Translated by: Queen Dei Mos
Novel Update Schedule: Monday
Characters:
Ji Bai – MC
Ji Feifei – MC’s older sister
Ji Mingzhi – MC’s father
Tao Jiazhi – MC’s mother
Old lady Ji – paternal grandmother – Ji Mingzhi’s mother
Xie Sui – ML
Cong Yuzhou – ML friend
Jiang Zhongning – ML friend
Ai Xiaoxiao – MC’s close friend
Xu Huan – MC’s close friend
Yin Xiaxia – MC’s close friend
Madam Cheng – ML’s birth mother
Chen Zheyang – Childhood friend of MC and Ji Feifei
Chen Zhenheng – Principal of Dexin High School, Father of Chen Zheyang
Director Qin – Director of Academic Affairs
Lu Weiwei – Ex-girlfriend of Jiang Zhongning
Assistant Qin – Assistant of Old Lady Ji
Ji Jing – Cousin from Eldest Uncle (Brother of Ji Mingzhi)
Li Chen – Young master of the Li Group
you1(Original Text): 您 – nín. (English): you – formal, courteous you.
Title translated to english is one’s beloved or sweetheart, which is kind off for me so I went with crush instead.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, during the Yuanxiao Festival,2(Original Text): 元宵节 – Yuán xiāo jié. (English): Lantern Festival. Meaning/Purpose: Colloquially known as the Yuanxiao Festival, “yuanxiao” (元宵) means “first night” of the first lunar month. It marks the end of Lunar New Year celebrations, starting with a new moon and concluding with a full moon 15 days later. In northern China, “yuanxiao” also refers to the traditional glutinous rice dessert eaten during the festival. Source: Lingoace. Yin Xiaxia and her friends invited Ji Bai to join them for a stroll through the lantern display at People’s Park.
The park was adorned with lanterns and colored banners along the river. Vendors set up stalls selling trinkets and barbecue, creating a bustling night market street. Many young people enjoyed coming here for a late-night snack.
Someone released floating lanterns in the river to offer blessings. These lantern drifted downstream with the current, illuminating the entire river with their beautiful lights. The winding river passed through the park, and from a distance, the flickering lights made it resemble being in a dream.
Yin Xiaxia pulled Ji Bai to the riverside to join in the fun. She bargained with the grandma selling the lanterns and bought lotus lanterns made of thin fabric at a price of fifteen yuan for two.
“The Yuanxiao Festival is also called Shangyuan Festival3(Original Text): 上元节 – shàng yuán jié. (English): Lantern Festival. Meaning/Purpose: In Chinese, this celebration is known as the Shangyuan Festival (shàng yuán jié, 上元节), meaning “first festival of the year.” “Shàng” (上) indicates the beginning or start, while “yuán” (元) means “first” or “primary,” often referring to the first day or month. and to be precise, it’s the Chinese Valentine’s Day.” Yin Xiaxia said, turning to Ji Bai with a marker pen in her hand. “Write the name of the person you like on the lantern, and it will float into his hands along the river.”
Ji Bai smiled and said, “I think there’s a ninety-nine percent chance that the name of your crush will float down the river and end up in the sewer.”
Yin Xiaxia gave her a playful slap. “Can you stop being such a killjoy? You have no sense of romance.”
Ji Bai rested her head on Yin Xiaxia’s shoulder and curiously looked at the lotus lantern in her hand. “Whose name did you write ah?”
Yin Xiaxia generously showed her. “Here look, this is my husband.”
She had written the name of a newly debuted male star.
“Even though there’s a ninety-nine percent chance it’ll just end up in the sewer.”
Ji Bai squatted down, looked at the floating lotus lantern in the river, and murmured, “But isn’t there still that one percent chance it will float into the hands of your crush?”
“Forget it, I don’t believe in that one percent.”
Ji Bai placed her own lotus lantern into the water, with overflowing tenderness in her eyes. “I do.”
One percent, one in a thousand, one in a billion…she believed in all of them because she herself was a testament to the power of hope, having been reborn against all odds, like a single star in the vast space of the Milky Way.
