Under What Circumstances Did You Confess Your Feelings? What Did You Say?

I was posted on our school’s confession wall.

For seven days in a row…

The confessions came from the same anonymous person. Every day for seven days, a different photo of me appeared.

And just like that, for no apparent reason, I became famous.

The main thing was… in every photo, I was eating a lollipop.

So the comments under the wall’s posts all gave me the same nickname: Stick Sis.

1

I was helpless. Candy Sis would’ve been fine! Why Stick Sis?

Anyway, thanks to that anonymous person, I’d been gawked at eight times in seven days.

On the eighth day, I finally lost patience and posted to the confession wall myself.

“Would that male student please add me on WeChat: ****. Please include your chat history with the wall as proof of identity when adding me. Thank you.”

Just as I expected.

Once the wall posted my submission, the comments exploded.

So did my WeChat.

In a single afternoon, dozens of boys added me to join the fun, every one claiming to be the person who’d submitted the photos.

Until—

A boy with a black anime avatar added me. His friend request contained only two words.

“It’s me.”

It’s me?

I raised my eyebrows and quickly accepted.

Once we were friends, he immediately sent several screenshots of his conversations with the confession wall.

Correct. He was the anonymous person who’d posted me for seven days.

I even wondered whether I’d offended him somehow and was being pranked.

His Moments were set to show only the last month. I found nothing substantial: a few songs, a game screenshot.

His sole selfie didn’t show his face, only his jaw and Adam’s apple. With the filter, it did have a certain vibe.

But… I had this inexplicable intuition that he might be a greasy creep whose appeal would die the moment we met in daylight.

I arranged to meet him and told him clearly that I was actually a little ugly in person.

Perhaps not ugly, exactly. But I was the sort of ordinary girl you’d lose as soon as she stepped into a crowd.

Yet my classmates unanimously called me the class beauty.

Apart from… my roommates.

They all called me a masked girl. My makeup was like a head transplant.

I really was a three without makeup and an eight with it.

So except for my roommates, everyone always saw me looking polished and pretty.

Including that whole series of candid photos posted to the wall. All showed me in makeup, fresh and lovely, periodically drawing comments of:

[Stick Sis is so pretty!]

Finally, we agreed to meet at seven that evening.

At the school’s basketball court, beneath hoop number one.

Song Zhe said he’d wear a white T-shirt, khaki shorts, and white sneakers.

At 6:50, I sat in my dorm, leisurely removed my makeup, washed my face, threw on some clothes, and went out.

Without exaggeration, not a single person recognized me on the way.

Including a classmate I ran into.

And so, bare-faced, I went to meet Song Zhe.

His name was Song Zhe.

According to his self-introduction, he was even a xuedi, one year below me.

Translator’s note: Xuedi means a male student in a lower year; xuejie and xuemei, used below, are a female student in a higher and a lower year.

At exactly seven, I arrived at the basketball court in flip-flops.

A glance toward hoop number one—

There really was a boy standing there, back to me. White T-shirt, khaki shorts, white shoes.

Definitely Song Zhe.

His back looked pretty good. Tall and long-limbed, but not frail.

I walked over slowly and cleared my throat.

“Hello, are you Song—”

The rest never came out.

Because…

He was too handsome.

Help. He was really handsome!

The “Zhe” lodged in my throat. I couldn’t force out another sound.

Coming to my senses, I yanked a mask from my pocket, put it on, and hurriedly turned away.

“Sorry, wrong person!”

Then I ran.

Behind me, Song Zhe seemed to say something else. The wind was too loud; I didn’t hear clearly.

I ran all the way back to the dorm.

Even after getting inside, I was still gasping.

My roommates looked puzzled.

“Didn’t you go to meet an online friend?”

I was silent for two seconds, then charged into the shower.

Shower, shampoo, blow-dry, makeup, change clothes.

In less than an hour, I completed the entire process, giving myself a subtly calculated makeup look.

Looking at the sweet, pretty girl in the mirror, I pressed the corners of my lips together and finally left the dorm satisfied.

Never mind Song Zhe. Even I could hardly connect that polished, sweet-looking girl with the ordinary one in flip-flops from earlier.

I hurried back to the basketball court.

Fortunately, Song Zhe was still waiting.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly approached, went straight behind him, and tapped his shoulder.

“Sorry. I was dealing with something off campus, and traffic held me up.”

