Chapter 35: A Blinding Secret Crush

Life bustled on. In the endless stream of trivial busyness, that matter gradually faded to the back of everyone’s mind. Time flew. Before they knew it, the year was coming to an end.

For New Year’s, Qingbei gave a three-day holiday.

The day before the break, the school would host a grand New Year’s Eve gala. Lin Yuran had specially invited Chi Ye and Xu Jianwei to come and watch.

RanYe Interactive also had a performance that evening. Chi Ye and Qin Lang showed their faces briefly before leaving early. Their company’s event started at 7 p.m., an hour earlier than Qingbei’s gala.

By the time they arrived at the school, they hadn’t missed much. The show had just begun.

Qingbei, a place full of top-tier talent, lived up to its reputation. Brilliant students were everywhere, and the quality of the performances easily rivaled those of professional stars on TV. The atmosphere was electric.

At 11:10 p.m., Lin Yuran leaned over to say that a classmate needed her for something and stepped away for a bit. But by 11:50, she still hadn’t returned. Worried something might’ve happened, Chi Ye pulled out his phone and video-called her on WeChat. It rang for a long while with no answer, so he tried calling her again.

Just then, the host on stage announced a name, and the crowd erupted in a frenzy. Chi Ye, too focused on finding someone, didn’t catch the name. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Xu Jianwei suddenly jump up in excitement, her slender neck craning forward.

The host finished the introduction and exited the stage.

The lights dimmed gradually, then went completely dark for two seconds, before bursting back to life in a dazzling spotlight. In the center of that brilliant glow stood the silhouette of a girl in a white dress, silver hair cascading down her back like moonlight.

Music began to play. The graceful figure turned slowly to face the audience. The stage lights swept across.

Screams erupted from the crowd.

Amid the shrieking came gasps from nearby classmates. 

“That’s Lin Yuran from the art school, so gorgeous!”

“She’s the legendary, elusive school belle of Qingbei, and wow! Her looks live up to the hype!”

“God help me, she looks like a fairy dancing! Her voice is amazing too!”

“How did God not shut any doors on her?!”

Hearing Lin Yuran’s name, Chi Ye lifted his gaze to the stage.

There she was, singing and dancing to a fiery track in the center of it all, backed by a group of female dancers.

Lin Yuran wore a pure white lace dress, asymmetrical with ruffled straps that exposed her collarbones and the alluring curve of her chest. Every turn of her back revealed sharp butterfly bones that could kill with a glance.

Lin Yuran paired ripped black stockings with short black boots that made her long, slender legs seem even more impossibly lean, an image both elegant and lethal.

Her silver hair flowed to her waist. Her rare red lips popped against her porcelain skin, almost glowing under the lights. Her foxy, water-laced eyes sparkled mischievously. Beneath curled lashes, those amber irises were rimmed in smoky dark brown, seductive in their every flicker.

Lin Yuran was the fire in the song.

Chi Ye’s gaze locked onto her dancing figure and could no longer look away. In that moment, she was proud, confident, radiant, like she carried her own light. So dazzling, it made you dizzy.

Just like the first time he saw her at sixteen.

Their real first meeting wasn’t the day he transferred schools, but before that, at a city-wide math competition during the first semester of their first year in high school.

Back then, his grades weren’t particularly strong. He was heavily lopsided in subjects, with math being the only one propping up his average, keeping him from falling to the bottom of the rankings.

It was thanks to his exceptional math scores that he was selected to participate in that elite city-wide math competition. Only a handful across the city made the cut. Some schools didn’t even have one student qualify.

Because there were so few participants, the judging took less than half an hour. Competition, results, and awards all happened in the same day. After the exam, students milled about outside, waiting for the results to be announced.

Chi Ye was the only student from his school to qualify. The two teachers who brought him had gone off to a meeting, leaving him alone on a bench, eyes closed, resting.

Then came a shy, youthful voice from a distance: “Excuse me… What school are you from? I like you. Can I pursue you?”

A confession, blunt and straightforward!

Chi Ye gave a soft laugh without even opening his eyes. What he didn’t expect was the girl’s reply, blunter still.

Her voice was clear and gentle, slightly soft, floating like a breeze, yet her words cut clean through: “Your jacket zipper’s wide open and you’re already making a confession? Are you serious?”

The boy didn’t reply.

Chi Ye heard the sound of a zipper being pulled up.

Then the girl said, “I’m from No. 3 High. If you want to chase me, get into No. 3 first. I don’t do long-distance relationships.” She chuckled lightly, tone proud as she added, “But if you can win first place in today’s competition, I might consider breaking that rule.”

Silence.

“…Sorry for bothering you!” the boy muttered, fleeing in embarrassment.

Another male voice chimed in: “Lin Yuran, could you at least think before roasting someone? What if he does take first place? Are you really gonna date him?”

The girl laughed brightly. “As if. With me here, first place belongs to no one else.”

An outrageously arrogant claim.

Chi Ye frowned slightly and opened his eyes, curious to see who had the nerve to talk like that. Following the direction of the voices, his gaze fell upon a slim figure. Even her back stood out.

