Romantic short story for students: I Lost My Love
Qiu Ya, a sophomore in college, felt like she’d been having a streak of bad luck recently. To top it off, she had just lost her newly bought phone, which she discovered was turned off when she tried calling it.
All she could do was sit helplessly, hoping that the person who found it would have the decency to return it. Her phone had her classmates’ numbers in it, so if the finder had any intention of returning it, they could easily find her.
This new phone was a gift from her boyfriend, Ding Jun, a few days ago. It was the latest trendy model, and her roommates had been envious, not only because it was a new phone but also because it symbolized the love between her and Ding Jun.
She should have cherished it, but she ended up losing it. She didn’t dare to tell Ding Jun, fearing that he would be angry. She loved him dearly and was terrified of losing him.
Now, all Qiu Ya could do was wait for a miracle.
Fortunately, one of her roommates received a call from the number of Qiu Ya’s lost phone. Qiu Ya was thrilled. The fact that the person called back meant they didn’t intend to keep the phone for themselves. The roommate handed the phone to Qiu Ya for her to answer.
It was the voice of a young man. He said, “I can return the phone to you, but you have to agree to one condition… I found the phone on campus, so you must be a college student, right?”
“Yes, I am,” Qiu Ya answered eagerly, wanting to get her phone back. “As long as it’s not too unreasonable, I’ll agree to it.”
“Well, it’s like this. My mother is ill and really wants to meet my girlfriend, but I don’t have one yet. So, I’m hoping you could pretend to be my girlfriend just once and meet my mother. Would that be okay?” His tone was calm and steady.
Qiu Ya hesitated for a moment, thinking that since he was willing to return the phone, he probably wasn’t a bad person. Helping him wouldn’t be a bad thing, so she agreed.
The person who found the phone was a bright, handsome young man—tall, always smiling, and with a good demeanor. He looked a bit like Ding Jun, both being handsome, though Ding Jun had a more delicate appearance, while this young man was more rugged.
During their conversation, Qiu Ya learned that his name was Luo Yi, a third-year student in the architecture department.
Luo Yi looked her over and said, “I didn’t expect you to be such a beautiful girl. My mother will be very happy to meet you.” He returned the phone to Qiu Ya and arranged for them to visit his mother the next morning, which was Saturday.
Qiu Ya, to keep this promise, found an excuse to cancel her plan to go boating in the park with Ding Jun and went with Luo Yi to visit his mother. Luo Yi hailed a taxi, and they headed to the hospital where his mother was staying—the Third People’s Hospital.
In the taxi, Luo Yi handed her a bag of fruit and some health supplements. “Say you bought these for my mother. It’ll make her even happier,” he said.
Qiu Ya suddenly felt a bit of affection for Luo Yi because of his filial piety and thoughtfulness. She thought to herself that although she already had Ding Jun and would never fall for someone else, perhaps she could help set him up with one of her roommates; it would be a good deed.
But that could wait. For now, she needed to focus on how to behave in front of Luo Yi’s mother, so she wouldn’t slip up and hurt a mother’s feelings.
At that moment, Luo Yi seemed to read her thoughts and said, “You don’t need to be nervous. Just act naturally. My mother isn’t fully conscious, so she won’t notice anything amiss.”
When they arrived at the hospital and entered the room, Qiu Ya saw a pale woman lying in bed receiving an IV drip.
Luo Yi introduced her to his mother, and Qiu Ya quickly said, “Hello, Auntie, I’ve come to visit you.” She placed the fruit and health supplements on the bedside table.
Luo Yi whispered into his mother’s ear, “Mom, this is my girlfriend. Her name is Qiu Ya, and she studies at the same university as me.”
A smile appeared on Luo Yi’s mother’s face. She looked at Qiu Ya, her eyes filled with joy, and she reached out to hold Qiu Ya’s hand. “Such a beautiful girl,” she said.
After leaving the hospital, Luo Yi said to Qiu Ya, “Thank you. Let me treat you to a meal.”
However, Qiu Ya, wanting to get back soon, declined and instead offered her well-wishes for his mother’s recovery before parting ways.
A little over a week later, Luo Yi called Qiu Ya again, saying his mother had recovered and wanted to have dinner together. Since she had already pretended to be his girlfriend once, she felt she had to continue the charade, so she agreed.
At the restaurant, Qiu Ya noticed that Luo Yi’s mother looked much better and seemed to be in good spirits, truly on the mend.
Luo Yi’s mother said to them, “I’m really fortunate to have met such kind people and received help from both of you. Thank you so much.”
“What?” Qiu Ya felt something was off. Wasn’t Luo Yi her son?
Luo Yi nodded at Qiu Ya’s confusion and said, “This lady isn’t my mother.”
As it turned out, this woman’s son was also a student at the same university as Luo Yi. She had suffered a head injury in the past and had intermittent amnesia. During one such episode, she had heard that her son had a girlfriend, which made her very happy, so she decided to visit them herself.
However, her son, perhaps embarrassed for his girlfriend to meet his mother, took some money from her and hurriedly sent her back home without introducing her to anyone. She then remembered she had forgotten to give her son a peach pit bracelet she had made for him to ward off evil spirits. She got off the bus and returned to campus but, unfortunately, had another amnesia episode at the entrance.
She mistook Luo Yi for her son, and although he tried to explain that he wasn’t, she didn’t believe him. In her agitation, she fainted. Luo Yi rushed her to the hospital and paid for her medical expenses. Upon learning of her condition, he decided to pretend to be her son to avoid distressing her. When she expressed a desire to meet her son’s girlfriend, Luo Yi, having just found Qiu Ya’s phone, concocted the story that led to Qiu Ya pretending to be his girlfriend.
Luo Yi was such a kind person, while, in contrast, the woman’s real son seemed despicable. Qiu Ya asked her, “What’s your son’s name? I’ll help you find him. Someone so unfilial needs to be taught a lesson.”
Before the woman could answer, someone burst through the door—it was Ding Jun. He shouted at Qiu Ya, “So you didn’t come to our date because you wanted to have dinner with this guy!”
The woman turned her head to face Ding Jun, and he was stunned, his mouth agape. “Mom… Mom, what are you doing here?”
Realizing the truth, Qiu Ya was furious. She handed Ding Jun the phone he had given her and snapped, “Take it back! You’re despicable, stalking me like that! And you’re unfilial to your own mother. I don’t want to be with someone like you anymore!” With that, she stormed off.
After breaking up with Ding Jun, Qiu Ya started running laps alone on the track every afternoon to relieve her sorrow.
One day, someone caught up with her and started running alongside her—it was Luo Yi! He smiled and turned to her, saying, “Don’t be so down. Why do you keep your head down all the time?”
Qiu Ya finally lifted her head, smiled, and said, “I’m not down. I’m looking for something.”
“What did you lose?” Luo Yi asked.
“I lost my love, so now I’m searching for it,” she replied.
Luo Yi said, “Well, I happen to have found a love. Could it be yours?”
Qiu Ya stopped, smiled, and said, “Well, let me see if it’s the right one.”
In the setting sun, on the track, their shadows drew closer together.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
