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A storm had passed, leaving behind a room filled with lingering warmth.
Junxi lay in Zhou Xuanyu's embrace, feeling drowsy without the need for any external aid. Zhou Xuanyu continued to kiss her; at first, his kisses fell like a rapid downpour, but soon transformed into a gentle drizzle that nourished without a sound. Junxi pressed tightly against his chest, holding him close but not responding to his affections.
After a while, Zhou Xuanyu paused, tightening his hold on her as they both savored this long-awaited moment of tranquil intimacy.
"Is Zhou Ziyan with Xiang Han now?" Junxi suddenly asked.
She recalled the scene in Zhou Ziyan's studio earlier, where Xiang Han seemed to be by Zhou Ziyan's side at every moment. Although they exchanged few words, the unspoken understanding between them was unmatched by anyone else.
Later on, Zhou Ziyan had gotten drunk and was sick in the bathroom, with Xiang Han taking care of him the entire time.
Junxi had no intention of prying into their private lives; she had merely stumbled upon Xiang Han using a towel to wash Zhou Ziyan's face at the communal sink.
Zhou Ziyan was out of it, yet he obediently allowed Xiang Han to clean him up without moving an inch.
Junxi understood Zhou Ziyan well; he would never let someone he disliked touch him. Even when sober, he might not express his discomfort overtly due to politeness, but when drunk, anyone who dared to touch him would be in for trouble.
Now, seeing him so docile in front of Xiang Han was telling enough.
Xiang Han was meticulous; each time she wrung out the towel, she used warm water. Finally, after cleaning Zhou Ziyan up completely, she turned to wash the towel when suddenly, Zhou Ziyan hugged her from behind.
The embrace came as a complete surprise—not only did it startle Junxi as an observer, but it was clear that Xiang Han was taken aback as well.
Junxi hurriedly stepped back, afraid of disturbing the two people. As she retreated, she heard Zhou Ziyan repeatedly mumbling, "Xiang Han, thank you. Thank you for always being by my side."
...
"What's wrong? Did you figure it out?" Zhou Xuanyu countered.
"People in love gradually draw closer to each other. I just feel like these two are becoming more and more like magnets, sticking together all day long."
"Your intuition has always been spot on. If you say they're together, then they must be together."
Zhou Xuanyu didn't actually know much; he had only heard Zhou Ziyan mention it casually. Some time ago, Xiang Han's father had pressured her into an arranged marriage with a stranger, causing her to have a falling out with her family.
Zhou Ziyan couldn't stand by and watch, so he stepped in to protect her. He was helping Xiang Han as a friend, but she took that opportunity to confess her feelings to him.
It's often said that when a man pursues a woman, there's a mountain in between; when a woman pursues a man, there's only a thin veil. Not to mention that Xiang Han was not only beautiful but also shared similar interests with him. Moreover, after Zhou Ziyan faced repeated setbacks and his life hit rock bottom, it was Xiang Han who stood by him through those painful days.
True feelings are revealed in times of hardship. When a certain love permeates life and flows through one's veins, how could Zhou Ziyan resist?
"Zhou Ziyan is actually quite happy," Junxi remarked with emotion.
Zhou Xuanyu nodded.
After weathering the storms of life, Zhou Ziyan now possessed dreams, a career, and a loved one—he truly was happy.
"What is your dream?" Junxi suddenly looked up at Zhou Xuanyu.
Zhou Xuanyu was momentarily at a loss for words. The age when he should have been dreaming had been crushed by fate. Now that he had long passed the age for dreaming, the little remaining dream he held lay comfortably in his arms; that was enough for him.
"Nothing?" Junxi cupped his face in her hands.
Zhou Xuanyu rested his chin on Junxi's forehead and gently kissed her brow.
"My dream is you."
Junxi's thesis, under Zhou Xuanyu's guidance, was quickly approved. When Zhou Ziyan heard about it, he insisted that Zhou Xuanyu help him with his own thesis as well.
Zhou Xuanyu couldn't show favoritism and had to agree. But who knew that Zhou Ziyan's thesis was riddled with flaws, and it couldn't be fixed with just a few edits.
"What should we do?" Junxi asked.
Zhou Xuanyu rubbed his forehead. "What can we do? I practically rewrote the whole thing for him."
Junxi laughed at this for several days. However, her laughter soon faded; although the thesis was sorted out, she was now troubled by the speech she had to give at the graduation ceremony.
During her time at school, she had hosted events and participated in debates, but speaking at such an important and meaningful occasion as a graduation ceremony made her feel the weight of responsibility and left her unsure of where to start.
