How could this be possible? If she really loved me, then what is the thing pushing her away from me? Xu Yuan continued thinking this.
Silly girl, if you really loved me that much, then why didn't you tell me about it? Why? But I can't ask her. She'll say it only if she wants to; otherwise, for this whole life, I won't ask her. I won't push her to say the truth.
He wiped his face with both his hands and then stood up and said, but at least, no matter how many days you are here, I'll protect you from any problem, any.
But what if you had told me this earlier? Why am I crying like this? For her, it means I have… I have fallen for her. Yes, how could it be possible not to fall for her? You gave me every reason to fall for you. I never thought that love in my life would come like this one day, but it came in the most unexpected way, the most unexpected.
And you are so silly that you didn't even say it all to me. But I'll wait. Even if this wait never ends, I'll still wait for the day when you yourself say this truth to me. Till then, I'll love you silently, where no one sees it, no one hears it—like the moon in the sky. Every night it shines with lots of stars, and everyone, everyone just talks about the moon only. They don't bother to talk about the stars around it. You are that moon in our story, and I'll be those stars around you. Just like stars protecting the moon in the sky, I'll protect you the same way.
Love really comes in unexpected ways.
He laughed half-softly, thinking about it, then continued and said, but our love came in a way where someone loved me long ago and I didn't even know it. I didn't even know it.
Then suddenly, a knock on the door came.
"Mr. Xu Yuan, we are done for today. Actually, rain has started and we need to shoot outside, but because of that, we canceled it. So it's pack-up. We'll continue tomorrow," some assistant said.
He replied, "Okay."
Then Yang Lulu and I were going out of the set. I said to Yang Lulu, "Don't forget to send me the picture of your would-be husband, okay?"
She smiled shyly and said, "Zhao Shiza, you are too much."
"Okay, okay, I understand," I said.
"Zhao Shiza, how will you go back to your dormitory? Outside it's such heavy rain. Do you want an umbrella? I have an extra one," Yang Lulu asked me in a quiet, worried tone.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll take my bus, then I'll be safe there. But yes, I'll take this umbrella if your umbrella offer is still valid," I said.
"Of course, take it," Yang Lulu said, and immediately took out another umbrella from her bag and handed it to me.
I took it. "Okay, bye-bye, Yang Lulu," I waved my hand at her.
Yang Lulu left first, and then I was also about to leave the set location when I suddenly remembered, oh no, I forgot my phone in the makeup room.
I ran toward the makeup room and started looking for my phone here and there. I scratched my head and said, "Where is it? Where did I put it?"
Then I saw it on an upper shelf of the cupboard. Maybe Yang Lulu put it there; I had given it to her for charging.
I tried to reach it, but couldn't. First attempt failed. Then I jumped for the second attempt—failed again. Finally, I used all my strength to grab it, but the third attempt also failed.
"I think I should call somebody to put it down for me," I said to myself. "Why did Yang Lulu need to be so tall? I can't even reach my phone."
Suddenly, a long hand came and took my phone from the upper shelf so effortlessly, like it was usual work. I turned around, and that hand was none other than Xu Yuan.
"Xu Yuan, why are you here?" I asked softly.
"Nothing. I just saw a bunny rabbit struggling to take her own phone, so I came to rescue her," he said.
"What bunny rabbit?" I got a little shocked. "Where is the bunny rabbit here?" I started looking around.
Then he pulled my hair a little, tilting my head slightly, and said, "I'm talking about you, silly girl."
My mouth opened halfway and my eyes widened. "What? I… I am not," I said.
"Then okay, I'll put it back on the shelf. Help yourself," he said.
"No, no, Xu Yuan, don't do this," I said in fear that he might actually put my phone back.
"Okay, okay, relax. Take it, your phone," he handed it to me.
Our fingers touched slightly, making my heart flutter, but I took it quickly from his hand. Then I noticed a mischievous smile on his face.
"What are you laughing at?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said casually.
"Don't lie. I know you are laughing at my height, thinking I can't even take my own phone. But it's not my fault—it's the fault of the person who made this shelf so high. Normal people can't reach it, only aliens can," I said.
"You mean I'm an alien?" he asked, raising one eyebrow in his usual style that melts me.
I quickly changed my gaze. "No… I didn't mean that."
He chuckled a little and said, "You are shorter than the average height. That's not anyone's fault."
"What? Shorter than average?" I asked.
"Hm. Don't you know it?" he asked.
"I am a tall girl," I said, folding my arms.
"Oh really? How much is your height?" he asked.
"It's… it's 5 feet 7 inches," I said in one breath.
"Does 5 feet 7 inches really look like this?" he asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Okay, then I'll bring a measuring tape. I have one with me," he said, pretending to go.
"Hey, wait, Xu Yuan, it's not needed," I said quickly.
"So tell me."
"…Okay, it's not 5 feet 7 inches. It's 5 feet 1 inch, barely," I said, looking down.
He laughed loudly. "You are barely 5 feet, and just now you said 5 feet 7 inches. Amazing. From where do these lies come?"
"It's not a lie. It's… it's an escape," I said.
"But there is a difference between us. I mean, not that much difference in height," I added.
He bent down to meet my eye level and said, "See, I need to bend to meet your eyes."
"I know," I said before he could continue, "5 feet 11 inches."
His eyes weren't shocked today; they were different—like he already knew what I was going to say.
He smiled slightly. "So you know there is almost a 10-inch difference between us. I'll definitely need my back checked. If I keep bending like this, I'll develop permanent back pain," he joked.
But I took it seriously. "No need to worry about that, Mr. Xu Yuan. It's just a matter of a few months. After that, we'll both go on our separate paths."
I took my phone, clutched my bag tighter, and left without looking back.
Xu Yuan was still standing there. My words struck him like a knife. He didn't say anything. He just stood there and whispered,
"Why is it so obvious for you that we won't meet again? Why can't you believe in your own feelings? Can't you think that we can be together… can't you think?"