No choice. For a handsome guy, I could only lie.

He turned.

Even prepared, the instant I saw that face, I couldn’t help getting excited again.

Help.

He was really so handsome!!

Our eyes met.

As expected, I saw a flicker of admiration in his.

He leaned down slightly.

“Xuejie, up close… you’re even prettier than in the photos.”

I feigned shyness and thanked him, while inwardly rolling my eyes.

How could I not look good? This jiejie had spent years practicing her makeup skills.

Translator’s note: Jiejie is “older sister,” here used to refer to herself. The nickname “Stick Sis” comes from 棒棒糖, “lollipop,” whose first character means “stick”; she’d have preferred the “candy” part.

“Oh, right.”

He handed me several prettily wrapped lollipops.

“I saw someone just now who looked a bit like you.”

“Cough… cough…”

I instantly choked on my own saliva.

The xuedi was fairly attentive and even considerately patted my back for me.

I hurriedly shook my head.

“Impossible. I just came back from off campus. I…”

Song Zhe chuckled.

“I know. She just looked a little like you.”

As he spoke, he naturally took my hand.

Then he turned to me, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“You don’t mind, do you, xuejie?”

My heart began racing uncontrollably.

I admitted it. I was a sucker for good looks.

With a face like his, never mind holding hands—even if he kissed me right now, I’d absolutely agree, all shy and bashful!

What the hell.

As though equipped with mind-reading, Song Zhe held my hand and slowly bent toward me.

Nervously, I held my breath.

Yet instead of kissing me as I’d imagined, he suddenly smiled and said, “That girl who looked a bit like you was pretty cute too.”

I froze completely.

Pretty cute…

Did he mean…

Me without makeup?

Before I could recover, Song Zhe held my hand and headed off campus.

“Come on. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

I stared at our joined hands, unable to quite process it.

Wasn’t this…

Moving a little fast?

Pressing my lips together, I tentatively tugged my hand.

“Song Zhe, it’s our first meeting. Isn’t this… a little inappropriate?”

He stopped and turned back.

Beneath the streetlight, he suddenly smiled.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but the light overhead seemed to brighten when he did.

Thump, thump.

Over my abruptly accelerating heartbeat, he chuckled and asked, “Then—would xuejie like me to confess right now?”

“Does xuejie want me to confess right now?”

One short sentence, yet it struck my heart hard, every word ringing.

I had to admit that after living twenty-odd years, I’d ended up with my face burning red from a little xuedi’s flirting.

But who could refuse such a handsome little xuedi?

In that instant of blushing and racing heartbeat, like a little girl in the first flush of love, I flung off his hand with a red face, then turned my head away and stammered.

“L-let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

With his hand flung off, Song Zhe only pressed his lips together, looking wronged, and said nothing.

Nor did he try to take my hand again.

We walked side by side toward the school gate.

On the way, while he looked down at his phone, I secretly photographed him and sent it to our dorm group chat.

The moment the photo appeared, exclamations followed.

“Holy shit!”

“Holy shit!”

“Holy shit, he’s so handsome!”

…

That was the atmosphere in our whole dorm. One “holy shit” could take you anywhere.

Two sneakily taken photos instantly blew up the group chat.

Then—

I successfully got extorted for several meals.

Those girls had threatened me: if I didn’t treat them, they’d send my bare-faced photos to the little xuedi.

One look at the breathtakingly handsome little xuedi beside me, and face-obsessed me compromised.

But I never imagined that when Song Zhe and I sat down in a restaurant by the school’s back gate, the door would open…

And my five wonderful roommates would saunter in.

I froze.

They gave me a very affected glance, then…

Sat at the table beside ours.

Help!

Could someone take these menaces away?

Buzz, buzz.

My phone vibrated on the table. The screen lit with dorm group messages.

A: “Enjoy your date. Ignore us.”

B: “Exactly. Pretend we don’t exist. Just remember to pay for us when you’re done.”

C: “Thanks, Stick Sis!”

…

Was it too late to change dorms?

“Here’s the menu. What do you like, xuejie?”

While I stared distractedly at my phone, Song Zhe suddenly handed me the menu, his voice fairly gentle.

I came back to myself and glanced down.

Hm?

This…

Was a hot-pot restaurant?

Looking around, yes—it was the hot-pot place by our back gate.

I’d been so busy admiring the little xuedi’s godlike face that I hadn’t even noticed which restaurant we’d walked into.

