I Like You Too

Oh wow, textbook simp behavior.

"Hey, what are they talking about? We can't hear anything." Jiang Yunlu was leaning against the railing, binoculars pressed against her eye sockets, shouting.

Two people were talking by the roadside. The picture was there, but the sound wasn't.

It was like watching a silent film.

Xie Yuling put down her binoculars too and tilted her head to look at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo froze for a moment, then reacted after two seconds.

Oh, he forgot to turn on the audio.

He snapped his fingers, and instantly the three of them had synced audio and video.

Jiang Yunlu's ears suddenly flooded with dialogue. She blinked. "Hey, it's turned into a talkie."

Cai Junhuang hadn't expected Fang Jun to be so straightforward.

No buildup, no testing the waters. He just went for it right off the bat.

She pressed her lips together.

To be honest, if Fang Jun had said all this before the competition, she probably would have agreed.

Back then, she hadn't gotten to that point yet. The weight in her heart wasn't so heavy yet.

But... not now.

"Fang Jun, the truth is, I like you too."

Fang Jun's eyes lit up.

"But... I'm sorry, I can't be with you."

That light went out again. It went out fast.

Cai Junhuang's voice was flat, like she had rehearsed this many times. "I told you before, I have a dream. I have to walk this path. Dating right now is something I can't afford."

Fang Jun opened his mouth, his mind in a complete mess.

He had heard the first part. She said she liked him too. That was enough.

"I can wait."

He said it urgently.

"Whenever you want to date, I'll be here. I'll wait for you!"

"Fang Jun." Cai Junhuang cut him off.

Her tone didn't rise. Instead, it dropped a little, like she was holding something back.

"You wait for me. And then what? Wait one year? Two years? Five years? Can you guarantee you won't regret it? Can I guarantee I won't change?"

Fang Jun was speechless.

Cai Junhuang's eyes reddened, but she didn't cry. She sniffled hard.

"I can't let you wait. It sounds nice, but living it out is a whole different story.

You wait for me where I am, while I keep walking further and further away. In the end, you look back and all you see is wasted time. I can't bear that responsibility."

She paused.

"I don't want to owe you."

That last line was very soft.

Cai Junhuang was exactly who she was. There was no one else like her.

Fang Jun lowered his head, his hands gripping the fabric of his school uniform pants. The air was silent for a long time.

In the distance, the wind blew, scattering some of the stray hair on Cai Junhuang's forehead.

Fang Jun lifted his head again.

"Then let me ask you one last question."

His voice was hoarse, but still steady enough.

"In the future, if one day you look back and find out I'm still here, would you be willing to give me a chance?"

Love-obsessed brain, confirmed beyond doubt.

She wasn't sure about her own future, so naturally she couldn't promise anyone else's.

The road was too long. She wasn't sure if she would change her mind, and she wasn't sure if Fang Jun would either.

Nothing was guaranteed.

Jiang Yunlu had her binoculars practically shoved into her eye sockets. She muttered quietly, "Why does he still keep asking..."

Xie Yuling said nothing, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her binoculars.

Lin Mo was casually munching on sunflower seeds beside them. He had already guessed how this scene would play out.

Cai Junhuang looked at Fang Jun.

There was still light in his eyes.

She knew clearly that if she said yes now, even just a vague "maybe," Fang Jun would really wait.

One year, two years, even longer.

And then his entire life would be pinned to that promise.

That wasn't giving him hope.

That was stringing someone along.

Cai Junhuang shifted her gaze away from Fang Jun's face and looked toward the roadside.

There was nothing on the road but passing cars.

She spoke up.

"Fang Jun, you deserve someone who can be by your side. Not someone who can't even see her own direction."

She turned back and smiled. It was a faint smile.

"Don't wait for me."

Clean and decisive.

Fang Jun stood frozen in place. His mouth hung open for a long time, but nothing came out.

Jiang Yunlu put her binoculars down and pouted. "Ah... how do I put this... it really stings."

Xie Yuling leaned against a nearby tree trunk, not saying a word.

Lin Mo chewed his seeds and mumbled, "Cai Junhuang is someone who can be ruthless."

Jiang Yunlu looked at him. "Can't you have some sympathy? Didn't you say Fang Jun is your good friend?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "I do have sympathy. But with stuff like this, sooner or later someone has to wake up. If she hadn't rejected him cleanly, it would've only gotten messier down the line."

"And didn't you notice? Cai Junhuang was the one in control the whole time."

Jiang Yunlu had nothing to say.

The logic made sense.

But the silhouette of that guy under the streetlight stood alone, stretched out long and thin.

She still thought that liking someone who didn't want to like you back was a truly devastating thing.

Lin Mo sat on a roadside curb and continued, "Honestly, dreams and relationships aren't completely incompatible. The only time they see each other is at school and during this period. But if Cai Junhuang has to sacrifice everything outside of dance practice, that's just how it has to be."

"Let's go. We shouldn't go over there. It'll only make Fang Jun feel worse."

In the distance, Cai Junhuang's figure had already melted into the night. Fang Jun was still planted there like a lamppost.

Lin Mo left a sliver of his spiritual sense hovering around Fang Jun. As long as the guy wasn't about to jump off a bridge or hang himself, he could stay there and freak out in the wind all he wanted.

The cars from Chu Miaomiao's and Jiang Yunlu's families pulled up. After waving goodbye, only Lin Mo and Xie Yuling were left on the street, walking back along the sidewalk.

The night breeze blew, and the dim yellow streetlights stretched their shadows long and slanted.

Xie Yuling walked very slowly, dragging her white sneakers across the asphalt. That poor little pebble she had been kicking from one end of the street to the other became a substitute for venting her emotions.

"Stop kicking. You're wearing out the tip of your shoe. If you've got something on your mind, just say it out loud." Lin Mo turned his head, breaking the silence.

Xie Yuling stopped walking and looked up at him.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if one day you'd say you have to save the world, and then just disappear from our sight."

Lin Mo chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"That won't happen."

"Saving the world isn't as fun as hanging out with you guys."

Xie Yuling caught the key plural word. Imitating Cai Junhuang's earlier move, she jabbed her elbow hard into Lin Mo's lower back.

"Hmph! You said 'you guys,' you greedy jerk!"

"I won't be greedy anymore."

Xie Yuling shot him a glare and sped up her steps, walking ahead.

"Stop with the smart mouth. Cai Junhuang dumped Fang Jun for the sake of dancing. If you ever run into something more important than us, you'd probably run off even faster."

"First of all, there is nothing more important than you guys."

Lin Mo took two quick strides to catch up, walking shoulder to shoulder with her.

Xie Yuling didn't say anything, but she slowed her pace. The streetlight stretched their shadows long, slowly merging together.