“Not bad ah, Shi Nian Nian. I didn’t expect you to sing so well.” Zhang Chuanze approached and said after the party ended.
Yu Nian scratched her head, her eyes inadvertently glanced at Li Xiang beside her, who happened to be looking at her.
She quickly averted her gaze and smiled awkwardly, “It’s, it’s okay, I rarely sing, it’s mainly because Manman sings so well.”
Liu Manman’s voice was gentle and lingering, as if narrating a youthful sorrow, captivating many.
Meanwhile, Yu Nian’s voice was crisp and refreshing, singing a hope and longing for the future right from the lyrics.
At the age of 16 or 17, we are eager to try novel things yet simultaneously hesitate and retreat; this is human nature.
We yearn to grow but also fear it. Bound by the constraints of age, we stumble along the way.
As we enter high school, we struggle with studies, reminiscing about the joyful times in junior high and cherishing those companions who journeyed with us.
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Zlv, uswvb yzoyup nsxlp vs yd lde, yde ol yzz qynl plryayvksdp.
Fs, zlv’p lynb pvakhl ekzktldvzu sd vbl eyup sq ryavkdt, wdvkz ol xllv ytykd yv vbl rkddynzl sq vbl qwvwal.
Rd vbl fswadlu sq tasovb, vblal’p ds dlle vs ldhu svblap’ nswaytl; rlabyrp usw’al yzalyeu elxsdpvayvkdt uswa sod cayhlau.
Mbkp psdt alpsdyvlp olzz okvb vbl pvweldvp yv vbl pwxxla nyxr.
Fsxl byhl fwpv ldvlale vblka qkapv ulya sq bktb pnbssz, qllzkdt zspv ulv cakxxkdt okvb kdqkdkvl ealyxp qsa vbl qwvwal.
Fsxl yal ycswv vs ldvla vblka qkdyz ulya sq bktb pnbssz, dllekdt vs qynl vbl qsaxkeyczl scpvynzl sq vbl nszzltl ldvaydnl lmyxkdyvksd okvb pszkvyau nswaytl. Uswdvzlpp dktbvp sq cwadkdt vbl xkedktbv skz pvkzz yoykv vblx.
Ebld pkdtkdt vbkp psdt, vbl ywekldnl clzso oyp hlau iwklv, lkvbla pkzldv, pxkzkdt, sa tldvzu qwaasokdt vblka casop, pllxkdtzu alxkdele sq psxlsdl vblu bye cke qyalolzz vs.
Xhlayzz, vbkp rlaqsaxydnl oyp pwnnlppqwz.
Upon hearing Yu Nian’s praise, Liu Manman shyly brushed aside the long hair in front of her forehead, pretending to be modest, saying, “It’s not a big deal la, actually, it’s everyone’s hard work, and Nian Nian studies diligently too.”
Yu Nian was quite happy to be praised by Liu Manman. She sweetly smiled back at Liu Manman. However, as she withdrew her gaze, she inadvertently made eye contact with Li Xiang.
Yu Nian hurriedly shifted her line of sight, avoiding looking at Li Xiang at all costs.
Li Xiang naturally noticed that Yu Nian had been intentionally avoiding him since she finished singing, leading him to start doubting himself.
Could it be that my excessive enthusiasm just scared this little heartless person away?
It shouldn’t be ah.
Li Xiang thought that Yu Nian was easygoing by nature, so she shouldn’t be this sensitive.
However, what he didn’t know was that Yu Nian had always regarded him as Liu Manman’s future boyfriend. Except for Liu Manman, no other girl should try to get close to him, including herself.
As they approached the dormitory building, Li Xiang didn’t want Yu Nian to spend the night to let her imagination run wild, so he decided to stop her.
“Wait.” Li Xiang’s face didn’t reveal any emotion as he spoke in a cold tone.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Nian turned her head, puzzled.
“Come here, I have something to tell you.”
Yu Nian looked around and pointed to himself, “Me ah?”
Li Xiang nodded silently.
Despite Liu Manman’s reluctance, she tactfully said, “Then, Nian Nian, I’ll go upstairs first haha.”
