University romance tale

He grew up in Beijing, a boy without many demands in life. He followed the standard path through high school and muddled his way into a university close to home. He didn’t study hard, so his grades were poor, but he didn’t care. When you don’t care about anything, nothing can affect you, so he lived happily.

He had a girlfriend, very pretty, who attended a liberal arts college in the east. They fell in love during the intense life of their senior year of high school. Because of this, he didn’t study much and spent most of his time in the east. He often thought to himself how happy he was.

One afternoon in his sophomore year, he was aimlessly wandering around the campus. He didn’t want to attend his afternoon class, and he hadn’t been able to contact his girlfriend, so he didn’t know where to go. He just wandered around.

He inadvertently noticed a red figure – a female student wearing a red outfit. He didn’t like red, but his girlfriend loved wearing it. They often argued about this, but he always gave in because he loved her too much and went along with her preferences.

That girl looked good in red, he thought as he watched her critically. Growing up in a Beijing middle school, he had learned early to stare at girls on the street. Wait, she looks so much like someone he knew. For a moment, he thought it was his girlfriend, but this girl seemed healthier, more… robust. He rubbed his eyes.

It really looked like her.

The girl seemed to notice him and appeared to be angered by his wanton gaze, glaring at him fiercely. Hey! She’s got a bit of fire! He smiled contentedly and whistled at her, proud of himself.

He quickly forgot about her. But he kept seeing her around campus. He thought, what a coincidence, but I’m already very happy. Then he got on his broken bike and headed east. He didn’t check if she had seen him.

Time passed, and he drifted along. Except for cramming for finals and worrying about makeup exams, life was pretty good, he thought, blowing smoke rings carefully.

In the blink of an eye, he was in his senior year, and everyone was busy job hunting. He wasn’t in a rush; despite his poor grades, finding a job to make ends meet wasn’t too difficult. He was planning to marry his girlfriend after graduation. He was proud of his plan and felt his life was quite good.

One day, though, he had a fight with his girlfriend. At first, he didn’t take it seriously – after all, they were like an old couple, and arguments made them closer. But by the fourth sentence, he was stunned. His girlfriend said, “If you keep drifting through life like this, we have nothing left to talk about. Let’s break up.” He didn’t say anything, just watched her, no, his ex-girlfriend, walk away. He vaguely remembered her recent resentful looks, which had turned to disdain and pity. So, that was it. Later, he bought a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a bottle of Erguotou, the kind in a plain bottle. That night, he got drunk in the cold wind and slept there all night.

He lay at home for a week, repeatedly thinking: Am I just drifting through life? No, I just don’t want to chase after those materialistic things. Life is short, so why make it exhausting? As long as there’s a place to shield me from the wind and rain, a soft bed, and a cabinet full of good books, that’s enough. Isn’t this kind of life happier than worrying about stock prices in a luxurious villa? What’s wrong with this world?

After returning to school, he read books every day – textbooks, leisure books – trying to find the answer to life from them.

One day, he came out of the library, holding two large books, looking for a classroom to read them quickly. On the school path, he saw that long-forgotten red figure again. The red coat couldn’t hide her cold and rational demeanor. He suddenly stopped, then hurried away, feeling her sharp gaze on his back. He didn’t want her to see the tears in his eyes.

He was moved.

In the following days, he often wandered the school paths, hoping to see her. Whenever he met her, he greeted her with a sincere look, watched her, and saw her off from a distance. She only glanced at him silently and went her own way.

He found out her name and class, and she was a year below him. The guy who provided the information said, “Don’t get any ideas about her. Her suitors could fill half the science hall, but she’s not interested in any of them. She’s preparing for the GRE, planning to go to the New World.”

He quietly listened to his friend’s rambling. He didn’t intend to join the crowd of suitors; he just thought, she’s looked at me several times. That’s enough.

Once, when he gazed at her, she seemed a bit uneasy. After she walked past, he suddenly realized her face had turned red. He was so happy he almost fell into a ditch.

He heard she was on the BBS, so he started buying tickets to the computer lab or borrowing others’ machines to go online. Facing a crowd of users, he always wondered: which one is she? So, he spent a lot of time online but didn’t gossip about her. He thought to himself, if it’s meant to be, she’ll appear.

Time flew by, and graduation was near. He looked forward to entering society and seeing the outside world. He decided to leave something online. But what to write? He thought of her and the upcoming farewell. So, he posted an article on the BBS titled “A Girl Like a Cloud,” pouring his heart out. Then he waited quietly for graduation.

On the afternoon of his departure, he unexpectedly met her on the main building’s high steps. They both stopped, gazing into each other’s eyes. In her eyes, he saw a bit of shyness, a bit of resentment, and… a bit of loneliness. He thought, she must see the tears in my eyes.

They stood there, staring at each other for a long time. He felt the world fade away, people’s forms melting into the sunlight, leaving only two pairs of deep eyes and two slowly beating hearts.

He broke the deadlock. He turned and walked away, not looking back, into the sunlight. Behind him, there was no sound, nothing at all, just a fading dust waiting for him to escape. He only remembered that soul-stirring moment lasted a full minute.

That night, he got drunk. On the way back, he shouted loudly, “I loved for a whole minute today!” He stood in front of the darkened 13th floor and yelled, “Hey! We finally loved each other today, we loved for a whole minute!”

Then, he staggered away, leaving the school forever without looking back.

No one paid attention to the drunken graduate, except for one person, who silently cried into her pillow that night.

Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “