Memories were like a videotape, replaying repeatedly in his mind.
In an instant, the scenes that only he remembered rapidly zoomed in, then vanished.
Too long ago, so long that even he doubted whether memory and reality could truly overlap.
But he couldn't tell her.
The man closed his eyes and collected himself.
"Xuyu, do you remember that you were the 'department beauty' of the 2013 Oil Painting Department?"
His tone was very calm.
Chang Xuyu was startled. She did remember that. When she first met Yuan Zixu, a pretty girl from the department who was planning to be voted department beauty was causing trouble for Yuan Zixu. The two didn't get along, so Yuan Zixu asked if she could sign up Xuyu for the department beauty contest, confident that she would beat everyone else, otherwise she wouldn't be able to swallow that anger. Chang Xuyu was soft-hearted and didn't pay much attention to online matters, so she went along with it. She had seen that girl before—she looked like a doll, stylish and pretty. At the time, she said she might not be able to help Yuan Zixu. Yuan Zixu immediately cheered her on, saying that nowadays, her slim, fair, pure look was popular, like a blooming little white flower. Appearance wasn't important, since she had the face to carry it! But since it was a competition, Yuan Zixu asked Chang Xuyu if she had a photo to submit.
Thinking of this, Chang Xuyu remembered.
At the time, she searched her phone album and found a photo her aunt had taken when she took her out to play. It was the only time she had been nicely dressed—wearing a beret, a knee-length dress, her black hair hanging over her shoulders, as if she herself was a beautiful scenery, so stunning that people couldn't look away. Getting that photo, Yuan Zixu was overjoyed. She stared at it for a long, long time and called her a great beauty for half a month. Unsurprisingly, that photo of hers went viral on the campus wall, and she was eventually voted department beauty. Yuan Zixu, looking at the defeated face of her "archrival," laughed for half a month.
Yi Zhuo watched her lower her head in thought, paused.
Chang Xuyu came back to her senses and slowly turned her gaze to him.
There was a moment of awkwardness.
She avoided his eyes, pursed her lips, and the tips of her ears turned red.
"I remember now, it was that contest photo... I didn't expect you, being so many years ahead of me, could still find my photo?"
Her fingers unconsciously twirled a few strands of hair as she murmured softly.
It seemed she was overthinking.
But had they really never met before?
Her eyes wandered to him, tinged with suspicion.
Yi Zhuo hummed in acknowledgment, thought for a moment, and said slowly, "I graduated only a year after you. The sculpture program is five years long."
Chang Xuyu was stunned.
She met his gaze again, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
"What?"
She remembered he was four years older than her, so even if the sculpture program was five years, how could he have graduated only a year after her?
The man's tone was very flat, as if recounting a simple story—
"Something happened the year I took the college entrance exam. I took the art exam and the college entrance exam at twenty. Then I repeated for two more years before I got into the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It's really not easy to get in on the first try through the art exam. Xuyu, you're amazing."
Chang Xuyu's eyes widened.
He actually...
That must have been so hard.
"But don't you feel it's unfair? Did you have to go to the Central Academy of Fine Arts?" The question sprang up in her heart.
The CAFA was indeed the best, extremely difficult. Unless there was some unspoken reason he had to go, she couldn't think of any other reason.
He must have sacrificed so much over the years.
Psychologically, physically—he must have endured so much unavoidable pain.
Only people who go through the art exam understand that kind of pain.
If that was really the case, she couldn't imagine how Yi Zhuo had gotten through it.
Hearing this, he shook his head, looked up at the misty sky, and narrowed his eyes.
"I don't do things I'll regret."
That year, he resolutely walked the same path she had taken. Even if he thought about going back, he wanted to experience the pain and hardship she had gone through, to sail through a thousand sails and then come to her side.
There were reasons for what happened. The past couldn't be chased after. Both he and she needed to look forward.
"Going to the CAFA was my plan from the start. It was entirely within my life trajectory. So, Xuyu, I don't regret it, and I don't think it's unfair."
His Adam's apple moved, and his gaze lingered on her, fixed.
Chang Xuyu watched him and slowly nodded, murmuring two "hmm"s as if understanding but not quite.
"Hmm... then you're amazing too."
She didn't know what else to say, so she replied softly.
Hearing this, the man collected himself. After a couple of seconds, he suddenly smiled at her.
*
The next two days passed quickly. When he got home, Yi Zhuo lay on the sofa rubbing his brow, and soon fell asleep.
Chang Xuyu was cooking porridge in the kitchen. When she brought the pot out, she called him but got no response, so she came over and saw that he was already sound asleep.
He had a good sleeping posture—didn't move much, breathed evenly, and didn't snore. Every time Chang Xuyu turned over and saw his handsome profile, her mood improved considerably.
She sat beside him for a while and gently patted him. The man opened his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.