The most memorable graduation speech she recalled was from Zhou Xuanyu. Even though he had graduated ten years ago, Junxi still vividly remembered how passionate and sincere he had been on stage that day. She wasn't sure if it was the bittersweet nature of graduation or if Zhou Xuanyu's words resonated too deeply, but she saw many female students in the audience wiping away tears.
To move oneself and others—that must be the highest realm of giving a speech.
Junxi called Zhou Xuanyu to ask for advice on how to write a touching speech.
As someone who had been through it all, Zhou Xuanyu found it easy to answer such questions. He said, "Don't make your words too forced or extravagant. Think about these four years, write from the heart, and you'll resonate with your fellow alumni."
This advice felt both very sensible and rather abstract.
However, Junxi carefully reflected on Zhou Xuanyu's words and found them to be quite reasonable. With his reminder, a thought began to form in her mind.
No matter what kind of dilemma troubled her, it seemed that Zhou Xuanyu's few words could always resolve it. How fortunate she was to encounter such a wise man.
"Will you come to my graduation ceremony?" Junxi asked cautiously.
"I have to go on a business trip out of town in the next few days..."
"Does that mean you can't come?" Junxi did not hide her disappointment at all.
"I haven't finished speaking."
"Does that mean you'll come back?"
"I will. I will make it back."
As the graduation ceremony approached, the atmosphere at school became somewhat complex, filled with both joy and sadness.
Xue Waiwai and her friends, who were the elite leaders of various clubs, attended countless banquets every day. Each time they returned from these gatherings, they were often drunk.
Although no one said it outright, Junxi knew that everyone was reluctant to graduate.
Junxi herself had not participated in many banquets during her four years of college; she had been busy juggling part-time jobs and rarely joined school clubs. At the time, she didn’t think much of it, but now looking back, her four years felt rather lonely.
As the time for parting drew near, Xue Waiwai and her friends also scheduled the dinner they had promised with Zhou Xuanyu. However, due to Zhou Xuanyu being away on business, this dinner, which the sisters defined as "extortion," could only be postponed until after the graduation ceremony.
After several noisy days filled with laughter and tears, the day of the graduation ceremony quickly arrived.
The weather was beautiful that day.
Junxi and her sisters, including Xue Waiwai, had put on their graduation gowns early in the morning and headed to school to take pictures. Everyone was eager to leave a memory for each other and to mark their youth.
As the photoshoot continued, Xue Waiwai suddenly began to cry. Junxi was unsure what had triggered her emotions and didn't know how to comfort her until she spotted Xue Waiwai's ex-boyfriend, Cao Gaoyuan, from the Mathematics Department in the distance.
Gao Yuan was posing for pictures with a girl who didn’t seem to be a student at their school. She was dressed provocatively, leaning against Gao Yuan without a care for the onlookers, acting intimately with him.
“Xue Waiwai, you have a boyfriend now. Why can't you let go of him?” Junxi gently placed her hand on Xue Waiwai's shoulder to soothe her.
Xue Waiwai shook her head. “It's not that I can't let go of him; it's that I can't let go of my first love. After all, he was my first love, and it was such a pure feeling back then. But I gave my purity to such a jerk.”
“Who hasn’t loved a few scumbags when they were young?” the Dormitory Leader chimed in. “The existence of scumbags is meant to help you realize who is truly right for you.”
Xue Waiwai nodded, but her tears flowed even more fiercely as she hugged Junxi and the others tightly. “But I can’t bear to part with you all. I really can’t.”
Junxi felt her eyes welling up as well; how could she bear to part with them? The hardest four years of her life had been made possible by the trust and understanding of Xue Waiwai and the other sisters in their dormitory.
“Jie!”
Just as she struggled to hold back her tears, Jun Xuan's voice rang out from behind.
Junxi wiped her tears and turned around to see her parents and younger brother had arrived.
“Mom, Dad, why are you here so early?”
“It’s not too early. Your mom got up before dawn this morning, excited as if she were graduating herself,” Wen Wei couldn’t help but tease Yang Tingfang.
Yang Tingfang smiled gently. “My daughter is finally growing up; how can I not be excited?”
Junxi listened to them talk and quietly glanced behind them.
"Don't look anymore, Xuan Yu will be coming later," Jun Xuan said.
Understanding her brother's thoughts better than anyone, Jun Xuan saw right through Junxi's mind.
However, that wasn't the key point. The key point was what Jun Xuan had just called Zhou Xuanyu.
"Xuan Yu?" Junxi repeated those four words with difficulty.
Jun Xuan remained calm.
"Since he will eventually be my brother-in-law, I might as well get used to it in advance."
Junxi huffed, "Who knows what benefits he's given you."
"No need for benefits; I just like Zhou Xuanyu being my brother-in-law."
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