She believed in all the miracles in this world.
“Hey, Xiao Bai, whose name did you write ah?”
Ji Bai showed her, and she had only written four characters: peace and safety.
“That’s so cliché of you.”
“Is peace and safety not good?”
“Well, it’s not that bad, but you should at least add a name, like Xie Sui or something.”
Yin Xiaxia mentioned Xie Sui very casually, but Ji Bai’s little heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
“Why are you mentioning him?”
“All the girls in school are secretly in love with him. No girl can even utter three sentences to him without blushing.” Yin Xiaxia looked at Jǐi Bai with a sly smile. “He’s awfully fond of teasing you, very much like wretched love.”
Ji Bai rubbed Yin Xiaxia’s head, “You, this girl, at such a young age, why is your head filled with nothing but love? Can’t you fill your head with something else?”
“Think about something else? Like what?”
“Wang Houxiong,4(Original Text): 王后雄 – Wáng Hòuxióng. (English): Wang Houxiong’s a well-known author and educator in China who writes study guides and educational materials, particularly for high school students preparing for the Gaokao, China’s national college entrance examination. 53 Mock Exam Papers?5(Original Text):五三模拟卷 – wǔsān mó nǐ juǎn. (English): 53 Mock Exam Papers. They are a popular series of practice exam papers used by students to prepare for various subjects.T/N: Not quite sure about this since I just searched it up.”
“Ji Bai, you’re poisonous!”
Ji Bai smiled and said nothing else.
An image of the unruly young man standing in the snow waiting for her flashed in her mind.
As the snow swirled around, a flicker of warmth bloomed in her heart.
Ji Bai added a stroke to the small paper lantern, and earnestly wrote down the two characters “Xie Sui.”
In the previous life, Xie Sui had saved her and had been really good to her.
Witnessing his solitary existence, marked by both seclusion and coldness, Ji Bai decided to accompany him for the rest of her life.
It stemmed not only from a sense of gratitude but also from a deep-seated compassion for him.
This man would never be able to marry or have children in the future so Ji Bai wanted to stay by his side, even if she did nothing, just being with him was enough.
Only after she expressed her feelings and agreed to interact with him like a couple did Xie Sui began to make more intimate gestures towards her. And Ji Bai accepted all his affection.
Xie Sui liked her, Ji Bai knew.
From his restrained yet controlled caresses, Ji Bai could feel his burning desire for her body.
Ji Bai underestimated Xie Sui’s feelings.
After her death, her soul didn’t immediately leave, rather she lingered in the world for a while, witnessing all of Xie Sui’s crazy actions afterwards. From his tear-filled and strained gaze, Ji Bai felt his suffocating and extreme love for her.
He didn’t just like her, he loved her deeply.
……
Xie Sui’s mood hadn’t been good these days, so a few of his friends dragged him out during the Yuanxiao Festival to roam around the night market to cheer him up.
Under the arched bridge, Jiang Zhongning and Cong Yuzhou bought a few lotus lanterns. With markers in hand, they clumsily scribbled auspicious words like “abundant wealth” and “great luck” on them.
Xie Sui sat on the riverside steps, leaning on his knees with his elbows, looking disdainfully at the two, and commented——
“Tacky.”
Jiang Zhongning laughed and handed the marker to Xie Sui. “Brother Sui, you’re not one for ordinary things. Write one for yourself.'”
Xie Sui took the marker and casually picked up a lotus lantern nearby, and with utmost seriousness, wrote a single word: “Bai.”
Jiang Zhongning burst into laughter, saying, “Oh, Brother Sui, what are you going to do with all that overflowing youthful spirit of yours?”
Xie Sui gave him a light kick and then directly got up. With utmost care, he placed the lotus lantern into the river watching it drift away with the flowing water.
At that moment, a clear female voice sounded from behind him, “Xie Sui?”
Suddenly hearing this voice, Xie Sui’s heart pounded. He turned around, only to find Fang Yuebai’s fair face.
The light in Xie Sui’s eyes dimmed.