Multiple scenes of the female lead crying sadly in her dorm room had already flashed through Yu Nian’s mind. She wanted to refuse, but as soon as she lifted her head and met Li Xiang’s cold gaze, she gave up.
She hung her head, afraid to meet Liu Manman’s eyes, fearing to perceive even a hint of blame or sadness from within them.
“Okay,” she said softly.
Li Xiang turned away and headed towards the open space on the right side of the dormitory building.
Once Liu Manman had left, Yu Nian had no choice but to follow him slowly, not knowing what he intended to do.
Seeing Li Xiang stopped, Yu Nian also stopped, maintaining a distance of two meters, feeling somewhat puzzled about his intentions.
“Why are you standing so far away? Are you gifted with foresight or exceptional hearing?” Li Xiang was almost angry that he found it laughable; this person took his candy and yet remained so wary of him.
“Oh,” the sarcasm in Li Xiang’s words was apparent, something Yu Nian would typically retort to without hesitation.
But today, Yu Nian didn’t dare.
Remembering that Li Xiang had come over earlier to cheer her up, Yu Nian felt she might have been a bit excessive in her caution. So, she resentfully took another step forward.
Yu Nian seemed like a spinning top at this time; she only moved when prompted by Li Xiang.
Li Xiang had to approach with a stern face and stand in front of Yu Nian by himself.
“Shi Nian Nian, why are you avoiding me?” Li Xiang asked, not very pleased.
Yu Nian quickly shook her head in denial when she heard this, “N-No, I’m not ah.”
Li Xiang sneered, unsure if she was truly stupid or pretending to be so, as she seemed unable to lie.
“If not, why are you avoiding eye contact with me?”
His voice from above carried a hint of reproach, completely different from the previous gentle encouragement. It was evident that he was indeed angry.
Yu Nian thought.
“I-I’m not avoiding looking at you.” Yu Nian kept her head low, fidgeting with her fingertips, nervously gripping the hem of her clothes, lacking confidence in her words.
Seeing that Yu Nian was reluctant to be honest with him, Li Xiang didn’t want to push her too hard. His eyes darkened and found an excuse.
“Alright, Shi Nian Nian, listen up. I cheered you on because I didn’t want you to embarrass yourself on stage and end up feeling discouraged, affecting your studies. I don’t want my previous efforts to go down the drain. You’d better remember that. Hurry up and improve your studies, don’t make Uncle and Aunt worry about me all the time.”
Li Xiang deliberately spoke in a harsh and resentful tone, intending to divert Yu Nian’s attention.
Despite Li Xiang’s harsh words, Yu Nian should have felt happy. It showed Li Xiang cared for her, albeit being entrusted by her parents, with no other implications.
That’s right, how could a person like him who appeared dismissive of everyone, deliberately waste their time for her?
However, after Li Xiang finished speaking, it made Yu Nian feel even worse. She sniffled, raising her head, her eyes reddened as she gazed at Li Xiang.
Li Xiang had never seen Yu Nian with teary eyes before, and a pang of concern struck him. He wondered if his words earlier had been too harsh.
“Why are you crying?” Li Xiang furrowed his brows, expressing worry.
Unfortunately, in Yu Nian’s eyes, Li Xiang’s expression seemed to display blatant irritation.
She hadn’t expected to have pushed him to a point where he couldn’t even bother pretending to be friendly with her anymore.
“Stop meddling in my affairs.” Yu Nian’s nose felt stuffy as she muttered, then angrily threw the lollipop, still warm from her grip, to Li Xiang before turning and running away.
“Hey, you…” Li Xiang caught the lollipop, feeling the lingering warmth from her touch. His eyes filled with concern as he watched Yu Nian’s departing figure, lost in contemplation.
So… where did he go wrong in what he said?
Li Xiang was puzzled.
Author’s Note:
Today, it’s a bit awkward for Nian Nian~
Jie Jie: I’ll put on a strict schedule for myself lmao. Back on Tuesday & Thursday updates^^
Ah~ youth. First love, young emotion, misunderstanding.