"Yes. It's been three years," muttered Gu Qingqing while nodding slowly.
After knowing each other for ten years and having been married for three years, they had gone from being total strangers to intimate strangers. As the days went by, however, her heart had grown colder towards him. The only thing that did not change was his attitude towards her. Just as the saying went, one would never fall in love if one never meets the right one.
From the bottom of her heart, she knew that Leng Sifeng had never appreciated her love for him. All the while, it was a one-sided relationship.
...….
When Gu Qingqing was 15 years old, she worked doubly hard, managing to acquire the best academic result in the entire city. It allowed her to study in City Yan's top high school. She was supposed to celebrate this good news with her family. Alas, at the time, her mother had lost her job, her father was a gambler and drunk going out of control. Not helping the situation was her brother, who had failed his exam and gotten knee-deep with some bad hats.
It was a grim and bleak period as the entire family had no income, struggling to put at least three meals a day on the table. As a result of her circumstances, Gu Qingqing was forced to stop studying as her family could no longer support her financially.
One day, her mother came home excited and ecstatic. She happily informed her family that she had been hired to be a maid for a wealthy family. The family went by the surname Xu and had only one daughter. She was called Xi Ziqin and was at the same age as Gu Qingqing. Though her academic results were dreadful, she too had enrolled in City Yan's best high school. Born with a golden spoon in her mouth, she was spoiled entirely from the bottom up.
All she ever cared about was to get into a relationship with Nie Zhining, a guy that she liked. At the same time, she constantly mentioned another man as well – Leng Sicheng.
For example.
"Sicheng is so good! I can't believe that he managed to acquire a Rank 4 National Computer Examination Certificate at such a young age!"
"Sicheng always has been so cool and handsome! Every girl in the school dreams of him as their man!"
"Only my sister Zipei is worthy of a perfect man like Sicheng!"
That was Gu Qingqing's first time hearing of the legendary character that was Leng Sicheng. However, she did not go crazy over him. He might be smart, handsome and muscular, but Gu Qingqing had never shown an interest in him.
After a few months, she got to see Leng Sicheng again. When the school term started, she and Xu Ziqin had been set to study in the same class. Naturally, Gu Qingqing had been recognized as the best student when it came to her studies and character. And a high school teacher rewarded a student like Gu Qingqing by placing her on the front line during the school's morning exercise.
In a typical morning exercise, a boy and a girl were required to form a team of two. Here, Gu Qingqing happened to be asked to team up with Nie Zhining, the guy that Xu Ziqin liked. This incident left her in green jealousy. However, Gu Qingqing did not have a care in this world. She just followed the rules and did the exercises. Then, she looked up and saw a man standing at the top of the academic building.
He had put on a white t-shirt, blending in perfectly with his fair skin. He seemed calm and relaxed. As the wind ruffled his soft hair, fallen leaves that were around him began to dance and scatter. The moment he was hit by sunlight, he was coated with a golden layer of a halo. It was somewhat divine, making him look as if he had just come out of a painting.
From afar, he looked like an illusion glowing with a snow-white radiance. The moment the man laid his amber eyes on her, the raging storm that clouded her heart miraculously subsided, chased by the sunlight that beamed off him. All of a sudden, her heart grew a fondness for him.