Fang Yuebai’s voice was so similar to hers.
It wasn’t just her voice, but her appearance as well. Only the temperament they exude was entirely different.
Ji Bai’s gaze was much clearer and more transparent than hers.
Xie Sui turned his eyes away, ignoring her.
Cong Yuzhou and Jiang Zhongning saw Fang Yuebai and a few other girls and warmly greeted them. Fang Yuebai also naturally walked over to Xie Sui’s side.
“Oh, are you releasing lanterns in the river?”
“That’s right.” Jiang Zhongning said. “We heard you can make wishes, so we’re giving it a try.”
“You guys are really romantic.”
“What’s romantic about that ah? Brother Sui is the real romantic, he even wrote the name of his crush on the lantern.”
Fang Yuebai was slightly stunned, her gaze drawn to the expressionless young man sitting on the steps.
Did he have someone in his heart?
The girl beside Fang Yuebai gossipingly asked Jiang Zhongning, “Whose name did Brother Sui write? Can you tell us?”
Seeing Xie Sui’s unfazed expression, Jiang Zhongning said, “Who else could it be but…”
Before he could finish, Cong Yuzhou suddenly kicked him, “Brother Sui just casually wrote ‘Bai’, do you know who it is?”
“Who else could it be?”
“Then you tell me, who else could it be with a name that has the word ‘Bai’?”
Jiang Zhongning glanced at Fang Yuebai in front of him, opened his mouth slightly, as if suddenly enlightened, and immediately said, “There are many people with names containing ‘Bai’. Can’t guess, can’t guess, hahaha.”
Her best friend discreetly tugged at Fang Yuebai’s sleeve and gave her a meaningful look. Fang Yuebai averted her gaze away in embarrassment, a hint of red on her cheeks.
Cong Yuzhou knew that Fang Yuebai had feelings for Xie Sui for a while now. They kept bumping into each other in the most ‘coincidental’ ways, but she never confessed her feelings, nor did she give Xie Sui a chance to reject her directly.
In fact, this approach was quite smart, but always trying to make her presence felt was annoying. Cong Yuzhou simply gave her a dose of strong medicine to make her give up.
Fang Yuebai’s best friend asked Cong Yuzhou, “What are you guys doing tonight ah?”
“Just strolling around the night market, grabbing some late-night snacks, then heading back.”
“Going back so early? I thought you guys were going out to sing and drink.”
“Not tonight. School starts tomorrow, so we need to get plenty of rest.”
The girl chuckled. “But you guys are always late, so what’s there to be afraid of when school starts?”
Her joking words suddenly made Xie Sui feel irritable, as if in the eyes of these girls, they must be the type of people who were late, smoked, and got into fights…
Did she also think the same way?
Xie Sui threw away the pebble in his hand and said to Cong Yuzhou, “Let’s have a boxing match tonight.”
“No way, school starts tomorrow ah, are you sure you want to go boxing?”
“If I tell you to make an appointment, you make it. You don’t want to make money even when you have the chance?”
“Alright, alright, alright.” Cong Yuzhou took out his phone and called the manager of the underground boxing club to arrange a match.
After tidying up, the boys were ready to leave. Fang Yuebai hesitated for a long time then called out to Xie Sui, “You…you be careful, don’t get hurt.”
That familiar gentle voice rippled through the still waters of his heart, and he couldn’t help but clench his fist.
After Xie Sui and the boys left, Fang Yuebai noticed a white object that seemed to have fallen from where he had just been standing.
She walked over and picked it up, only to find that it was a small white dog. The small white dog bared its teeth and glared fiercely, just like he did when he was angry.
Fang Yuebai vaguely remembered that Xie Sui’s keychain seemed to have a small white dog like this one.
She carefully put the pendant in her bag.
**
In the dimly lit locker room of the underground boxing gym, several shirtless men were cracking dirty jokes when they saw Xie Sui come in, they raised their hands to greet him.
“Xiao Sui, you’re not even taking a break even on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year? You’re working so hard.”
Xie Sui replied indifferently, “Poor people don’t have days off.”
