Sad Memories, an Unusual Chill

Time passed.

Consciousness gradually returned.

A familiar, coquettish voice reached his ears.

"Gu Yan? Gu Yan, I'm going to get angry—can you answer me already?!"

The familiar voice lingered in his ears.

Gu Yan slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head.

At first, he glanced around in confusion.

When he realized he was in an empty classroom, he froze for a moment.

Huh?

Why are the memories this time set in school?

"Gu Yan!"

Following the voice, Gu Yan turned his gaze.

There, standing before him, was a woman with her hands on her hips—her beauty and aura undeniable.

"Qingqiu...?"

Gu Yan blurted out her name without thinking.

Leng Qingqiu seemed taken aback, her face flushing slightly. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin with a proud pout.

"Qingqiu...?"

"Wow, where did you learn to call me that?"

"Listen, even if you say it like that, I won’t forgive you for pretending to be asleep and ignoring me earlier!"

Gu Yan blinked, trying to make sense of the situation. "No, no, my head was just foggy earlier."

"What were you saying?"

Leng Qingqiu glared at him, then took a deep breath.

"It's just... we're about to graduate."

"Have you thought about what you want to do after?"

"What to do...? Of course..."

Gu Yan almost said, I want to marry you.

But the words that came out were: "Of course, I'll just take things one step at a time."

"You really never plan ahead, do you?"

Leng Qingqiu sighed, then pressed a thumb to her chest, her eyes gleaming with confidence.

"Let’s form a duo, Gu Yan!"

"We’ll become stars together!"

Gu Yan looked stunned.

A duo? Stars?

He wanted to ask more, but his body slumped back onto the desk, exhaustion in his voice.

"Ugh... sounds like a hassle..."

"No complaining!"

Leng Qingqiu grabbed the back of his collar, yanking him up. "Just agree already, you jerk!"

"Fine, fine... what’s the name?"

She grinned. "How about 'Cold Words'?"

"......You’re still terrible at naming things."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the world around him began fast-forwarding at an impossible speed.

Everything flashed by like slides in a presentation.

Yet...

For some reason, Gu Yan could vividly experience every moment.

[Gu Yan, this is our stage—the home of 'Cold Words'!]

...

[Gu Yan, get your act together! Our first performance is coming up!]

...

[Gu Yan, we’re famous! Our songs are everywhere online!]

...

[Gu Yan, wake up! Time for training!]

...

[Gu Yan... the stars tonight are so bright...]

[Thank you... for indulging my whims.]

...

[Gu Yan, there’s something I... ugh, never mind, I can’t say it!]

...

[Gu Yan... Gu Yan... Gu Yan...]

His name was the sound he heard most.

Gu Yan felt as though he had lived through an entire lifetime.

He had relived every high and low—the struggles of starting the duo, the thrill of their first successful show, the rush of fame, the dream of reaching the top.

But then... all those bright emotions faded as the scenes darkened.

Replacing them was a suffocating weight in his chest.

The world turned pitch black.

Only the steady beeping of hospital machines filled the silence.

Huh? What’s happening? Why does my heart hurt so much?

Time blurred.

Then—

Gasp... gasp... GASP!

It was a rainy afternoon.

Inside the hospital.

BANG!

The door to the ward burst open.

"Gu Yan!!"

Leng Qingqiu stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide with panic as she took in the sight before her.

The once-vibrant man was now gaunt, his once-black hair brittle and thinning. His healthy frame was swallowed by the hospital gown.

What... happened to me?

Gu Yan snapped back to reality. Propped up against the bed, he turned weakly toward the voice.

There—

Leng Qingqiu’s eyes were red, her hand pressed to her mouth as if holding back a sob.

"You haven’t shown up for training... I thought something was wrong."

"But... how... how could this...?"

Her voice trembled as she stumbled forward.

Only then did Gu Yan realize—he was sick.

Terminally so.

From here, he lost control of his body, merely following the script of his own memories.

"Ah... sorry..."

His voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords had been stripped away.

Yet he forced a weak smile.

"I... ran into some trouble..."

"Didn’t want you... to see me like this..."

"Pretty pathetic, huh? You should... just go, Qingqiu..."

Leng Qingqiu bit her lip, her expression crumbling.

The disease had ravaged him.

A breathing tube pierced his throat. His abdomen was hollowed out, fitted with a machine to help him function.

Her fists clenched.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Why didn’t you say it was this bad?"

Tears spilled over as she wiped them furiously.

"It’s because of me, isn’t it? Because I pushed you to train so late every night..."

"It’s my fault... What do we do... Gu Yan... what do we do now...?"

Gu Yan lifted a skeletal hand—as if to comfort her—but hesitated, then let it drop.

His voice was a broken whisper.

"No... no one could’ve known..."

"Qingqiu... don’t be sad... don’t hurt over this."

"Just think of me as... a passing chapter in your life."

Leng Qingqiu shook her head violently.

"No!"

"You’re going to get better! We promised we’d make it to the top, remember?"

"I won’t let you die. I won’t!"

The memory froze there—then fast-forwarded again.

From then on, Leng Qingqiu visited every day to care for him.

In this world, Gu Yan was an orphan, with no relatives to speak of.

She was the only one left by his side.

Their duo’s activities halted. Fans speculated online—had "Cold Words" disbanded?

Days turned to weeks.