She stood tall and elegant, long black hair pulled into a spirited high ponytail. Her posture was poised, shoulders back and waist narrow, the plain school uniform unable to hide her natural charm.

Chi Ye’s eyes locked on that silhouette. Then she slowly turned around. His pupils dilated in shock.

Her fox-like eyes sparkled with intelligence. Her skin was pale as fresh snow, and she stood there radiant, unrestrained, like a blazing sun in winter.

She dazzled, so much it hurt to look.

Snowflakes had begun to fall, fine and light. The girl stood in that fluttering snow like a spirit descended from the mountains, an illusion made real.

Chi Ye’s heart skipped a beat and then, as those foxy amber eyes swept lazily past him, it sped up again.

At the awards ceremony, he finally learned the truth: that arrogant claim wasn’t just bravado, it was a fact. She stood atop the first-place podium with a perfect score, trophy in hand, giving a flawless, unscripted acceptance speech, proud and bold, as though wrapped in light.

Her clean, graceful voice carried with it a kind of natural confidence that made light of everything. And yet it wasn’t off-putting because she had the strength to back it up. Just standing there, she belonged there. It was exactly as it should be.

So that ‘first meeting’ wasn’t really mutual. It was just his first time seeing her, as someone standing far below. He wasn’t even worthy to be noticed.

The crowd’s screams rang loud around him again. And now, his heartbeat in this moment rivaled that fateful day at sixteen.

Suddenly, the music transitioned. A group of male performers emerged from stage right.

The lead was decked out in trendy, edgy clothes, his sharp features no less eye-catching than any pop idol. He rapped and danced his way to Lin Yuran’s side.

The music hit its climax. Lin Yuran and the boy danced several intimately choreographed moves, setting the audience ablaze.

The contrast was striking: the boy in wild black, Lin Yuran in ethereal white and silver, like an angel and a demon falling together.

Amid the frenzy, Chi Ye heard a few scattered remarks. 

“The school belle and the campus heartthrob, such a perfect match!”

“I’m shipping them already!”

Chi Ye’s heart dropped. Regret hit him like a truck.

He’d wanted to keep her all to himself since he was sixteen, and now, nine years later, he still couldn’t hide a single sliver of her brilliance.

He’d spent nine years trying to make her his and failed. What a useless fool.

The song ended with a dramatic, ambiguous pose between Lin Yuran and the male dancer.

As the host reentered to thunderous applause, they exclaimed, “Wow! Didn’t Lin Yuran from the art department and Ruan Lin from computer science make the perfect pair?”

“Perfect!” the crowd roared.

As Lin Yuran was handing back the mic, she paused at the commotion, raised it again with a smile, and said, “Knew you guys would say that.” She wiggled her index finger playfully. “No. Shipping. Random. Couples.”

Laughter exploded throughout the hall.

“She’s so cute!”

Chi Ye cracked a faint smile. The bitter emotion from earlier began to melt away.

Qin Lang clapped him on the shoulder and leaned in with a grin, “Dude, you can still smile after all that?” He waved a hand across the room. “Tell me, how many of these students in here are your rivals in love? After tonight, how are you gonna sleep?”

Then he added, “Man, you need to move fast.”

Chi Ye pressed his lips into a thin line but said nothing.

Lin Yuran’s act was the closing performance. It had lasted maybe three to four minutes. Chi Ye glanced at his watch, just under six minutes left until midnight. Enough time for someone to run from backstage to the audience.

He stared down the aisle. It was dark, not a single person in sight. The hollow feeling in his chest grew deeper.

The final act wrapped up.

Maybe she was backstage. Maybe someone else was with her to count down the new year. He shouldn’t hope. He should’ve been used to disappointment by now.

The countdown was starting.

“Ten.”

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

…

Beside him, Qin Lang and Xu Jianwei were kissing openly and unashamed.

Chi Ye glanced at the empty seat next to him, pulled out his phone, opened Lin Yuran’s chat, and typed out: 【Happy New Year!】

No matter what, at least he still had the right to send her that.

The host’s voice grew more excited as midnight approached.

The whole room joined in. 

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One–”

“Chi Ye, Happy New Year!”

A voice meant only for him cut through the crowd’s roar.

Chi Ye jerked his head up  and crashed into a sparkling, soft gaze.

Emotion surged, nearly drowning out reason. He reached out and pulled Lin Yuran into a hug. The cool, silky feel of her shoulder against his palm was the only thing stopping him from embracing her fully. Cheers erupted all around them.

In the shifting light and shadows, Chi Ye stared into the eyes that haunted his dreams. His grip tightened.

“Lin Nuotao, Happy New Year.”

He drew back, clenching his fist, sealing in the warmth. Those two seconds, he had already crossed a line. Any more, and he didn’t dare hope.

Panting slightly, Lin Yuran looked up. Chi Ye reached up and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“What were you running for?”

Without thinking, she answered: “For the very first second of the new year… I wanted to be by your side.”

Chi Ye froze.