What a headache. If I’d known…

I’d have used makeup that didn’t budge today.

Noticing my expression, Song Zhe tentatively took the menu.

“Then I’ll order.”

I nodded and handed it over.

“Do you like meat, or vegetables?”

I paused. Somehow, my mind went somewhere dirty, and my gaze instinctively flicked over him.

I swallowed.

“Meat.”

He chuckled.

“All right.”

After ordering, he closed the menu, handed it to the server, and remembered to say thank you.

Mm. A few more points in his favor.

Ignoring the roommates constantly craning their necks at the next table, the date was going well.

Little xuedi Song Zhe had a gentle temperament but was witty when he talked. We chatted happily.

As the atmosphere grew more comfortable, I gradually relaxed.

The hot pot was delicious. He’d ordered a table full of meat, barely eating any himself, constantly cooking it and placing it in my bowl.

Gradually, I abandoned my reservations and dug in.

But…

Perhaps the air-conditioning was broken. It was stiflingly hot.

Caught up in eating, I casually wiped sweat from my forehead.

Sweat got into my eyes, so I rubbed them too.

Only when I lowered my hand did I notice something wrong.

A black smear stained my hand.

Apparently, my eyeliner had run…

I panicked. Putting down my chopsticks, I shielded my eyes with one hand, grabbed my bag with the other, hurriedly said, “I’m going to the restroom,” and left.

Inside the restroom, I carefully dabbed the smudged black at the corners of my eyes with tissue, then immediately called roommate A.

“Jianghu emergency! Did any of you bring an eyeliner pencil?”

A paused, quietly asked around, then said softly, “None of us did. What’s wrong?”

I sighed.

“A, could you go to that cosmetics shop on the street outside and buy me a waterproof eyeliner?”

Afraid she’d refuse, I added, “I’ll treat you separately to another meal, okay?”

After several seconds of silence, she agreed.

“Okay. I’ll go now.”

Then she hung up.

About ten-odd minutes later, A entered the women’s restroom.

“Here.”

She handed me a small bag.

“Thanks!”

I took it, but the weight seemed wrong.

Opening it—

Whoa. There were ten or so eyeliners inside. Black, brown, soft-tipped, firm-tipped…

Practically one of every type.

I stared.

“This…”

A smiled.

“They happened to have a sale. The rest are ours. Just pick one.”

I opened one.

“You should’ve said! I would’ve had you buy a couple extra for me too!”

I still had lipstick and foundation in my bag. After a quick touch-up, I hurried back.

“Sorry. My stomach was a little upset.”

Putting down my bag, I smiled apologetically.

Another little lie.

“Is it bad?”

Song Zhe poured me a cup of hot water.

“Should I get you some medicine?”

“No need.”

I hurriedly took the cup.

“It’s better now.”

The rest of dinner remained pleasant.

Song Zhe and I seemed to have plenty to talk about. Whatever subject I raised, he could keep up.

Through the curling steam, he looked across the table.

“Chen Yi-xuejie, as far as I know, you don’t have a boyfriend, right?”

My heart missed a beat.

“No.”

He chuckled.

“What a coincidence. I don’t have a girlfriend either.”

I expected him to say, “Then why don’t we make do with each other?”

But he didn’t.

He lowered his eyes to look at me, his gaze full of laughter, his expression earnest and solemn.

“Then may I pursue you?”

Before I could answer, howls suddenly rose from the next table.

“Say yes!”

“Say yes!”

The mood shattered instantly. I glared at them, then, red-faced, put on a cool and aloof air.

“I’m very hard to win over.”

Still smiling, Song Zhe said, “I’m not afraid.”

I’d never been a delicate, shy little girl.

Yet in front of Song Zhe, I always blushed easily.

I consoled myself: perhaps he was simply too handsome.

Yes. That had to be it.

The next table had exposed themselves too thoroughly. I could only brace myself and introduce them.

“Sorry. They’re my roommates…”

“I know.”

Song Zhe chuckled.

“I’ve already paid for their table.”

I froze.

He winked, teasing in his tone.

“If I publicly confessed on the wall, of course I’ve had a crush on you for a long time. So I’ve seen them around campus too.”

I stared, speechless.

Suddenly.

Like a flash of lightning, I remembered something I hadn’t thought through earlier.

“Then the eyeliner…”

Sure enough, Song Zhe admitted it openly.

