If you yearn for something deeply enough, it will eventually find a way to reach you.

Gu Niannian's heart was beating wildly, and her palms were sweating. She replied in a low, hoarse voice, "No need."

This was Gu Niannian's habitual refusal.

It was the same this time; the words of refusal had barely left her mouth before she regretted them.

Zhou Yi didn't mind her cold tone, however, and still said with a smile,

"You'll get sick if you walk in the rain. You look a bit pale, so you'd better come with me."

Gu Niannian wondered to herself if this person was this gentle to everyone. Even after she acted like this, Zhou Yi wasn't angry.

Should she agree?

In the moment Gu Niannian hesitated, Zhou Yi had already made the decision for her.

"Let me hold your books for you."

Zhou Yi took her books and walked ahead. Gu Niannian panicked completely, yet she still quickly followed him.

As they went downstairs, Zhou Yi didn't deliberately try to strike up a conversation. Gu Niannian followed silently behind him like a shadow.

When they reached the bottom of the teaching building, Zhou Yi opened his umbrella by the edge of the eaves. The rain battered against the umbrella, making a loud pattering sound.

"Come here, classmate."

Zhou Yi stood in the rain and reached out his hand to her. Gu Niannian stood under the eaves, looking at him.

It felt as if stepping under Zhou Yi's umbrella meant stepping into the abyss.

To Gu Niannian, that was an entirely foreign place.

She was a highly guarded person, yet this time, she could not help but walk toward Zhou Yi.

She stepped under Zhou Yi's umbrella, and into her own salvation.

Not long after, she would discover that Zhou Yi was not an abyss, but a salvation sent to her by heaven.

"Classmate, where is your dorm? Let me walk you back."

"I... don't live in a dorm."

"Then I can walk you home. The rain is quite heavy, and it probably won't stop anytime soon."

"There's no need. Just walking me to the bus stop is fine, thank you."

"Alright."

There was a bus stop right at the school gate, just a few minutes' walk away.

Walking along the tree-lined path of the school, Zhou Yi turned his face to ask her, "Classmate, I forgot to ask your name."

Gu Niannian hid her nervousness and tried her best to steady her voice as she said, "Gu Niannian."

Zhou Yi asked again, "Which Nian? The Nian from 'never forget, and there will surely be an echo'?"

Gu Niannian felt as if she had been struck by something, freezing completely in place.

A few blurry fragments flashed through her mind, then vanished.

"Yes, that's right."

Usually, when people heard her name, they would ask if it was the Nian from 'missing someone', but Zhou Yi had blurted out this particular phrase.

Never forget, and there will surely be an echo.

Gu Niannian memorized this phrase.

Zhou Yi looked at her from the side, his tone gentle:

"It really is a good name. It probably means they hope you get what you wish for. It has a beautiful meaning."

Gu Niannian realized that Zhou Yi was truly good at making people like him; a casual sentence from him could touch a person's heart.

It was just a pity that her name did not mean that at all.

She did not explain this to Zhou Yi, but merely nodded.

Soon, the two arrived at the bus stop.

Before leaving, Zhou Yi handed the umbrella to her. "I have a strong immune system, so a little rain won't hurt me. But as a girl, you shouldn't get caught in the rain. Take this umbrella, and just return it to me tomorrow."

Zhou Yi did this, firstly, to let Gu Niannian feel his thoughtfulness, and secondly, to create an opportunity for her to seek him out tomorrow.

Lending an umbrella was also an excellent method for flirting.

Whether you borrow an umbrella from a girl or a girl borrows one from you, it inherently involves a back-and-forth exchange.

If a guy borrows an umbrella from a girl, he even gains an excuse to treat her to a meal as a token of gratitude.

Zhou Yi's tactic worked perfectly on Gu Niannian because she didn't interact with others and disliked owing people anything.

Having borrowed Zhou Yi's umbrella, she would definitely go and return it.

"I'm leaving now, classmate Gu Niannian. See you tomorrow."

Zhou Yi was already used to her spacing out, and simply said this with a smile.

Being looked at by Zhou Yi like that left Gu Niannian feeling completely flustered.

Combined with how he addressed her, even her breathing became shallow.

—Classmate Gu Niannian.

It was the first time someone had called her name so gently. Like a tender spring breeze, like poison coated in honey, her heart was fiercely struck in that moment.

She felt her face burning; it must have turned red.

Zhou Yi didn't wait for her reaction. He simply shoved the umbrella into her hands, turned around, and walked into the rain.

The girl stared blankly at Zhou Yi's retreating back, murmuring softly, "See you tomorrow..."

To her, this was yet another unfamiliar yet beautiful phrase.

Between 'goodbye' and 'see you tomorrow', it was obvious which one was more beautiful.

'See you tomorrow' carried a sense of anticipation, and for the first time, Gu Niannian also looked forward to tomorrow.

She noticed another detail about Zhou Yi's back.

His left shoulder was wet.

At the time, she had been standing on his right side, and she hadn't gotten wet at all.

This meant that Zhou Yi must have tilted the umbrella entirely toward her side. That was why his left shoulder was wet, while she had not been touched by a single drop of rain.

[Gu Niannian's affection level +5]

Zhou Yi's figure had long disappeared, yet she still stared blankly in that direction.

The sound of the bus arriving at the station pulled Gu Niannian back to her senses.

Holding the umbrella, she boarded the bus.

As the rain battered against the bus windows, Gu Niannian's mind was completely filled with thoughts of Zhou Yi.

In just one short day, Gu Niannian felt that her world had undergone an earth-shattering change.

She had developed anticipation and affection for someone she shouldn't get close to.

.

After getting off the bus, Gu Niannian walked into an alley.

The streets here were dirty and chaotic, filled with garbage and homeless people.

Walking a bit further, she arrived at her home.

It was a dilapidated residential building. The people living inside were a mixed bag, mostly financially strapped out-of-towners.

She and her mother were the same.

A light was on the fourth floor, and through the warm glow, she could see a woman's busy silhouette.

That was her mother cooking for her.

Gu Niannian lowered her eyes and walked into the residential complex with a lifeless expression.

A moment after she knocked, the door opened.

The woman wiped her hands and revealed a gentle smile. "Niannian is back. The food will be ready soon. Go read a book for a while, and I'll call you when it's done."

Gu Niannian nodded obediently. "Okay, Mom."

She walked into a cramped room. There were drawings on the walls left by the previous tenant's child, which couldn't be scrubbed clean.

The room contained only a small 1.2-meter bed and a desk.

She turned on the light and raised a hand to block the glare, only lowering it after her eyes adjusted to the brightness.

This room had no windows, so she had to turn on the light.

Under the dim yellow light, she began to study hard.

Her mother looked at her back with a gratified smile, then turned and went back into the kitchen.

Only after the woman's footsteps faded away did Gu Niannian dare to pull out her diary.

This was the only world where she had freedom.

The world inside the diary was the true world.

Gu Niannian had no one to confide in, so her diary became her only friend.

She thought for a moment, then wrote that sentence on the first line of the diary.

"Never forget, and there will surely be an echo. This is his explanation of my name."

After pondering for a moment, Gu Niannian continued to write:

"For the first time, I like my name this much. It seems that coming from his mouth, this name sounds a bit more beautiful."

"I forgot to mention, his name is Zhou Yi."

"This is also the first time I've felt that another person's name sounds so beautiful."

"It is because Zhou Yi is him, and also because he is Zhou Yi."

"On this day, I began to look forward to tomorrow."

"—All because of that boy named Zhou Yi."

This was where the story of Gu Niannian and Zhou Yi officially began.