Chapter Eighteen — Proclamation to the World

Basking in the golden glow of the sunset, walking home from Kaisheng all the way to Jinlan Community was a rare pleasure.

People returning from work shared electric scooters, the one in the back pressing tightly against the other’s back, arms wrapped around his waist.

Such closeness could never be matched by sitting in the passenger seat of a car. I could feel your heartbeat, your breath, your warmth, your scent.

Yishu lost herself in her own imaginings, unable to escape.

Passing by the market near the neighborhood, she stopped in to buy some ingredients.

When she got home, Yan Lu wasn’t there. She had just taken out her phone to call when a familiar notification sound chimed.

WeChat displayed—Yan Lu.

—I won’t be home for dinner tonight.

Yishu opened WeChat and replied—Okay.

Just about to send it, she suddenly sensed something wrong. How did Yan Lu know she already knew she’d left work early today?

Before she could unravel the confusion, Yan Lu withdrew her message.

Her puzzlement only deepened.

—Where are you?

—Why ask such a strange question? Of course I’m at the office.

Yishu was sure Yan Lu was hiding something, though she was also certain it wasn’t anything serious.

—Then why didn’t I see you?

—You came to the office! I left early today because I had something to do. I’ll tell you when I get back.

—Wherever you are, come home soon.

—Got it.

Yan Lu didn’t reveal her location. Yishu knew there was no point in pressing further. Besides, everyone needs their own private space.

She put down her phone and went to the kitchen, preparing a simple meal.

—What are you up to?

Yishu looked at the message—it was from Shixi.

—Just finished dinner. Have you eaten yet?

—Not yet, I’m saving my appetite to eat you.

Yishu was so shocked she nearly spit out her dinner. Could his account have been hacked? He’d never say such a thing.

—Are you starving to the point of delirium, talking nonsense now?

—I’m perfectly clear-headed. I want you to tell me—do you miss me? Do you love me?

Do I miss him?

I miss him. I miss him so much. I miss him terribly!

Do I love him?

I love him. I love him deeply. I love him passionately!

Yishu had never realized that loving someone could be so consuming, so fervent, and so utterly without reason. Perhaps it was love at first sight, deepened by time together. Her past understanding of love came only from soap operas. She knew nothing of how feelings arose and grew.

How should she reply? It was so hard to put into words.

After hesitating for a long time, Yishu replied with a single word—Miss.

—And you haven’t told me you love me yet?

This…

At that moment, a video call request popped up from him.

Yishu’s heartbeat rocketed from seventy to one hundred thirty beats per minute. Her temperature shot up to thirty-nine degrees.

Her raised right hand refused to obey her will.

How strange—after all this time together, why did she still blush and grow flustered every time he spoke to her? Why did her heart race and her mind turn to chaos? When they met in person, she couldn’t even look him in the eye.

His eyes were full of fragrance, clarity, sunshine, warmth, and gentle moisture… Whenever Yishu stole glances at him, she always felt these beautiful sensations shining from his star-bright gaze.

She quickly calmed her racing heart and tapped to accept the video call.

—Hahaha, see, I told you, our golden bachelor has long been taken. You all didn’t believe me.

Yishu was so startled she dropped her phone.

At the other end, it seemed to be a hotel private dining room—a big group gathered around a round table, feasting, chatting, making merry.

Yishu leaned closer to the screen, seeing all those curious faces turned toward her.

All strangers, but she recognized the voice just now.

Qiao Siming.

It seemed to be a department dinner, and she had unwittingly become the subject of their playful bets.

—So, President Xu really has a girlfriend. My dreams are crushed.

—Even if he didn’t have a girlfriend, you’d have no chance. You should thank her for saving you from your unrealistic fantasies.

—So President Xu likes women after all. I thought he was into men. We joined Xunyuan the same year, and I’ve never seen him date anyone.

—Now the only real golden bachelor in our department is me. The rest of you better hurry up.

Yishu listened to their raucous banter, completely at a loss. How had things gotten so out of hand? Where was Shixi—was he really letting them carry on like this, not stepping in?

—Hey, Su Yishu, come out and let everyone have a look.

Qiao Siming’s voice again—his low male voice, coming through the screen, turned shrill.

Yishu’s brows knitted together. If air could freeze, she wished it would block her ears. Those harsh voices were like metal scraping, leaving tiny cuts across her heart.

Just as she was about to end the call, a voice from the far end of the room grew louder and clearer.

—Who told you to do this? There are limits to jokes. This is the first and last time. If it happens again, there will be no more dinners.

The air fell silent.

From their expressions and glances, you could read a hundred meanings.

Xu Shixi picked up the phone and gently said to Yishu, “Wait for me a moment.”

As he stepped out of the private room, he turned back and solemnly addressed the people behind him: “And another thing: Yishu is my girlfriend. I hope you’ll respect that and not go too far.”

The silence deepened further.

You could hear the wind blowing.

Yishu’s world, too, fell quiet. But hers was not the guilty, uneasy silence of bored busybodies. It was a sweet hush, filled with emotion.

In fact, since they’d gotten together, he’d never spoken a single line of sweet nothings—not even “I love you.”

After all, he was such an outstanding man, not yet thirty, already standing atop a mountain. Even if it wasn’t the peak, to most people, he was one in a million.

To be with him was both a blessing and a pressure. Though Yishu didn’t care that Shixi excelled at everything, she knew lovers couldn’t be measured against one another. She was convinced he wasn’t approaching this as a mere experiment—his resolute words just now proved that.

From the day she agreed to be with him, she had resolved that, no matter whether their path was smooth or thorny, as long as his heart remained true, she would never give up.

Yishu had always imagined that the person to walk through life hand in hand with him would be her one and only. She would not lightly commit or promise. But once she did, it would be for life.

—Yishu, are you still there?

Xu Shixi was standing in the corridor outside the private room, his irritation gone, replaced by guilt.

—I’m here.

Yishu picked up her phone, replying softly, not daring to raise her voice.

—I hope I didn’t scare you just now. It’s my fault for leaving my phone on the table, and Siming just happens to know my password.

Xu Shixi gripped his phone tightly, head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor.

—No, you didn’t scare me. I’m fine—always fine. As long as you’re here, I’m fine.

The smile blooming on Yishu’s face was so radiant that even through the screen, Shixi could sense it.

At this moment, neither needed many words—thousands of them paled beside a few.

All of it, everything, could be distilled to “I like you.”

The essence of this short story could be summed up in just three words: “I love you.”