Fate and love stories
At the age of 18, she experienced a brief love affair. Due to her stubborn unwillingness to let go, her heart remained closed for seven years, refusing to open up and rejecting anyone who tried to get close. During this time, some professed their love for her, promising to walk with her through life, offering the romance of eternal love. There were also people she liked, those gentle and refined individuals she tried to accept.
However, she soon realized the hard ice in her heart couldn’t melt, and the piercing coldness occasionally became a blade that hurt others. She still yearned for love but no longer dared to believe in it.
She once thought that perhaps, in this lifetime, she would find someone she didn’t necessarily love and live a mundane life together.
At twenty-four or twenty-five, she couldn’t escape the constant chatter about marriage. She couldn’t resent the mundane world because her parents’ eager expectations placed an unavoidable responsibility on her shoulders.
She began to resign herself to fate. She couldn’t remember when the series of blind dates started. From the initial awkward silence, she gradually became at ease, even engaging in casual conversation.
After more than ten arranged dates, the most frequent expression she gave her parents was a shake of the head. Often, while laughing and joking to comfort her beloved parents, she would ask herself, “Is there no such person in this world?” During this period, she dated someone for nearly a year.
The relationship was lukewarm, and marriage was discussed. She heard more than once that she was suitable for a domestic life. For her, at twenty-five, those words felt like the most ironic and despairing ones. Shouldn’t love be the only reason to enter marriage? For her, who couldn’t be down-to-earth, the thought of remaining unmarried for life was terrifying, but spending her entire life in a loveless marriage was even more tragic.
Even though it was a luxury, she still wanted to wait for her true love. Despite her elders’ persistent persuasion and the relentless introductions that frayed her fragile nerves, she felt like she was on the verge of collapse.
However, a friend once solemnly told her, “Follow your heart. It’s better to be single than to settle. You will meet someone who truly loves you, and you will be very happy.” Even if the whole world turned against her, having someone firmly believe in her future was worth holding on to. In that moment, it was as if she had been given an exclusive ticket to a happy future, filling her with strength, making her feel clear and beautiful.
She loved an article by Lu Yu, where the protagonist had just ended a six-year relationship, exhausted in body and soul. On their first blind date, the protagonist told the other person, “I don’t have time to date; I want to get married.” This assertive opening led to a perfect marriage. She used to think that flash marriages were unreliable, but later realized that if two people were right for each other, one look could create eternity.
On February 13th, 20xx, in the same unchanging routine, a group of people sat around the living room sofa. Though it was their first meeting, everyone chatted warmly as if they were old friends. She felt tired and dissatisfied after meeting two people the previous day.
Numbly serving tea, she couldn’t get into the state for the drama staged for her. She saw her father smiling and chatting with a boy, sitting close to him on the sofa, indicating his approval. But what did it matter? She had already said she couldn’t accept someone younger than herself. However, unable to refuse the matchmaker’s kindness, she convinced herself it was just a formality.
Even when a friend said, “Not bad, you could get to know him better,” she just smiled and said nothing. Until everyone left, she had no memory of his appearance because she hadn’t looked at him closely. She thought this chapter would end as usual, with no further connection.
The next day, they exchanged indifferent messages on WeChat, bland and distant. In the afternoon, he texted saying he was leaving for work the next day and asked if they could meet before he left. With nothing else to do, she agreed, curious to see the person her father and friend praised.
They met at KFC in the county town that night. The drizzling rain and the wind’s fierce howl made her regret the meeting. Walking while dialing his number, she opened KFC’s door, scanning the room. She saw a boy with a phone smiling at her.
For a moment, she felt wrapped in a warm current. Her calm heart rippled with a slight wave. She couldn’t remember what they talked about, but they had a pleasant conversation. She vividly remembered his peaceful, warm smile, feeling herself inexplicably immersed.
If not for the days they spent together afterward, the story might have ended there. But sometimes fate doesn’t follow the usual rules.
Later, she often recalled when she started to depend on him. Even though it had only been over 20 days since they met, she couldn’t pinpoint when it happened.
Everything unfolded so naturally and incredibly. She remembered friends telling her about people who got engaged, pregnant, and married soon after meeting. She had scoffed at such hasty love stories, thinking they couldn’t start so casually. But experiencing it herself, she realized love doesn’t need rationality or time.
During those days, they would lie on the sofa watching TV, occasionally smiling at each other. After meals, he would hand her a cup of warm water, help her wash her hair, and she would trim his nails.
Everything felt so natural that she often had the illusion they had been together for years. While chatting, he would outline a beautiful future, promising never to leave her. She felt blessed that destiny favored her, exclaiming, “How fortunate that I finally met you!”
He once asked her, “When did you start to like and love me?” Was it when she felt heartache during his childhood stories? Or was it when she was touched by his tenderness while wiping her feet?
Or maybe it was his unique smile that made her fall completely? She didn’t know. She only knew that the psychological barrier she had built for so many years finally collapsed. An individual’s obsession needed another to clear it away. She felt relieved and let go of all her burdens.
Many had asked her about her ideal partner. She answered, “Someone from a harmonious family, with a stable job, a gentle appearance, rich knowledge, ideally three to five years older, and someone who likes me. That would be perfect.” Meeting him, she realized that life doesn’t follow a script. Instead, it can be the opposite.
No one has the right to interfere with her inner choices. If he were unruly, she would offer boundless possibilities. Life is like that. The best match doesn’t always follow set standards. He was her perfect encounter.
Love at first sight happens daily. She had envied those passionate love stories, imagining her own fairy tale. Although they had a strong connection from the beginning, she couldn’t explain it but believed he could give her a lasting, brilliant love.
She thought love should be like this, meeting the right person at the right time, needing both courage and luck. She felt proud that her heart, once hurt and betrayed, could still find unparalleled beauty in the world.
She used to wonder what it meant to feel right. Was it intense passion or a dramatic spark? Her sister once told her that if you imagine a future with someone and feel strongly that they are the one, then everything is right. This is love.
The first time they held hands, the first time they snuggled, and even picking up the pen again, she felt incredibly happy to have met him amidst the crowd.
She held onto her true self, waited for the right moment, and meeting him was the best arrangement by fate.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