“I went to buy it.”

He scratched his hair and laughed softly.

“I don’t understand that stuff, so I bought one of every kind.”

For a long time, I couldn’t recover.

Suddenly.

Song Zhe’s voice came through the steam again.

“But I think you’d look even better without makeup, xuejie.”

3

One short sentence, and I froze.

Said to someone else, those words with their hint of confession might have seemed flirtatious.

To me, they only felt ironic.

Perhaps Song Zhe still didn’t know that the glamorous girl before him disappeared into the crowd as soon as she removed her makeup.

After dinner, unwilling to be third wheels, my roommates greeted him and fled.

Song Zhe walked me back to the dorm.

We walked side by side. Unlike earlier, he didn’t simply reach for my hand.

“Xuejie, do many people pursue you?”

The sudden question startled me. Then I laughed lightly.

“Quite a few since college.”

“What about before college?”

I smiled and shrugged.

“No. Not a single one.”

He paused.

“Impossible. Maybe someone had a crush on you and you just didn’t know.”

A crush on me?

How could that be?

Before learning makeup, I’d been an utterly ordinary girl, the kind no one glanced at twice in a crowd.

On the way, I unwrapped a lollipop out of habit.

It seemed very few people still adored lollipops after growing up.

But I was especially fond of them.

Around the beginning of middle school, I’d been bullied for no reason.

A chubby boy protected me and brought me a lollipop every day.

He told me that whether you were happy or unhappy, eating something sweet could make you feel happiness.

And so I’d formed the habit.

Near the dorm building, Song Zhe turned to me.

“Xuejie, can I ask you out to lunch tomorrow?”

I paused.

“Sure!”

Who would turn down such a handsome little xuedi?

But give Song Zhe an inch and he’d take a mile.

He stepped closer and tilted his head at me.

“Then can you be my girlfriend?”

I froze for two seconds, then laughed and pushed him away.

“You think one hot-pot dinner can buy your xuejie?”

Song Zhe laughed too.

“I thought with this face, one meal might do.”

Talking and laughing, we reached my dorm.

He stopped.

“All right, xuejie. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

I waved and turned into the building with affected elegance.

Being pursued by a handsome guy of that caliber naturally put me in a good mood.

But—

I wasn’t as happy as I might have been.

Precisely because Song Zhe was so handsome, I worried about too much.

That he was a player.

That he was amusing himself on a whim.

That…

One day, he’d dislike my bare face.

Back in the dorm, after enduring a round of teasing, I took out my phone and promptly transferred him some money.

My roommates’ meal, plus half of ours.

His reply came quickly.

“I’m pursuing you, xuejie. Of course dinner is on me.”

The transfer was returned.

Not wanting to push it back and forth, I searched Alipay using his phone number.

After confirming the name and avatar—his own photo—I transferred the money directly.

A few minutes later, A exclaimed from the window.

“Chen Yi! Your little xuedi is still waiting outside!”

I ran over to look.

Mm. It was him.

I’d thought Song Zhe was the fresh-faced, clean, well-behaved type.

Apparently, he smoked too.

It was dark now. He crouched beneath a tree outside our dorm, a cigarette between his fingers.

He seemed to be using his phone.

Leaning at the window, chin in hand, I watched him and tugged A’s sleeve.

“A, tell me… could such a handsome boy really like me?”

She hesitated, then told the truth.

“Of course! As long as… you don’t remove your makeup.”

The strength instantly left the hand gripping her sleeve.

Yes.

As long as I didn’t remove my makeup.

That night, after transferring him the dinner money, I accepted his lunch invitation for the next day with an easy conscience.

But I hadn’t accepted his courtship.

I admitted my weakness for good looks. That was why I’d changed my mind the moment I saw him.

But it didn’t mean I’d begin an unclear relationship just because of his face.

I’d insist on splitting all expenses anyway.

We could get to know each other a little more.

A week later, Song Zhe and I both happened to be invited to an interdepartmental social.

Hearing I was going, he signed up immediately.

At dinner, he walked around more than half the table to sit beside me, instantly drawing exclamations.

Amid the teasing, someone’s face darkened.

She happened to sit directly opposite us, a xuemei one year below me, apparently named Shi Yue.

I’d heard…

She’d been pursuing Song Zhe for ages.

I’d also heard she came from a wealthy family, had been spoiled since childhood, and got whatever she wanted.