“Cheers to that, speaking the truth.”
Xie Sui took off his jacket and opened his personal locker with his key, only to find that the small white dog pendant on his keychain was gone!
The ring was still there, but the connecting chain was broken in the middle.
For a moment, Xie Sui’s mind went blank. It took him several seconds to react then his eyes suddenly went bloodshot red.
Noticing his unusual demeanor, the two burly men standing by him asked with concern, “Xiao Sui, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Xie Sui didn’t even have time to grab his jacket. He sprinted out of the underground boxing gym.
When Xie Sui returned to People’s Park, the night market had already closed. The surroundings were quiet and deserted, only the cold moonlight in the sky illuminating his lonely figure.
Holding his phone, he switched on the flashlight and searched along the river but found nothing.
Xie Sui once again meticulously searched the entire night market street, even checking the edges and crevices, but still found no trace of the small white dog pendant.
He stood under a tree, breathing heavily. Suddenly, he punched the tree trunk, his knuckles hurt as if they were about to shatter.
At that moment, his phone rang. It was Cong Yuzhou calling——
“Brother Sui, the match is about to start. Where are you?”
“People’s Park.”
“Why did you go back there again ah?”
“I lost something, went back to look for it.”
“What did you lose?” Cong Yuzhou heard Xie Sui’s hoarse voice, and sensed that something was wrong, so he asked concerned, “Do you want us to come back and help you look for it?”
Leaning against the trunk of the tree, Xie Sui sat down and rubbed his eyes with his rough fingertips. “No need.”
“That…alright then, you look for it first. If you can’t find it, we’ll come over tomorrow to help you.”
“Alright.”
After hanging up the phone, Xie Sui stood up wearily. By the time he walked out of the tree-lined path, his steps were unsteady.
It felt like a large piece of his heart was missing, and wind was blowing through it.
There were several cleaners in orange uniforms cleaning up the night market.
“Young man, did you lose something?” A kind-hearted cleaner uncle asked, “What did you lose?”
“A small dog pendant on a keychain, white. Have you seen it?”
The cleaner uncle shook his head blankly and advised, “It was just a keychain, wasn’t it? It’s not worth much money. If it’s lost, it’s lost. Don’t look for it anymore. Go home quickly.”
Xie Sui turned his head back, facing the cool night breeze. He took out a cigarette and lit it, his hand trembling uncontrollably.
**
After the start of the new school term, the atmosphere in the class became more tense than ever.
This was the last semester before the third year of high school.
At the beginning of the new semester, a ridiculous rumor spread in their grade, saying that Xie Sui had fallen for Fang Yuebai. It was claimed that he had written her name on a lantern during the Yuanxiao Festival and even given her his personal belongings……
Of course, Ji Bai also knew that the gossipers in their grade were very boring. They could make up all sorts of unreliable things as if they had seen them with their own eyes.
Although Ji Bai didn’t take these rumors to heart, it didn’t mean that others didn’t.
On Friday afternoon, Fang Yuebai came out of the school building for the senior class and passed by a secluded little garden, where she was intercepted by several girls.
The one leading the group was none other than An Kerou.
Ever since Ji Feifei had been attacked by her own fans, An Ke’rou had finally emerged from the shadow that Ji Feifei had cast over her. She had regained her former spirit, and even became more arrogant and domineering than before. She often went against Ji Feifei and made things difficult for her..
Anyway, Ji Feifei had already lost her status as an internet celebrity, she was nothing now. An Kerou frequently exposed Ji Feifei’s dirt on the internet, making Ji Feifei gnash her teeth in hatred.
However, no one could be blamed for this. It was all Ji Feifei’s doing.
Now, An Kerou’s attention had turned towards Fang Yuebai.
The girls crowded around, snatching Fang Yuebai’s school bag.
Fang Yuebai clutched the strap of her school bag, asking impatiently, “What are you doing?!”
An Kerou leisurely walked up to her and gently patted her face, “I heard that Xie Sui likes you ah?”
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuebai’s face flushed, “It’s none of your business.”
“That face of yours, it looks quite like that person’s, how annoying.”
