"Song Qinian!"
When Shen Chi Yan regained consciousness, only Song Qinian's figure filled his mind.
The girl who had always appeared in his dreams, whose face he could never quite see, he could finally see her clearly this time.
It wasn't Lin Qiu Tong, as he had always assumed, but Song Qinian.
His whole body ached terribly, but he paid it no mind. He had something very important to confirm.
Lin Qiu Tong was asleep, curled up by the bedside. He didn't wake her. With great difficulty, he got up, endured the pain, hailed a taxi, and went to Jing Hua University.
As dawn was just breaking, a security guard, yawning as he stepped out, saw Shen Chi Yan. His head was wrapped in bandages, he was wearing a coat over a hospital gown, and he looked utterly weak.
The security guard recognized Shen Chi Yan and was immediately startled.
"Mr. Shen, what… what happened to you? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"
"Open the gate!"
Shen Chi Yan's face was ashen. He exhaled white mist into the cold air; he was extremely frail, yet his commanding presence remained.
The security guard didn't know what he intended to do, but he dared not offend Shen Chi Yan and quickly opened the gate.
"Oh dear, Mr. Shen, where are you going? Shall I give you a ride?"
If Shen Chi Yan were to have an accident at the university looking like this, the school would be held responsible.
"Don't mind me!"
Shen Chi Yan uttered this coldly and stumbled into the campus.
He first went to Jing Hua University's Wuliu Lake and found the large tree he often leaned against while reading, and watching Song Qinian.
Memories flooded back. He remembered Song Qinian sitting on the grass not far away, painting, while he pretended to read, his eyes constantly fixed on her.
As the heir to the Shen family, Shen Chi Yan had received a rigorous education since childhood. While other boys were in their early stages of romance, discussing which girls were pretty or had good figures, his world was filled only with numbers and documents.
He was smarter than others but lagged behind in emotional maturity.
From that first glimpse downstairs, he had become interested in Song Qinian.
In fact, without him having to inquire intentionally, he could hear about Song Qinian from others.
For instance, Song Qinian was the campus belle of the Economics and Management department, an excellent student who won scholarships every year.
For instance, she loved to paint, enjoyed junk food, and despite being unable to speak, was remarkably cheerful.
And further, many pursued her, but upon realizing their chances were slim, they didn't turn resentful or bully her; instead, they silently protected her.
He didn't know what possessed him at the time, but he would "accidentally" appear on her usual routes every day to make his presence known. He would also pretend to read while secretly watching her paint.
Compared to the fervent confessions of others, he did nothing. Primarily, he was too busy then and feared he wouldn't have much time to spend with her.
Later, he heard that someone had founded a sign language association. He wanted to communicate with her and understand what she was trying to express, so he joined.
He also did many things he would absolutely never have done if he hadn't met Song Qinian, one of which was posting a confession on the confession wall.
He went to the confession wall and, relying on his memory, searched for his own confession in that area.
Confession letters were posted on this wall daily. Those from years ago were either buried at the very bottom, accidentally dislodged by someone, or worse, blown away by the wind. The chances of finding one were slim.
The winter morning was piercingly cold, yet Shen Chi Yan seemed impervious to it as he searched for the sticky note he had written amongst tens of thousands of others.
It was as if, as long as he found that sticky note, everything could go back to how it was.
He hadn't even considered what he would do if he couldn't find it.
His mind held only one thought: find it!
He had to find it!
The sky gradually brightened, and the quiet campus began to buzz with activity. The first to be up were always the studious ones.
They saw a man in a hospital gown, his head bandaged, one arm in a sling, and they all came forward asking if he needed help.
Many hands make light work. Shen Chi Yan didn't want to spend all day searching for a sticky note.
"Please help me find a sticky note that says, 'I wish my name and yours could be written together, whether on a wedding invitation or a tombstone at a funeral.'"
Thus, a crowd began helping Shen Chi Yan find the sticky note, and gradually, the group grew.
Indeed, the power of the masses was immense. An hour later, a young man found the sticky note Shen Chi Yan had written.
"Is this it?"
Shen Chi Yan took it and his eyes immediately reddened. It was his handwriting, written with the infatuation he felt for Song Qinian.
Shen Chi Yan bowed deeply to everyone, then asked the security guard to record the names and departments of everyone who had helped him find the sticky note.
The sticky note was real, which meant everything else was real too!
With a sudden realization, Shen Chi Yan rushed to Jing Yuan. He took out his phone, which had been locked in a drawer, unable to be opened.
He had already entered the wrong password twice. If he made another mistake, everything on the phone would be formatted.
He took a deep breath and entered the number that came to his mind.
181212.
It was the date he first met Song Qinian: December 12, 2018.
The phone finally unlocked. The screen displayed a painting of baby's breath. He eagerly opened the photo album and, as expected, it was filled with pictures of Song Qinian.
Shen Chi Yan disliked taking photos, let alone selfies.
His phone gallery usually contained only documents or study materials. But since meeting Song Qinian, his phone gallery was filled with her image.
There were photos of her studying intently, eating in the cafeteria, painting, walking, chatting with people, or listening to music with headphones on.
Without a doubt, these were all photos he had secretly taken.
He was like a stalker, wanting to see her every day, wanting to capture her image on his phone.
He was like a boy experiencing first love, opening his photo album every night before sleep to look at Song Qinian. Only then could he sleep soundly and have pleasant dreams.
He then took out the whistle.
Engraved on it were "y&q," not representing Shen Chi Yan and Lin Qiu Tong's "Qiu," but Shen Chi Yan and Song Qinian's "Qi."
He had always wondered why he would give a whistle if he were to confess to Lin Qiu Tong. Now he understood. Because Song Qinian couldn't speak, he wanted to give her a whistle. When he needed her or wanted to call her, he would simply blow the whistle, and she would appear before him.
On the day he decided to confess to Song Qinian, he planned to call her after he had prepared the scene at the Bund.
He never imagined that he would have a car accident and forget the person he loved most and cherished.