Normally, she was rather domineering too.

Even across the table, her glare made me uncomfortable.

If looks had substance, she’d have killed me several times over.

By the end of dinner, the young miss hadn’t made a scene.

She’d merely delivered a few sarcastic remarks when Song Zhe put food in my bowl.

The next activity had originally been karaoke.

But Shi Yue insisted on swimming. No one dared offend her, so everyone agreed.

Since she’d changed plans on the spot and no one had brought swimwear, she waved a hand grandly.

We’d buy everyone’s swimsuits there.

She’d pay!

Mm. Generous.

Swimming?

I paused, then relaxed.

To avoid a repeat of last time, I’d used only waterproof products today.

Never mind swimming—I could even brave a bathhouse scrub.

With that thought, I readily agreed.

But I hadn’t expected Shi Yue to be far more brazen than I’d imagined.

In the women’s changing room, Shi Yue approached with a group of girls and a bottle of liquid.

My heart sank.

What grudge could possibly warrant this?

Surely she wasn’t throwing acid?

Only when she came closer did I see it was makeup remover.

Shi Yue approached with the bottle.

There were none of the cutting remarks, insults, or taunts from TV bullying scenes.

They didn’t say a single word.

Several girls simply pinned me down.

Only when a wet cotton pad pressed against my face did Shi Yue speak.

“Chen Yi-xuejie, I’ve heard for ages that you’re two different people before and after makeup. Why not let us see your bare face today?”

Frowning, I wanted to curse them out, but a girl behind me tightly covered my mouth.

What an operation.

Just to remove my makeup, several of them surrounded me, some pinning my arms, another covering my mouth.

And like that, they held me down and forcibly stripped off my makeup.

A moment later, Shi Yue and her followers surrounded me, arms crossed, smiling at my face.

“Xuejie.”

Shi Yue looked utterly delighted.

“Tsk, tsk. If I hadn’t removed it myself, I really wouldn’t recognize this as my Chen Yi-xuejie.”

Smiling, she slowly bent toward me.

“What happened to the class beauty?”

Bang.

Completely unprepared, Shi Yue was shoved down hard by me. She knocked over the cabinet behind her and landed in a heap on the floor.

Her lackeys immediately scattered into confusion, rushing to help.

She stood, shot me an angry look, but didn’t come demand an explanation as I’d expected.

Instead, she crossed her arms and watched me.

“Xuejie, there are no cosmetics here. We’ll guard the entrance and make sure no one gets in.”

She paused, then chuckled.

“Whenever you’re ready, come out bare-faced.”

With that, she left with the others.

I was alone in the empty changing room.

I stared at the mirror.

A girl in a black swimsuit stood inside.

She was slender. Her long, slim legs could just about be called beautiful.

But…

Her face was extraordinarily ordinary.

Slightly round, with a little baby fat still remaining. Hooded double eyelids, eyes that looked a little puffy.

Her nose was probably her only reasonably attractive feature.

I studied myself carefully.

Not so ugly as to make someone nauseous.

But compared to my usual carefully made-up appearance, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

My phone kept ringing.

At first, Song Zhe only messaged that he was waiting nearby and I needn’t hurry.

When I kept failing to reply, he seemed to grow anxious and called.

I hesitated for a long time, until the call ended.

Immediately, a second call came.

I answered carefully.

“Hello…”

Song Zhe seemed to exhale in relief.

“Xuejie, are you all right? Why haven’t you replied?”

I didn’t know what happened.

I hadn’t cried when a group of girls held me down and forcibly removed my makeup.

But the moment I heard Song Zhe’s voice, I choked up.

“Song Zhe…”

My nose stung.

“I can’t come out. I… they took off my makeup. I can’t face anyone…”

Actually, a close friend I’d known for years had once told me this:

Chen Yi, the you now isn’t your real self. There’s nothing wrong with makeup. Everyone wants to become more beautiful.

But you can’t be too fixated.

I hope you love your polished, pretty self in makeup.

And I hope you can accept your bare-faced self too.

I understood all of it.

But after disguising myself for so long, I couldn’t quite accept it.

Couldn’t accept the enormous disappointment on people’s faces when they saw me without makeup.

Especially Song Zhe.

I wanted Chen Yi-xuejie, in his mind, to be the girl in little skirts, pretty and smiling.

Not this ordinary girl whom no one would bother to look at twice.

Sometimes, being ordinary was an original sin.

Years ago, I’d suffered school bullying because of that ordinariness.

Ordinary appearance, ordinary grades, ordinary family.

Even my personality couldn’t have been more ordinary.

Dull. Weak.

For that alone, I’d become those bad children’s target.

Only because of that…

Coming dazedly back to myself, I discovered the call had ended at some point.

I pressed my lips together, debating whether to gather my courage and go out bare-faced.

Then noise suddenly rose outside.

I seemed to hear someone shout, “This is the women’s changing room! You can’t go in!”

“Song Zhe, have you fucking lost your mind?”

As the words fell, the door was shoved open hard.

Song Zhe ran in.

4

“Chen Yi!”

His voice came from the doorway.

Panic rose. I instinctively stepped back half a pace and covered my face.

What could I do?

I still couldn’t cross that psychological barrier.

Still couldn’t calmly face Song Zhe without makeup.

He was so good-looking that I even felt standing bare-faced before him would somehow sully him.

Head bowed and face covered, I heard footsteps approach.

Then I was drawn into an embrace.

A fierce heartbeat sounded beside my ear.

Song Zhe’s voice came from overhead.

“Xuejie, I’m here.”

I froze for a long time.

In the end, I said nothing.

Ever since childhood, no matter what moving lines I heard on television, I’d firmly believed that the most beautiful words of love weren’t “I love you.”

They were “I’m here.”

Simple, yet powerful.

That satisfaction of always having someone behind you, ready to catch you, was something I’d never had.

Now, it seemed I did.

After a long while, Song Zhe took my hands and slowly pulled them down.

I hesitated, but ultimately didn’t resist.

My hands lowered.

My bare face, ordinary beyond ordinary, was exposed before him.

Head still bowed, I felt his gaze move slowly over it.

I didn’t dare look up to see his reaction.

“Is it… really ugly?”

After hesitating, I asked quietly.

Song Zhe suddenly laughed.

He reached out and pinched the tip of my nose, his expression and movement perfectly natural, like an ordinary couple.

“I thought you must be terribly ugly, the way you were afraid to let me see.”

He leaned back a little, far calmer than I’d imagined.

“Aren’t you pretty cute?”

I stared at the boy before me.

Only then did I notice…

We were both wearing swimwear.

When he’d rushed in and hugged me, we’d been skin to skin.

My face instantly reddened.

Song Zhe seemed to realize it too. He coughed softly and took a small step back.

“Then… shall we go out?”

I hesitated again.

Perhaps no one would believe it, but since starting college, I’d never once left the dorm without makeup.

Even to swap out our water jug with the dorm ayi downstairs, I wore makeup.

Translator’s note: Ayi means “auntie,” what students call the older women who run the dorms.

Practice makes perfect. My makeup speed was astonishing too.

What took someone else half an hour, I could easily finish in ten-odd minutes.

The thought of walking out bare-faced still frightened me a little.

Seeing my hesitation, Song Zhe didn’t push.

“Or if you don’t want to, I can go buy cosmetics for you now.”

“No need.”

I shook my head.

“Song Zhe, are you disappointed seeing me like this?”

He paused for two seconds, then smiled softly.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

He held out his hand.

Long fingers, rounded fingertips.

Quietly waiting for me.

Dazed, I slowly placed my hand in his.

Song Zhe held it and smiled.

“Xuejie, believe this: not everyone in the world loves only your glamorous, made-up appearance. Someone will always love the real you after the makeup comes off.”

He lifted our joined hands, his smile undiminished.

“Clearly, I’m the latter.”

It was a little poetic.

It took me a while to come back to myself, and I still didn’t know what to say.

I could only give a nasal “Mm.”

Song Zhe chuckled and tightened his hand around mine.

“Then let’s go out.”

“All right.”

Only then did I notice he’d locked the women’s changing room door from inside when he entered.

No wonder.

Shi Yue and the others should have charged in long ago.

Holding my hand, Song Zhe went to open the door.

The moment it opened, we saw the crowd waiting for entertainment.

Shi Yue stood at the front, arms crossed, ready for a good show.

But when she saw our joined hands, her expression changed drastically.

“You…”

She managed only that word before Song Zhe gave her a cold glare.

The rest died quietly.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Shi Yue shut her mouth and said nothing further.

One of her friends, however, spoke sarcastically.