One of the girls asked, “Who ah?”
An Kerou raised an eyebrow, “Ji Feifei.”
Fang Yuebai’s lips trembled. Everyone in the school knew that Ji Feifei was An Kerou’s mortal enemy.
At this point, one of the girls said, “I think she actually looks a bit like Ji Bai.”
Ji Bai and Ji Feifei were sisters, so it’s natural for them to look alike. Fang Yuebai looked like Ji Feifei, so she could also look like Ji Bai. It was all very normal.
An Kerou couldn’t be bothered with this topic. Anyway, no matter who she looked like, she was someone she disliked.
She snatched Fang Yuebai’s school bag, opened it, and dumped all the exercise books out onto the ground.
With a “hu la la”, test papers and exercise books scattered all over the ground, and even two sanitary pads fell out.
Tears welled up in Fang Yuebai’s eyes. She wanted to rush over and snatch her school bag back, but she was pulled back by a few girls, causing her hair to become disheveled.
An Kerou picked up the senior year exercise book and looked at it, saying in a high-pitched voice, “You’re already in your final year of high school, and you’re still doing this? How many days can you still stay in school? Seducing Xie Sui, do you have no shame left?”
Fang Yuebai stubbornly glared at her, “I didn’t seduce him!”
“Save it. Don’t think I don’t know. You took advantage of your best friend’s good relationship with Xie Sui’s brothers to shamelessly hang around them and play.”
This was true. Fang Yuebai did often ask her best friend about Xie Sui’s whereabouts. Last Yuanxiao Festival, she even deliberately asked beforehand and went over to “bump into” them.
Just then, a keychain fell out of the side pocket of the backpack, and on the keychain was a small white dog baring its teeth.
An Kerou picked up the keychain and looked at the small white dog.
She vaguely remembered that this small white dog was hanging on Xie Sui’s keychain.
An Kerou yanked off the small white dog, then angrily shoved the keychain in her face, “Did you steal this?!”
“I didn’t!” Fang Yuebai defended in a stern voice, “I didn’t steal it!”
“If you didn’t steal it, how did Xie Sui’s pendant end up with you?”
Ji Bai walked out of the rehearsal room with her cello on her back, walking along the garden path. When she heard this sentence, she paused in her steps and looked over in the direction of the voices.
An Kerou clutched the small white dog pendant, her expression contorted with jealousy. “Speak! How did you get this?!”
“It’s none of your business!” Fang Yuebai gritted her teeth, fiercely glaring at her. “Give it back to me.”
“If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll take this thing to the academic affairs office.” An Kexin said with a cold sneer. “I heard that you’re the outstanding student representative of your grade. If the teachers find out that the student representative is actually dating Xie Sui, what do you think they’ll say?”
Ji Bai couldn’t listen anymore. She took her phone out and aimed the camera at An Kerou’s face, saying lightly, “So, you’re into school bullying, huh? Think you’re not famous enough? With Ji Feifei out of the picture, do you want to inherit her black fans?”
An Kerou, seeing Ji Bai filming her, quickly covered her face and yelled, “Ji Bai, what are you doing?! Turn it off!”
Ji Bai reached her hand out, “Give it to me.”
For some unknown reason, An Kerou harbored an inexplicable fear towards Ji Bai. Whenever she met Ji Bai’s bottomless black eyes, An Kerou would become inexplicably flustered and hesitant to provoke her.
“Here, take it!” An Kerou flung the pendant. The small white dog rolled several times on the stone path before coming to a stop at Ji Bai’s feet.
Ji Bai picked it up, carefully wiped off the dust and dirt on the small white dog, with her eyes downcast and expression very gentle.
“Just you wait, Ji Bai.” An Kerou spat out venomously then threw Fang Yuebai’s school bag down and left with the girls.
Fang Yuebai cried as she stuffed all the books back into her school bag.
Ji Bai said, “If you want to report it to the academic affairs office, I can send you the video.”
Fang Yuebai finished packing her bag and sniffled, “No, they’re rich and powerful, the school won’t do anything to them. If I file a report, they might even bring up me and Xie Sui.”
Ji Bai replied, “One does not need to worry about rumors if one is upright. If you and Xie Sui don’t have a relationship then there’s no need to be afraid of these rumors.”
Fang Yuebai had stopped crying. She looked at Ji Bai, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions. Everyone was saying that she and Xie Sui had something going on, so how could Ji Bai determine that they weren’t in a romantic relationship without any proof?
“Um…can you give it back to me?” Fang Yuebai gestured towards the small white dog in Ji Bai’s hands, “That’s mine.”
Ji Bai held the pendant tightly and didn’t give it to her.
With a hint of enmity in her voice, Fang Yuebai asked, “Are you going to ask me how I got it too?”
“Can you tell me?” Ji Bai raised her eyes to meet her gaze.
Fang Yuebai felt a surge of anger, but as she looked into Ji Bai’s clear and pure eyes, for some reason she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. “I-I don’t want to tell you.”
“Did he give it to you?”
“Can’t he give it to me?” Fang Yuebai couldn’t bring herself to answer the question directly, instead opting for a roundabout approach to ease her guilt.
The bell for class suddenly rang, interrupting the deadlock between the two.
Ji Bai tucked the small white dog into her bag and turned to leave.
Fang Yuebai hurriedly called out to her, “What are you doing, give it back to me!”
Ji Bai turned her head, giving her a cold glance, “This isn’t yours.”
Even if he gave it to you, it’s still not yours.
……
Later, the conflict between An Kerou and Fang Yuebai was spread by someone, further confirming the rumors of Fang Yuebai and Xie Sui’s secret relationship. It was even said that Xie Sui had indeed given his pendant to Fang Yuebai.
That afternoon, Fang Yuebai received a message from her best friend that Xie Sui was waiting for her at the school gate. She was genuinely excited for a long time.
As soon as school was out, she hurriedly grabbed her school bag and ran out of the school gate. From afar, she saw Cong Yuzhou and his friends sitting on the roadside guard railing. The young man in the middle was gazing into the distance with his dark eyes revealing a hint of wild recklessness.
Fang Yuebai stopped in her tracks, calming her excited heart to maintain some composure.
“Xie Sui, did you need something from me?” she asked with a blush.
Xie Sui couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush and directly said, “Give me back my stuff.”
Fang Yuebai was slightly taken aback. “What stuff? I didn’t take anything of yours.”
“Oh, really?” Xie Sui walked towards her and lightly lifted the school bag on her back. “If I find it, then it’s stealing.”
Seeing the handsome face of the young man that seemed as if it was frozen from ice, Fang Yuebai’s breath almost stopped. If someone like Xie Sui really believed she had stolen his things, he definitely wouldn’t let her off easily.
Cong Yuzhou also advised her, “Classmate Fang, if you really found Brother Sui’s small white dog, just give it back to him. On the night of the Yuanxiao Festival, Xie Sui went back and searched for it the entire night.”
Hearing this, Fang Yuebai was shocked. It was just a pendant, what was so special about it that it could make him value it so much?
She recalled the girl mentioning that she looked a bit like Ji Bai,6Hi! So the previous raw actually stated that “An Kerou said she looked a bit like Ji Feifei” but in the raw here, it had “An Kerou said she looked like Ji Bai”. However, An Kerou wasn’t the one who stated that so I will be changing it so it won’t be confusing then recalled Ji Bai’s gentle expression when looking at the small white dog, and the character “Bai” that Xie Sui had written on the lotus lantern that day.
In a flash, she seemed to realize something, that everything had been her own wishful thinking.
The surrounding students were all drawn to the commotion, pointing and whispering amongst themselves.
Fang Yuebai’s face flushed red. Stammering, she said, “I didn’t steal it. The small white dog pendant…I found it. I was planning to return it to you…but it was taken by someone yesterday.”
“Who took it?”
Fang Yuebai embarrassingly raised her head, glanced at Xie Sui’s icy cold face, took a deep breath, and said——
“It…it was Ji Bai.”
T/N:
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