had patience with Yin, his voice tone still the familiar one to her, but why were his eyes so weary? 

"It's not alcohol, it's the Jiuniang from the Lin Xipei family, just a bit strong in taste." 

Xipei, holding her phone, trembled slightly, and with a shy look at Xu Zhiyi, she confessed, "Um… I accidentally mixed rice wine into the Jiuniang." 

"How strong?" 

"18 degrees," Xipei replied in annoyance. 

Yin tugged at Zhiyi's coat sleeve, her voice hoarse from clinging to her tear ducts. She hesitated before calling out, "Xu Zhiyi," then continued, "Can I see your keychain?" 

Xu Zhiyi, overwhelmed with emotions and feelings as he looked into Yin's bloodshot eyes, wanted to explain but didn't know where to start. He took out the keychain from his coat pocket, but Yin didn't take it, her hand holding Zhiyi's sleeve slipped and her eyelids drooped. She wasn't drunk, just stirred up like sticky rice fermenting into wine, a bit tipsy. The alcohol heightened her senses and emotions, including the long-hidden affection in her heart. Numerous yeast strains clamoured in her mind - say it.

In a few moments that felt like an eternity, Yin sniffed, let the tears fall, then lifted her eyelids to gaze back at the keychain on Zhiyi. 

"It's very nice." Despite feeling a bit dizzy, Yin genuinely thought the keychain was beautiful. She lifted her chin, her gaze reinserted into Xu Zhiyi's eyes. "Xu Zhiyi, please don't speak for now, listen to me." A surge of energy came over her, her throat parched like a desert in need of water, hoarse. 

"I checked the forum," Yin said, "It said this keychain has been with you until we met at FHS. I didn't notice you had this keychain before, and when we met, you never showed it to me. You said it was a gift from a very close friend overseas, so you always carry it with you." Following her blurred yet clear thoughts, Yin stated the facts in her logic, "She's not only a good friend you treasure, but also someone you really like, right? You probably noticed that I like you, so you posted on the forum that we are just classmates and good friends, that's why I never saw this keychain, isn't it?" 

She must have been a very special girl for Xu Zhiyi to treasure her like this. 

The night wind blew over her tear-streaked and reddened face, feeling hot but she kept sniffing, trying to hold back her tears, yet they kept flowing. Xu Zhiyi's jaw clenched tightly, his exposed fingers twitched, this movement, like regaining consciousness, made his heart and body feel numb, a sensation of panic and confusion, but his pupils remained dark and bright, like the midwinter sun at its highest point, fierce yet warm.

Yin's gaze remained fixed on Zhiyi, "I like you, Xu Zhiyi." 

"This sentence has been hidden in my heart for a long time, although you should have known it long ago," the girl's emotions were no longer confined to her heart but held in her hand as a driving force for progress. Even though she had not thought of confessing, she felt a sense of relief after speaking these words, as if releasing a burden and losing all strength, only left with a daze of thoughts. 

It was still speaking from the heart. 

"I didn't intend to tell you," Yin recalled, "During my time at THS, although I was a lone wolf and always had nightmares, I never felt afraid. I always thought of you, remembered our days at the middle school, studying together in the library, recalling the things you said to me. Just thinking about it, those unhappy moments that seemed unbearable all passed, as you always said, you would cheer for me on this youthful battlefield. So, step by step, I made my way to FHS, back to you." 

"With my intelligence, this path was quite difficult, but I managed." 

"For a long time, I thought of you as light, something I could always grasp onto to propel myself forward. However, in these three-plus months at FHS, I realized one thing," Yin looked at Zhiyi and shook her head, "Xu Zhiyi, you are not light, you are my companion and comrade. Light can shine independently and fade, but a comrade will not, they will only bring you honour. Being side by side with you as a comrade is more important than confessing my feelings for you." "

Now, you know. I don't know if we can still be comrades." Yin almost whispered, tears streaming down her chin into her neckline as she gazed at Zhiyi, "But Xu Zhiyi, if you like me even for a moment, you will die!" It was filled with a hint of madness, a lot of sorrow, and a sense of helplessness.

Xu Zhiyi closed the distance with Meng Yin, lifting his hand to gently touch her cheek and using his fingertips to wipe away her tears.

"Meng Yin, why are you so foolish," he said.

Suddenly, Zhiyi felt that Xiuze's previous mockery of him was justified, his "just wait a little longer" was all nonsense. After learning everything about her time at THS, what was there left unknown? Meng Yin cautiously probed, how could he not notice? He had wanted to reveal his long-hidden emotions after graduation, just worried that if it wasn't as he hoped, it might affect her college entrance exams. 

He was afraid, not daring to gamble with her future, only willing to stay by her side in the name of comradeship. To the point where she misunderstood, so upset that she couldn't express it, asking him, "Xu Zhiyi, will you die if you like me for a moment!"

Without hesitation, Zhiyi embraced Yin, comforting her back with gentle strokes. Yin's face buried in his chest, sobs rolling over his chest. Xu Zhiyi sensed - the tears of heated emotions enveloping him with an undeniable heartache.

At seventeen, Xu Zhiyi, in such a vulnerable posture, held the breathless crying Meng Yin, feeling the entire world tremble. His chin lightly resting on the top of Yin's head, his voice soft and low, "I've long been lying at the bottom of your pit."

That mistaken summer, in this winter, had no regrets.

While touching his chin, thinking "Xu Zhiyi finally came to his senses," Xing Xiuze suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. 

"Lin Xipei, what are you doing!" The big fan Lin Xipei witnessed this scene, holding a phone to capture the historic moment, her other hand unable to find a place to rest, could only tightly grab Xing Xiuze's arm to prevent herself from screaming madly and ruining the confession scene of her favourite couple. 

Xing Xiuzhe: "..."