Secret Crush

The next day, Chen Qin returned to the country.

Finally free from her busy work schedule, she chose to take a rare vacation on Ye Shuang's birthday. After sending him a message in advance, Chen Qin glanced at the display showing several hours left until her destination and casually applied a face mask.

If the plane's Wi-Fi hadn’t been so slow, she might have considered a voice call with Ye Shuang—but for now, she just absentmindedly tapped her laptop keys to reply to some trivial work messages.

After closing the chat window, she opened a novel website and clicked on one from her bookshelf.

"No update yet? Does this guy really treat his novel like a diary?" Chen Qin's beautiful eyes quickly scanned the content before lazily stretching, her well-defined curves accentuated.

She had accidentally heard from Chen Hai that Ye Shuang wrote a novel in his spare time. Curious, she searched for the pen name he often used and discovered it matched his online alias.

"Why not call it 'Unemployed and Picked Up by a Gentle CEO'?" she mused inwardly before propping her fair legs on the footrest and pressing the massage button beside her.

Gazing at the white clouds outside the cabin window, Chen Qin’s thoughts drifted far away.

She couldn’t remember how she had endured all those days and nights of secretly loving Ye Shuang. To keep up with him, she—who had never been fond of studying—had even pushed herself to test into the same elite high school.

When she coincidentally ran into him in class and saw his surprised expression, she had casually said, "What a coincidence."

But how many coincidences were there, really? If she hadn’t pulled some strings, they wouldn’t have ended up in the same class.

During lectures, whenever the teacher called his name, she was always the first to look up.

No matter where she went on campus, her peripheral vision instinctively sought out his figure.

Every time she mustered the courage to speak to him, it felt like taking an exam—afterward, she always felt she hadn’t performed well enough.

Occasionally, they chatted on their phones at night. If he said, "Going to shower, talk later," she would wait all night. Sometimes, she’d giggle for an entire day over a joke he made.

The blurry wallpaper on her phone was a photo of him she had secretly taken.

She often talked to the moon—it spoke of the sun, while she spoke of him.

Until she appeared—

Only then did Chen Qin realize that even unrequited love could end in heartbreak.

Seeing them inseparable, she finally understood that breathing could hurt. She hated her own cowardice, hated that she couldn’t find the courage to confess.

Time didn’t dull these feelings. Instead, they fermented, carving deeper into her heart.

She had loved Ye Shuang for fifteen years. After he found someone else, she spent an entire April weaving the lie that she had never secretly loved him.

The lie fooled her family, but not her own heart.

Now, after everything, faced with countless choices, she was no longer the naive girl she once was. She had finally found the courage to speak up…

"Thank you, heavens, for giving me another chance." Chen Qin slowly pulled her gaze from the view outside the window and looked at the hazy, filtered photo on her phone.

"You’re mine…"

……

"Since I promised Chen Qin, I won’t be back for lunch today. I’ve already prepared the food in the fridge—just heat it up in the microwave."

Ye Shuang stood at the doorway, giving instructions to the girl in front of him. As if still uneasy, he added, "Bai Yuyou, you remember how to use the microwave, right?"

"Mm." Bai Yuyou nodded.

Suddenly, the girl reached out and gently tugged at Ye Shuang’s sleeve. "Tonight… birthday…"

Ye Shuang smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, I’ll be back tonight. Wait for me, okay?"

"Okay."

Bai Yuyou seemed to have more to say but hesitated, finally settling on, "I’ll wait for you…"

"Good girl."

Ye Shuang pinched her soft cheek before heading downstairs under her watchful gaze.

Bai Yuyou stood at the door for several minutes before finally closing it.

The house returned to its usual quiet—no familiar figure, no gentle voice.

"Meow." A furry touch brushed against her feet. Bai Yuyou looked down to see Yi Wan tilting its head and meowing. Since being brought home from the vet, Yi Wan’s appearance had changed daily, transforming from scrawny to plump and sturdy.

The kitten’s meows brought some life to the empty space. Bai Yuyou crouched down and gently stroked its head.

"Ye Shuang isn’t here today…"

"But I miss him already."

Yi Wan didn’t understand her words but tapped her fingertips with its paw.

Hungry. Food.

Bai Yuyou stood up and returned to her room.

She sat on the bed, spacing out, as if trying to pass the time with a nap. But when she lay down, she caught a familiar scent on the pillow.

"Ye Shuang’s smell…" She hugged the pillow to her chest, nuzzling it softly with her cheek.

After a while, she remembered what she needed to do. Reluctantly setting the pillow aside, she decided to go grocery shopping—

Yes, groceries.

Bai Yuyou remembered Ye Shuang’s words: she was supposed to cook a dish for him. She had been practicing hard for this.

"Before Ye Shuang comes back tonight… cook…"

She stood and walked back to the door. Yi Wan immediately trotted over. "Meow, meow."

Human, food.

Ye Shuang had forgotten to feed it today.

Bai Yuyou looked down at the cat. For half a minute, they stared at each other in silence before she reached a conclusion.

"It… wants to come with me."

She picked up Yi Wan. "I’ll take you out…"

Yi Wan: "?"

As the door closed behind them, Yi Wan, nervous about the unfamiliar outdoors, squirmed before climbing up Bai Yuyou’s clothes and settling on top of her head, clinging to her hair.

Bai Yuyou, noticing the long-haired orange cat perched on her head, assumed it liked sitting there and continued on her way.

A beautiful girl with a fluffy orange cat on her head naturally drew the attention of passersby, but Bai Yuyou paid no mind—she was long accustomed to being stared at.

Arriving at the market, she stopped in front of a vegetable stall.

The elderly vendor recognized her—this pretty girl always came with a man.

"What’ll it be, miss?"

Bai Yuyou wasn’t good at talking to strangers. Caught off guard, she stayed silent for a few seconds before remembering something. She pulled out a notebook from her pocket—

"(´,,•ω•,,) Two tomatoes, please."

The elderly woman squinted at the characters Bai Yuyou had written before murmuring,

"My eyes aren't what they used to be."