“Song Zhe, didn’t you go in to find Chen Yi-xuejie? Who’s that beside you?”

Laughter immediately broke out.

I couldn’t help growing nervous and instinctively tightened my grip.

Song Zhe’s fingers tightened in return.

Before anyone could react, he suddenly picked up a nearby bottle of water—who knew whose—and hurled it toward the girl who’d spoken, without warning.

“Ah!”

A startled cry.

The bottle struck the floor hard.

Song Zhe glanced over coldly, said nothing, and pulled me toward the pool.

Silence behind us.

No one dared add another word.

Never mind those girls. Even I, whose hand he’d held the entire time, felt a chill run down my back.

I’d never seen Song Zhe like this.

Cold. Distant.

Nothing like him.

“Chen Yi.”

“Hm?”

I came back to myself and realized he was calling my name.

This time, he didn’t call me xuejie.

Frowning at me, he spoke quietly.

“I want you to be yourself. I want you to be happy. I want you to wear makeup because you like it, not to please someone else or hide something.”

He took my hand, his palm warm.

“I want you to understand that you’re not ugly without makeup. You’re especially cute.”

As though afraid I wouldn’t believe him, he added, “Really.”

I stared at him.

For some reason, my eyes grew wet.

Lowering my head, I rubbed them and whispered, “The wind’s too strong. Something got in my eyes.”

Yet the sky was perfectly clear.

There wasn’t the slightest wind.

There had never been any wind.

Only a sensitive girl with low self-esteem whose heart had been touched.

Still holding my hand, Song Zhe suddenly leaned closer and chuckled.

“Xuejie, does this mean… we’re officially together?”

My hand paused over my eyes.

Looking at our tightly joined hands, I pressed my lips together.

Though we’d never formally said we were together…

It seemed we’d indeed tacitly agreed.

After several seconds’ hesitation, I nodded.

Song Zhe suddenly smiled and seemed to breathe easier.

“Then I’ll tell you a secret.”

“All right.”

I waited obediently for his secret.

Instead, he asked, “When you were little, did you know a chubby boy who brought you lollipops every day?”

I froze.

How did he know?

I stared at him.

Somehow, the face before me seemed to overlap with the one in my memory, so round its features had barely been distinguishable…

A possibility suddenly struck me.

“You… you’re that chubby boy?”

He chuckled and lightly scraped my nose with a finger.

“No.”

“But… I know him.”

5

Song Zhe looked at me and curled his lips.

The laughter in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“Xuejie, actually, I’ve had a crush on you for many years.”

His sudden confession stunned me.

For a long while, I couldn’t recover.

He took my hand, gently rubbing the back of it with the pads of his fingers.

“Actually, I paid that chubby boy with my pocket money to protect you. All the lollipops he gave you were ones I talked him into delivering.”

I still couldn’t process it.

“So… did we know each other then?”

Song Zhe smiled.

“More accurately, I knew you.”

Holding my hand and smiling gently, he told me a story.

One reaching back many years.

Back then, Song Zhe had just entered the first year of middle school.

His features hadn’t developed yet. He was only a somewhat delicate-looking little boy.

His most distinctive feature was—

He was short.

According to him, he’d secretly compared our heights from nearby.

He’d been a full half-head shorter than me, a girl.

Being short and skinny made him feel inferior.

So when the girl in the neighboring class whom he secretly liked was bullied, he quickly pushed his tall, sturdy best friend forward to play hero.

He immediately crafted an image for the chubby boy as someone bullied for being fat.

Using their shared suffering as the starting point, he successfully made the chubby boy and the girl friends.

His original plan had been to wait until they were thoroughly familiar, then gradually approach her as a friend.

But…

Before that day came, the girl he liked transferred schools.

Afterward, he could only occasionally hear news of her.

She’d gone to such-and-such high school, then gotten into a certain university.

At this point, Song Zhe paused.

“Just to get into this school, I repeated a year. I forcibly turned myself into your xuedi.”

Looking at his gritted-teeth expression, I only found him adorable.

“Then can I ask you something?”

He looked down at me, his gaze gentle.

“Go ahead.”

“That little girl was so ordinary. Ordinary enough to forget the moment you saw her. Why did you fall for her?”

And stay in love for so many years.

In the past, I’d always thought such plots belonged only in movies.

Song Zhe smiled, raised a hand, and rubbed my hair.

He looked natural, not as though he were pretending.

