chapter 1
“Xiao Shan.”
“Could you… give me a lift?”
The voice of a top national Host is always exceptionally pleasant, and I have been listening to his for thirteen years.
Even though this was the first thing he had said to me face-to-face all evening.
Slightly surprised, I nodded. He walked around to the other side, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.
I pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, watching as he wiped away the faint traces of raindrops on his forehead.
More than ten years had passed, and this was the only time I had ever been this close to him. Aside from losing his youthful air and gaining a sense of maturity, he hadn’t changed much.
Compared to the meticulous image he projected on TV, he seemed a bit more easygoing.
Even the way he said “Xiao Shan” made it feel as if we were back in high school.
I turned my head and took a quiet, deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart.
It was raining, and the traffic was a bit congested. I drove slowly as we chatted idly.
“The car looks very clean. Do you get it detailed often?”
“No, I only bought it six months ago. I finally got my license plate number last year.”
“Electric cars are great,” he nodded. “Economical and environmentally friendly.”
“Yeah, they are.”
Having not seen each other for years, I thought there would be a lot to talk about.
But once we actually met, I realized that after ten years in different circles, we had very little in common to discuss.
“I heard you say earlier that you work at a bank?”
“Mhm.”
“Which department?”
“Risk management.”
He smiled. “Risk management is very important. We need it too.”
“Like at last year’s film festival awards-I was the new Host. A male celebrity suddenly misspoke on stage, and it gave me a real scare. He said…”
“I know. But you handled it perfectly,” I interjected instinctively.
He paused, surprised. “You know? You watched it?”
My heart skipped a beat. It felt as though my years of following and watching him had been caught red-handed. I tried my best to maintain a casual tone. “Oh, yeah. Everyone in the country saw it. Didn’t your save trend on social media?”
Outside the window, the rain began to fall harder.
After a moment, he said softly, “I didn’t think you paid much attention to that kind of thing.”
I really didn’t pay much attention to the entertainment industry.
But I hadn’t missed a single program he hosted.
He probably never knew that he was the person I had crushed on for years. Even though I knew we were impossible, meeting him again after all this time, I still couldn’t control the fluttering in my heart.
But this wasn’t good.
Regrets of youth should stay in the past. The feelings stirred by this reunion deserved some closure.
I knew he was still single; it had been in interviews, and he had mentioned it at the dinner table earlier.
Perhaps receiving a polite or tactful rejection would finally allow me to end this solitary, unrealistic dream.
After all, a young girl’s secrets can be hidden away for fear of being exposed, but an adult’s pride is far less fragile.
So, I chose my words carefully, even though the time and place weren’t quite right.
“Actually, I…”
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
He answered it. A lively female voice came through the receiver, loud enough for me to hear every word clearly.
“Xinyu, want to go play ball tomorrow? Could you bring me a coffee?”