The doctors said it was a miracle Gu Yan had lasted this long.

But... the end came too soon.

That day—

Leng Qingqiu arrived at the hospital room as usual to visit Gu Yan: "Gu Yan! I thought of a great idea for a new song. Once you recover, we..."

Her words trailed off.

What she saw was an empty room, a nurse tidying the bed, and an unfamiliar couple.

Gu Yan had slipped away quietly. The police station had tracked down his distant relatives, whom he rarely contacted.

His body was quickly cremated.

While sorting through his belongings, they found almost nothing left behind.

Just a single videotape.

"You're his friend, right? Gu Yan didn’t leave anything valuable behind."

"You can have this if you want."

After uttering these two sentences, Gu Yan’s relatives left.

It was all too sudden.

Even after returning home, sitting on her bed with Gu Yan’s ashes and the videotape in her hands, Leng Qingqiu still couldn’t process it.

Until...

She caught sight of a photo on the table—a picture of her and Gu Yan together.

"Ah..."

An overwhelming wave of regret and sorrow crashed over her heart.

"Why... why did it have to end like this?!"

"Ugh... AAAAAH!!"

Clutching the urn, Leng Qingqiu buried her face against it and sobbed uncontrollably.

A stabbing pain, sharp as needles, twisted inside her chest.

Every moment she had shared with Gu Yan replayed in her mind—meeting, getting to know each other, forming their duo, training, succeeding.

Every joy, every sorrow, every memory was intertwined with his presence.

But now...

"Why did you have to leave like this?!"

"Leaving me all alone!"

Her voice grew hoarse from crying. She regretted never confessing her feelings to him sooner.

Now, Gu Yan was truly gone.

Time passed.

Exhausted from weeping, Leng Qingqiu remembered the videotape still in her hands.

Taking a deep breath, she inserted it into the TV.

Tick-tock.

As the tape rolled, the screen flickered to life.

Knock knock—

Someone seemed to tap on the screen.

"Hello? Can you see this?"

A familiar voice snapped Leng Qingqiu to attention.

Her teary eyes fixed on the screen. "Gu... Gu Yan?"

There he was—sitting on a hospital bed, an oxygen tube in his nose.

He looked less frail than in his final days, as if this was recorded shortly after his admission.

With a smile, he waved at the camera.

"Hey, Qingqiu. By the time you see this, I’ll probably be gone."

"Sorry for skipping training lately. My body just wouldn’t cooperate."

He clasped his hands in apology.

Leng Qingqiu covered her mouth, her eyes reddening again.

"Also... I’m really sorry things turned out this way. My health just collapsed out of nowhere."

"But... Qingqiu, don’t blame yourself. This wasn’t your fault—it was just my time."

"Maybe..."

Gu Yan’s expression softened with a hint of shyness as he gazed into the camera.

"Meeting you used up all my luck. So even the heavens got jealous and decided to pull me away."

"I wish I could’ve kept our duo, 'Cold Words,' going with you... but I’m sorry. I can’t anymore."

"Our time together wasn’t that long..."

He quickly corrected himself, "But it wasn’t that short either!"

His tone grew tender, as if reminiscing.

"The moment I met you, my whole life changed."

"You know, everything I saw, heard, and felt suddenly became vibrant. The whole world started glowing!"

"Everything about you shone so brightly—it was dazzling. I’d close my eyes, but my heart still couldn’t stop yearning for you."

"Qingqiu... you’re a true musical genius."

"But me? I was just a fake."

Gu Yan recounted their memories one by one, pouring out his admiration and the hidden insecurities he’d carried.

......

......

The more Leng Qingqiu listened, the more tears streamed down her face.

The tape neared its end.

Gu Yan coughed intermittently throughout.

Cough "Sorry for making you listen to all this rambling in bits and pieces."

"You could be really pushy sometimes, always forcing me to do things your way."

"But... I still loved that about you."

He wiped blood from his lips, his face growing paler.

Finally, he looked straight into the camera, as if seeing through the screen.

"So... Qingqiu."

"Did I manage to carve out a place in your heart?"

"What did you think of me? Will you remember me?"

"Qingqiu... sorry I couldn’t finish the lunchbox you made me last time..."

"Forgive me... it was just too terrible."

"Haha... just kidding. My body couldn’t handle anything but liquids by then."

"Sorry for always seeming so listless."

"Sorry for messing up during practice."

"Sorry for... well, everything."

"Lastly..."

Gu Yan took a deep breath and smiled.

"Qingqiu, I love you."

"Please... don’t ever forget me."

With those final words—

Click.

The screen froze on Gu Yan’s smiling face.

As for Leng Qingqiu—

She collapsed onto the bed, muffling her cries with her hands, biting her lip as silent tears fell.

The scene faded to black.

......

......

Consciousness returned.

"!!"

Gu Yan jolted awake, clutching his chest. A single tear slid down his cheek.

He remained dazed for a long time.

Whose memory was this...?

How had he and Qingqiu shared these moments...?

Did he... really have a past life?

And what about the other fragments of memories?

Just what... was the truth?

......

......

Meanwhile.

At the Leng Family residence.

Xiao Leng stood by the window, staring blankly outside.

Her hand pressed against her chest—her heartbeat faster than usual.

"......"

"Another memory...?"

She murmured to herself, an unfamiliar discomfort stirring in her icy heart.