When did she start to like Su Qinian? Probably the first time she saw Su Qinian as a child, her heart skipped a beat.
The young Su Qinian had a pair of extremely beautiful phoenix eyes, with long and thick eyelashes and fair skin as white as snow.
He was clean and didn't talk much. He would quietly hold a book and study.
Unlike her classmates around her, who were at the naughtiest age, noisy and dirty from playing around.
So when she first saw him, she couldn't take her eyes off him, and her heart was pounding.
Later, she was often taken by her parents to play with Su Qinian, and she often heard their parents joking with Su Qinian's parents.
They said that since these two kids got along so well, it would be a good thing if they became in - laws in the future.
The young Qiao Songyue was overjoyed and full of anticipation.
But when she looked at Su Qinian, she found that his face was as calm as ever, as if nothing could stir his emotions.
Qiao Songyue vaguely guessed something.
There were countless girls around Su Qinian. She was annoyed and irritable. She threw a tantrum like a spoiled young lady and warned those girls to stay away from Su Qinian.
But what she got in return was Su Qinian gradually distancing himself from her.
Later, the high - school entrance examination results came out. Su Qinian got into No. 1 Middle School as he wished, while her grades were disappointing. Her parents forced her to go to No. 3 Middle School to continue studying art.
In Wannan City, No. 1 Middle School was famous for its excellent academic performance, while No. 3 Middle School was the exact opposite. No. 3 Middle School focused on cultivating art students, and many students were admitted to key universities every year.
The two separated. Because she was studying art, she often had to go out for training, and the time she spent with Su Qinian became less and less.
Qiao Songyue had a premonition that after going to college, she and Su Qinian would really separate.
She just didn't expect that it would come so soon, even before the end of the first semester of senior high school.
Qiao Songyue tightly grabbed the seat in the front row to support her weak body.
What did she hear?
She heard Su Qinian say in Lin Jinran's direction that he already had someone he liked.
"Is... this true?"
Qiao Songyue asked word by word carefully, almost pleadingly looking at Su Qinian, hoping that he could give her a satisfactory answer.
However, the beautiful dream will eventually shatter.
Su Qinian said, "Yes."
These two words were like a sharp blade, stabbing into her heart and going deeper bit by bit.
Qiao Songyue felt like a fish washed up on the beach and exposed to the sun for a whole day. She could hardly breathe.
She also heard the whispers of the students from No. 1 Middle School around her, saying that she was overreaching herself and shameless.
Qiao Songyue summoned all her strength to squeeze out a smile. She lowered her eyes and looked at Lin Jinran, then bowed her head slightly.
There was no smugness or joy as she had imagined.
What she saw in Lin Jinran's eyes was surprise and shock, mixed with some panic and helplessness.
It seemed that she was waiting for Su Qinian to explain.
On the basketball court, the coach blew the whistle, and the second game started.
Some of the onlookers dispersed.
"I see." Qiao Songyue's face was pale, almost heart - broken. Her gaze shifted between the two of them.
The familiar phoenix eyes were calmly staring at her. The shadow cast by his long eyelashes fell on his eyes, like a curtain.
Qiao Songyue couldn't see clearly.
She turned around, resolute and determined, and gradually disappeared through the gymnasium door.
"Su Qinian, what did you mean by that just now?" Lin Jinran hesitated for a while and asked in a low voice.
Confessing on the spot? This didn't seem like something Su Qinian would do, and it was definitely not something he would do.
Su Qinian smiled. The coldness in his eyebrows and eyes was softened by this smile, and tenderness emerged.
He took a few steps forward and stopped in front of Lin Jinran.
Xie Wanyu slipped to one side, staring with wide eyes, eager to watch the show.
She also wanted to know what Su Qinian meant by saying "I have someone I like".
"I said that just to deal with Qiao Songyue and make her give up," Su Qinian said slowly. "I just happened to be looking in your direction. Maybe everyone misunderstood something."
"It's okay. It's just a misunderstanding. As long as it's cleared up." Lin Jinran shook her head, not caring.
"Right. All I care about is studying and exams." Su Qinian showed a fox - like smile. "You agree, don't you?"
Huh? Lin Jinran didn't think much and nodded in agreement.
Su Qinian bent down a little to look her in the eye. He beamed with a big smile, reached out and patted her head, saying, "Then I'll wait for the day when you become the top student in the grade."
"Okay..."
Hey, something's wrong. With so many people watching, Lin Jinran's face flushed instantly. She quickly stopped herself from speaking further.
"What are you doing? Why are you patting my head?" Lin Jinran took a step back, covering her head and glaring at him.
Su Qinian was still standing in front of her, bent over. His warm breath fell on the side of her face.
Lin Jinran looked directly into his eyes, and their images were reflected in each other's eyes.
Her heart suddenly raced, and a tingling current seemed to flow through her whole body.
From the other side of the stadium's spectator stand came cheers. A goal had been scored.
In this noisy space, there seemed to be something indescribable quietly spreading.
"It's nothing..." Su Qinian whispered.
He took another look, as if he wanted to engrave the girl's flustered expression at this moment into his heart, to paint it bit by bit.
Then, Su Qinian stood up straight. A faint smile always hung on his lips, and he was in a very good mood.
"A new game has started. Let's keep watching. Do you think they can still win without you?" Lin Jinran blushed and pretended to be calm.
Su Qinian looked out at the basketball court. The score in the center was clearly displayed. He said, "They can."
"Let's find a place to sit first. You don't want everyone to keep staring at us, do you?"
"Okay, right. That's true." Lin Jinran sat down and patted the seat next to her.
This used to be Qiao Songyue's seat. Now that she had left, it was naturally empty.
"Do you think Qiao Songyue will really give up?" Lin Jinran watched the basketball court for a long time, but the image of Qiao Songyue leaving always lingered in her mind.
It was like a red rose that had bloomed vigorously suddenly withered, looking lifeless.
Su Qinian was silent for a while and then replied, "I don't know. After all these years, it's time for her to wake up."
"I recently heard my mom say that Qiao Songyue's parents are thinking about sending her abroad to study."
"When?" Lin Jinran was surprised.
Combined with Qiao Songyue's boldness today, it seemed that there was such a reason.
During the basketball game at No. 3 Middle School before, Qiao Songyue had never been so bold in pursuing love.
"I don't know. I heard my mom say it a few days ago. This is just an idea of Qiao Songyue's parents. I'm not sure about the exact time. It could be this semester, or it could be after the college entrance examination."