Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Little Flower, do you remember when we met at school?”
Nan Zhi hummed softly, her mind pulling her into her memories as well.
That year, she had taken hormone pills and gained a lot of weight. Her mother had followed all of her requests after she got kidnapped, and arranged for her to transfer schools upon her request.
She had not lost all of the weight she gained back then, and experienced countless taunting and bullying by the people in the new school. After seeing that she was chauffeured to and fro everyday by sedans, several bullies in her class stopped her when she was going to the exercise track.
One bully stepped out, wanting her to give him all of her allowance. He took out a small knife after she rejected his request, saying that he would make her become even uglier.
When she did not know what to do, a black bag was thrown at the bully’s head.
The bully cursed, “F*ck, who’s so daring to hit me?!”
The bully and Nan Zhi turned at the same time, only to see a young teenager, wearing his earphones and was sitting on top of the stairs.
The boy then jumped down. He was wearing a perfectly tailored navy blue uniform. He was tall and thin, his posture perfect.
He did not look like the bully, who had several buttons unbuttoned on his uniform while his white shoes were also dirty. The boy exuded an extraordinary exquisiteness and cleanness from head to toe.
He had a clean-looking face, his short hair in front of his forehead was a little long and covered his clear eyes slightly. His nose bridge was tall as well, as his scarlet lips looked as soft and pink as cherry blossoms. The boy looked like he had walked straight out from a comic.
With a hand in his pocket, he walked straight towards the bully and her.
“Gu Sheng? You’re just a weak nerd, why are you getting into something that is none of your business?”
Gu Sheng was the best student in their school. He was extremely smart and would be the cohort’s top student and represented the school to participate in various competitions. He was also handsome, and was acknowledged by the girls in the school as the best looking male student. However, he kept a low profile in school because of his middle-class background.
He never participated in any fights or stirred any trouble.
Girls would always give him chocolates during Valentines or confess to him in public, but he would always reject them. However, that did not stop the girls from liking him.
He had that kind of charm. The pretty girl that the bully had a crush on was one of Gu Sheng’s admirers.
The bully had long seen Gu Sheng as a sore thumb in his eyes.
“You’re soft and weak looking. You can continue reading your books, why are you sticking your head in?” The bully waved his fists around fiercely, looking like he wanted to punch Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng took out his elegant hand from his pocket. He did not keep long fingernails like some students did. His fingernails were cut neatly and were clean, and it was obvious he was an obedient student.
Nan Zhi was very surprised when she saw Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng was her life-savior in her heart then! She did not think that she would meet him again after she transferred schools.
“Brother Gu Sheng, it’s fine. I can give him my allowance, please don’t fight with him…” Although he was taller than the bully, he was skinnier. The bully was so buff he looked like two Brother Gu Shengs could fit in his body.
The bully scoffed when he heard Nan Zhi call Gu Sheng brother, “It’s no wonder Gu Sheng doesn’t like any girls in school. It turns out that he likes this ugly and fat girl… Ah!”
The bully got punched by Gu Sheng in the face before he could finish his words.
Nan Zhi was terrified, thinking that Gu Sheng would lose out after the bully fought back. However, Gu Sheng was the one who punched the bully until his face was swollen.
The consequence of fighting was naturally to be punished to stand outside of the class by the discipline master.
The bully and Gu Sheng stood outside of the classroom from the afternoon until school was out.
Nan Zhi was waiting by Gu Sheng’s bicycle. She passed a bottle of cold water when she saw him walking over. “The corners of your lips are swollen. It’ll be better after you press it with something cold.”
Gu Sheng pressed the bottle of cold water against the corners of his lips. When she was not paying attention, he took the chance and used his cold hand to touch her face. “Little Flower, you’re not ugly. You’re the prettiest amongst all the girls I’ve ever seen.”
No boys would tell her that she was pretty when she was sick. He was the only one who never had never despised her.
In school, he would tutor her patiently when she could not catch up with the coursework. He would step up for her when she was bullied. He would piggy-back her to the school clinic when she sprained her ankle during the sports carnival…
…
Her thoughts slowly pulled back from her memories.
It was because Gu Sheng treated her too well when she was a teenager that she could not put her heart down and be ruthless to him. She could not bear to watch him leave alone as she watched him age day by day.
Her heart still hurt for him.
The helplessness she felt curled around her heart like a silver wire. It curled round after round, tightening around her heart until she could not breathe properly.
She looked down at the man leaning on her shoulders. Her heart tightened immediately when she noticed that he was not moving at all, “Brother Gu Sheng, Brother Gu Sheng, Brother Gu Sheng…!”
The man leaning on her shoulders still did not react at all. Nan Zhi’s long eyelashes fluttered terribly, “Brother Gu Sheng, wake up! Don’t sleep, please don’t sleep!
“Brother Gu Sheng, I won’t blame you anymore. Please wake up, wake up!”
“Little Flower, don’t shout. I’m just a little tired so I want to rest for a while.”
When Nan Zhi heard his tired and hoarse voice, her tensed heart relaxed a little.
It was fine as long as her Brother Gu Sheng did not leave her.
Not yet…
…
The two of them only went back to the house when it was really late. Gu Sheng’s body was worse than when they went up the mountain.
He fell into a coma-like sleep after they returned.
Nan Zhi sat by the bed, using a towel to wipe his aged face and hands. Her tears fell unconsciously when she thought about the pretty and smiling teenager he was back then.
Brother Gu Sheng, I want you to continue living…
…
Gu Sheng woke up before the sun had risen.
He sat up with difficulty when he saw Nan Zhi sleeping by the edge of the bed.
He took a thin blanket and covered her with it.
He stared at her for a long time, his eyes filling with tears. He leaned down and placed a light kiss on her forehead, a tear falling out of his eyes at that moment.
‘Little Flower, farewell. I don’t want you to accompany me till the end because I don’t want to see you cry. That’s why I have to leave.’
…
When Nan Zhi woke up, Gu Sheng was no longer in the room.
She looked around desperately.
It was afterwards that a shepherd boy told her that he saw a man with a walking stick heading towards the river.
Nan Zhi rushed over in a hurry.
When she reached the river, she saw Gu Sheng lying on an old bamboo raft. He was holding the flower that she plucked for him yesterday. His eyes were closed tightly as he flowed down the river according to the current.
Nan Zhi jumped down into the river, shouting, “Brother Gu Sheng, stop! Don’t leave!”
The bamboo raft moved very quickly and she could not catch up no matter what. The water level had also become deeper, as it went from her calves to her abdomen, then to her chest…
She could not chase after him anymore.
She could only watch at the bamboo raft moved further and further away from her.
Her lips trembled nonstop, her tears and snot falling together. Her throat was hoarse from all her shouting, and she was losing her voice as well.
Yet, she could only watch as the bamboo raft became a small black dot and slowly disappeared from her sight.