“What was ordinary about her?”

His smile was gentle. Light seemed to shine in his eyes.

“Others called her ordinary, bullied her, teased her. But what I saw was a gentle, sensitive little girl. She saved her sausage to feed stray cats. She softly helped people out of awkward situations. She put time and effort into finding all kinds of weight-loss remedies for my chubby best friend. And when people mocked a short boy as a joke, she stepped forward to speak for him…”

He lifted his hand and brushed the tip of my nose.

“She was wonderful.”

I had to admit it.

Song Zhe’s words had really gotten to me.

My heart pounded.

Looking at this tall, handsome xuedi—and, most importantly, one so devoted—I silently marveled at my incredible dog-shit luck.

Still, if anyone deserved thanks, it was my past self.

Watching Song Zhe confess so earnestly, I finally recalled a little incident buried deep in my memory.

In the first year of middle school, I’d been a new transfer student.

I hadn’t yet experienced bullying. Though quiet in temperament, I was occasionally warmhearted.

On my very first day, I’d encountered a group jokingly mocking a short boy.

He really was short—even half a head shorter than me.

As they teased his height, he bowed his head and said nothing.

Laughter rang out around him.

I held back again and again, but finally couldn’t stop myself from helping him.

To be honest, after all these years, I didn’t even remember what I’d said.

But I did vaguely remember his eyes.

When I helped him, he’d looked up in astonishment.

His gaze was clear and bright.

Yes.

According to Song Zhe, he’d been that boy.

Apparently, the human brain sometimes really did come with filters.

Song Zhe said that was the first time I’d appeared in his world.

With a filter already attached.

Different from every other girl.

Now he sat perfectly well before me, gently rubbing my hair and speaking softly.

“Maybe because of the filter from that first meeting, afterward you always looked different from other girls to me. Unfortunately, you didn’t remember me at all. I was too embarrassed to approach you.”

True.

For a boy still in puberty, how was he supposed to face the girl he liked when she stood half a head taller?

So he’d persuaded his best friend to protect me, then used him to deliver lollipops.

Even the advice to eat something sweet when I was unhappy had come from Song Zhe through the chubby boy.

After hearing the whole story, I could barely come back to myself.

My mind was filled with an imagined 150-centimeter Song Zhe.

I narrowed my eyes and studied him.

Then I had to admit—

With his current face, even on a 150-centimeter body, he’d still be handsome.

“Oh, right.”

Remembering something, I tugged his arm.

“Then why did you confess through the wall?”

Song Zhe pressed his lips together.

Mentioning it seemed to embarrass him a little.

“Because I’d seen your Moments post saying you wanted a grand, earth-shaking romance.”

Mm. It had certainly shaken things up.

Wait.

I paused, then looked up at him.

“Didn’t you add me on WeChat after posting to the confession wall?”

How could he know about an earlier Moments post?

Song Zhe smiled. With a slightly bent finger, he gently brushed my nose.

“If a boy really wants to pursue a girl, he’ll find a way. Adding her on WeChat with an alternate account is basically the simplest move.”

Something about that sounded wrong.

I immediately sat straight and looked at him.

“From your tone… have you pursued lots of girls?”

His smile instantly vanished.

“No way!”

He took my hand solemnly.

“Xuejie, to keep you from doubting me, I’ve decided—”

He deliberately drew it out, then slowly continued.

“To confess to you on the wall again tomorrow.”

“Don’t!”

Instantly frightened, I hurriedly calmed him.

Then asked something else.

“You and the wall… have some secret you can’t tell people, don’t you?”

Otherwise, why had it let him post for seven straight days?

Song Zhe smiled at me.

“You know this person too.”

While I stared blankly, he continued.

“The person running the confession wall now is the chubby boy.”

Whoa.

What a chubby boy.

From first-year middle school to now, he was probably the strongest wingman Song Zhe and I had.

“Xuejie,” Song Zhe called softly.

“Hm?”

He suddenly leaned down and hugged me.

With a quiet sigh beside my ear, he said, “After all these years, I’ve finally won you over.”

“Xuejie, I really, really love how you look without makeup.”

He pinched my cheek.

“Your nose may be a little flatter, your face a little rounder, and your eyes a little smaller. But I especially love it. Really.”

I hugged him back and didn’t hold back with my mouth either.

“Song Zhe, I especially love how you looked at 150 centimeters too. Really.”