The Forgotten Wild Lily
When he was seventeen, he went to a remote province for high school because the college entrance exam scores there were much lower than in Beijing. As one of the “college entrance exam immigrants,” he stayed there for just one year.
The remote town was desolate and lonely, making him feel isolated from the world. Compared to Beijing, everything here seemed so rustic, even the local accent was hard to listen to.
However, he didn’t realize that his delicate appearance and pleasant standard Mandarin had attracted a girl from the moment he arrived.
She was a local girl, her complexion dark with a hint of red, healthy and beautiful, with a shy smile. Whenever she saw him, she would always lower her head and quickly avoid his gaze. He felt smug, knowing she liked him.
Because he was a better student and planned to return to Beijing for further studies, aiming for Peking University, how could he pay attention to such an ordinary girl?
One day, a faint fragrance wafted from his desk. He opened it to find a flower pressed in a book. He didn’t know what kind of flower it was—white with a light fragrance—but he quickly realized who had put it there.
The next time he saw her, he stopped her. Her heart raced as if it were in her throat, and even her breathing was uneven. He looked at her with even more pride and then asked, “Can you tell me what kind of flower that is?”
“Wild lily,” she said, her head lowered, fiddling with something in her hands.
“Sorry, I don’t like that kind of flower.” He walked away without looking back.
Behind him, she burst into tears. For a girl, this was her first time expressing herself, and she hadn’t asked for anything in return. She just wanted to spend the days leading up to the college entrance exam with him in this blossoming season.
The exam came quickly. He didn’t get into Peking University but returned to Beijing, while she didn’t pass either. He never heard from her again. She was just a fleeting ripple in his heart; when the wind stopped, the ripples vanished.
That wild lily, which he hadn’t even looked at, had probably married and had children by now.
Years later, he went to apply for a job at a joint venture company and saw her on stage, smiling beautifully like a swan, with skin so fair and smooth, and long hair flowing down her back.
At first, he thought she was just someone who looked like her. But then he saw the name: Xu Xiaomin, Human Resources Manager.
He was stunned. How could a girl who didn’t get into college come to Beijing and become a senior manager?
She saw him too. After the job fair, he stopped her again, “Is it really you?”
She smiled, like a lily, “It all started with you. I realized that a flower has to find its own spring to be noticed by others. I retook the exam the following year and got into a university in Beijing.
I completed my postgraduate studies and transformed from a caterpillar into a butterfly.”
A faint regret rose in his heart, but it was all too late. Times had changed; she was no longer the dark-skinned girl waiting for his approval but a manager who would now decide his fate.
During their conversation, a man arrived in a beautiful Honda, opened the car door for her, and she drove away.
Although he had been offered the job, he didn’t take it for the sake of his pride.
Much later, he attended her wedding. He gave her a large bouquet of lilies, with a card that read: “Even wild lilies have their spring, but unfortunately, I missed it.”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
