Life Love Story
On every special day, Zhe receives small gifts from Lan. Though they are just insignificant little things, they always warm his heart for a long time. These small items are kept in a suitcase in the corner of Zhe’s house.
When Zhe was in college, he was very talented. The school established several clubs, and Zhe served as president of two of them. He was also an outstanding student in his grade, though somewhat unconventional. His dorm room contained only the bare essentials, with no extra items. He never gave gifts or accepted gifts from others. Those who knew Zhe generally avoided offending him. But Lan was different; she didn’t follow the rules and always liked a bit of adventure.
In their junior year, Zhe fell seriously ill and was hospitalized. Lan visited him and left a nostalgic edition of a Transformers toy by his pillow when she left. Lan was apprehensive because she knew Zhe was a person who wouldn’t change his habits and feared that the gift would be returned. Surprisingly, a few days later, when she visited Zhe again, he sincerely thanked her and gave her a pot of densely blooming daffodils.
Somehow, because of that gift, they became very good friends. Later, Lan also got to know Zhe’s other friends Yan, Chen, Feng, and Qing. Life was very happy until the end of the year when Zhe was sick, and something happened to Qing.
Qing was a kind and cheerful girl who always brought endless joy to her friends. At the Christmas party, she sang with Yan and Lan. When their microphones malfunctioned at the climax of the song, Qing’s voice soared, pushing the atmosphere to a peak and winning enthusiastic applause. When it suddenly rained, she would help an old lady selling small goods by holding an umbrella and helping her pack up.
However, no one knew that Qing had been suffering from a hereditary disease, which caused severe headaches day and night, making it impossible for her to study or do anything else. She never showed her pain, so her friends thought her illness was not serious.
After the Spring Festival, Qing did not return to school for a few days. Zhe called her home, and Qing’s father said that Qing had already left for school, sent by her brother. This news alarmed everyone. The school immediately reported her missing, but there was no news for many days. Seeing Qing’s elderly father in deep sorrow, Zhe, Lan, Yan, and Feng felt deep guilt. They helped search for every possible clue, and finally, the police found Qing’s clothes on the beach in Yantai.
After an investigation, the police concluded that Qing had committed suicide. No one could believe it; they were all waiting for her to return. It wasn’t until the school officially removed Qing’s name from the register that Zhe, Lan, Yan, Feng, and their classmates broke down in tears.
Afterward, Zhe asked Lan in confusion, “Why did Qing take that path?” Lan, with a sorrowful expression, said, “If there was any other way, Qing wouldn’t have chosen that path. She probably didn’t want to burden her elderly parents.” Zhe, emotionally upset, said, “Didn’t she know that her choice would cause her parents even more pain?” After a pause, he lowered his head and blamed himself, “I could have saved her. It’s all my fault.” Lan said nothing, just put her hand on Zhe’s shoulder.
After graduation, they each went to different cities but still gathered during holidays. Among them, Yan, Zhe, and Feng adapted well, were successful, and were favored by reality. Only Qing, like a daffodil, demanded a pure life and tended to live in an ideal world. Therefore, she wandered around, full of scars.
Zhe often asked Lan to switch to a better career with good prospects and high pay, but Lan always silently refused. In her life, everything seemed to be pure, unique, and eternal. Although she was a gentle woman, she defended her soul’s original pursuit with mountain-like hardness. This destined her to endure the hardships of life.
Zhe knew that Lan and Qing seemed different on the surface, but deep down, they were the same. While many people believe “all roads lead to Rome,” in their hearts, only the road to the ideal world was special. Because Qing had also bought a nostalgic edition of the Transformers toy.
Yesterday was the Dragon Boat Festival. Zhe returned to Xi’an from a long distance, and Lan went to pick him up, bringing rice dumplings made by her mother. Seeing the increasingly haggard Lan, Zhe seemed to see Qing with a tear-streaked face in the dark night. Since Qing’s passing, Zhe never turned off his phone at night because he knew that on the night Qing made her choice, she must have called him. Just like last night, Lan also called him. He wanted to prove to Lan, in a way she would believe, that “the road is always there.”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
