The words left unsaid three years ago were spoken today, three years later, with a different state of mind.
By then, she was no longer the young Jiang Yuan of three years ago.
In the night sky, a meteor suddenly streaked across, like a brilliant diamond inlaid in the velvet-like black curtain. It trailed a long, bright tail flame, leaving a gorgeous yet fleeting mark in the vast universe.
Just like Chi Xu.
Jiang Yuan recalled many passionate, shining, romantic, yet eventually mundane and trivial moments she had experienced with Chi Xu during their youth. In fact, she had never forgotten them, nor dared to.
Above them were the twinkling stars and the dazzling meteors, and on the ground, the two were nestled together, sharing their innermost thoughts.
Jiang Yuan tilted her head back, watching this grand meteor shower. Her eyes sparkled, and at last, she managed to say the words she had been too shy to utter.
She was waiting for his response.
This time, she wouldn't be as heartbroken as she was three years ago.
The warm breath of the young man brushed against her neck, making her skin tingle. At this moment, they were intimate, yet their hearts seemed worlds apart.
Perhaps the words "I like you" were too brief, for the boy remained unmoved.
Jiang Yuan thought for a while and continued, "You may not know this, but when I met you again in college, I realized I still had feelings for you, so I started to pursue you. Obviously, you could tell..."
As she spoke these half - true, half - false words, Jiang Yuan herself couldn't tell which were sincere and which were false.
The evening breeze blew the loose strands of hair on her forehead, and Jiang Yuan tucked them behind her ears.
The meteors still streaked across the night sky, but the person beside her remained silent.
After Jiang Yuan finished speaking to herself, she noticed something was amiss. Looking down slightly, she saw that the boy had closed his eyes and fallen asleep on her shoulder, his breathing long and steady.
Jiang Yuan: "..."
So, all the words she had just said had gone unheard by Chi Xu?
An unnamed anger burned within her. She stared at the boy's sleeping face in disbelief, her eyes wide open.
In the faint moonlight, his features were dimly lit, sharp and handsome. The emotions Jiang Yuan had been brewing for so long suddenly got stuck, with no outlet to release. At the sight of his face, her anger instantly subsided.
She almost held her breath and carefully turned her head. She reached out her hand, stopping just a centimeter away from his side face. Her fingertips trembled slightly, afraid that he might wake up suddenly.
You've been pinching my face every day. Finally, I've got the chance today.
The unnamed anger in Jiang Yuan's heart had long since vanished, replaced by playfulness.
She gently poked his face first. The touch was soft and warm.
Jiang Yuan's lips curled up involuntarily, and her eyes were filled with uncontrollable laughter.
Who would have thought that a boy's face could feel as good as a girl's.
Seeing that Chi Xu showed no reaction and his breathing remained even, Jiang Yuan grew bolder. She tilted her head and stared at him, then poked him hard, treating him like a doll to knead at will.
There came the sound of footsteps and chatter from the tent. Jiang Yuan turned her head and met the eyes of the people who had come out to watch the meteor shower. She made a "shh" gesture.
Jia Fang stared at Chi Xu sleeping on Jiang Yuan's shoulder in shock, a huge question mark popping up in his mind.
Lin Suye knew what Jiang Yuan had gone to do. She pointed at Chi Xu and silently asked if the confession had been successful.
Jiang Yuan shook her head and said with a mix of amusement and annoyance that he had fallen asleep.
"Jia Fang, Chi Xu might be too tired from this afternoon. Be careful not to wake him up. Help me carry him into the tent," Jiang Yuan called Jia Fang over and whispered the instructions.
Jia Fang nodded, took Chi Xu from Jiang Yuan, and carried him on his back towards the tent. But he always felt something strange, as if something was off.
After they walked away, Lin Suye could finally speak. She plopped down beside Jiang Yuan and stared at her in disbelief, asking, "Are you saying Chi Xu fell asleep???"
No way. What a waste of such a good opportunity. How could he just fall asleep like that?
Jiang Kuo was also puzzled. "Normally, Brother Chi isn't like this."
It was even more unlikely for him to fall asleep on a girl's shoulder.
"Was Chi Xu still awake when you were chatting?" Yu Huan asked.
"He was awake. He fell asleep when the meteor shower started," Jiang Yuan propped her hands on the picnic mat and tilted her head back to look at the gorgeous meteors in the sky. She was also very confused. "Maybe he's just too tired today."
The confession could be made another time. She thought that with this experience, the next time might go more smoothly. She might as well consider this as practice given by Chi Xu.
On the other side, Jia Fang carefully carried Chi Xu back to the tent. Once inside, Jia Fang stopped pretending and snorted, "Brother Chi, get off by yourself."
He could tell what was going on as soon as he carried him.
The two adult men were about the same weight. If Chi Xu hadn't deliberately leaned on him, Jia Fang wouldn't have been able to carry him back to the tent so easily.
Chi Xu got off obediently and patted his shoulder to thank him.
"What kind of game are you and the junior sister playing that made you pretend to be asleep?" Jia Fang's gossipy heart was piqued. He stared straight at Chi Xu, demanding an explanation.
Chi Xu evaded the question. "The meteor shower outside is almost over. Why don't you go out and watch it quickly?"
Jia Fang lifted a corner of the tent curtain. Their friends were chatting and having a good time together, and the lively voices came in fragments with the wind.
He gritted his teeth, looked at Chi Xu, and said, "I'll ask you again when I get the chance." With that, he lifted the curtain and rushed out to join the group.
This was a rare meteor shower, after all.
The curtain fell, separating the tent from the outside world. Chi Xu opened the memo on his old phone and saw a line of words Jiang Yuan had written this afternoon.
[Updated at 17:39 today:
Today is October 22nd, 20xx. It seems that Chi Xu has really fallen for me. Should I confess during the meteor shower? If the confession is successful, I'll always remember this day, the day of victory.]
After having barbecue in the evening, he opened the memo and found this new entry. He gently stroked the screen with his finger.
At first, he was overjoyed, but as the excitement faded, he gradually understood.
Yuan Yuan, from the very beginning, didn't truly want to be with him. The confession wasn't from the bottom of her heart. She had an agenda.
So, the moment Jiang Yuan started to confess, he deliberately pretended to be asleep.
He heard all her words and felt a flood of emotions.
If their story continued like this, then what would the ending be like, and with what kind of mood would it end?
This was never what Chi Xu had hoped for.
Although he had left a note when he left three years ago, he still made Jiang Yuan resent him. He was willing to accept Jiang Yuan's pranks.
He just hoped that one day, Jiang Yuan would understand his feelings.
Chi Xu's eyes gradually dimmed. The faint light in the tent was cold and quiet.
Outside the tent, there were laughter and cheers. He stood there for a long time, then lifted the tent curtain and strode towards the group.