And what about Yan Xuming?
Although the weather was already quite cold, there were still many people willing to come out for a run and couples finishing their meals before heading to the field for digestion.
Walking along the field, some people sporadically recognized Yan Xuming. It was hard not to; he was tall enough that even his back was easily recognizable.
In the dim light, some people didn’t notice Mai Dong’s hand in Yan Xuming’s pocket. They casually came over to greet Yan Xuming, asking how he could have the leisure to come to the field for a walk.
Yan Xuming didn’t say anything; instead, his eyes signaled the person to look into the pocket where their hands were hidden. Upon seeing Mai Dong holding a large bouquet of roses, the person exclaimed, “WTF,” and then turned around and left.
Mai Dong felt extremely embarrassed and harbored resentment towards their trial period. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll misunderstand? Aren’t we still in our trial period?”
Yan Xuming didn’t answer his question but instead asked, “Do you want to know how I see you?”
Mai Dong turned to him, puzzled. “Huh?”
Yan Xuming, throughout his life, had always had things go smoothly for him.
Although his family’s financial situation couldn’t match that of Mai Dong; ‘s rich third generation, Yan Xuming never lacked food or clothing. With good academic performance and a tall stature, he was always seen as a representative figure of “other people’s children” wherever he went.
When he was in kindergarten, his mother used to pick him up from school. On the way home, they would sometimes meet other classmates and their parents. One time, while chatting, a classmate’s mother jokingly said to Yan Xuming’s mother, “Xiao Yan is so handsome. How about he becomes our son-in-law in the future?”
Yan Xuming, being young and unaware of adult humor, was quite cocky. He crossed his arms and replied, “Then you should line up. Just the other day, Liu Xiaoru also said she wanted to marry me.”
His response made both mothers burst into laughter.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lf tjv yffc j mijrr wbclabg jii atf kjs eq ab cbk. Jtlivgfc lc fifwfcajgs jcv wlvvif rmtbbi kfgf atf wbra vloolmeia ab wjcjuf; rbwfalwfr fnfc afjmtfgr mbeivc’a mbcagbi atfw, ifa jibcf mijrr wbclabgr. Dea ktja kjr ragjcuf kjr atja ktlif batfg mijrr wbclabgr kbeiv yjcu atf yijmxybjgv fgjrfg jujlcra atf ybjgv, rtbealcu, “Vabq ajixlcu, yf delfa,” ktfc atf mijrrgbbw ralii rbecvfv ilxf j wjgxfa, Tjc Wewlcu cfnfg vlv remt atlcur.
He just needed to casually say as he passed by the platform, “Alright ah, that’s enough chatting, time to get back to studying.” Initially, people laughed at him for lacking authority compared to other class monitors, but despite that, they listened well. The classroom would quickly quiet down, and everyone would bury themselves in their studies.
Yan Xuming had a peculiar aura about him. He was suited to be a leader, setting the pace for everyone. No matter what he chose, everyone seemed to trust him unconditionally. Many people tried to imitate him, copying his actions and words exactly, but they just couldn’t seem to get it right.
So Yan Xuming really hadn’t expected someone to make such a big mistake at such an important occasion as the freshmen orientation, reading his own speech in front of him. Mai Dong on the stage looked impatient, speaking quickly and with no passion or enthusiasm in his tone, clearly wanting to quickly get through the task of representing the freshmen.
Yan Xuming knew that this freshman named Mai Dong couldn’t possibly be intentionally provoking. It was just too coincidental. He had randomly copied a speech from the internet, which happened to be the one he himself had written last year. At the time, Yan Xuming found it amusing, even feeling that the two of them were really destined.
Talented people always recognize each other; it’s only natural. Yan Xuming had always been quite eager to get to know Mai Dong.
But Maidong didn’t give him this opportunity.
This person was truly strange. Consistently ranking first in academics, he neither became a class monitor nor assisted teachers with errands. He never participated in any major competitions or activities. Yan Xuming had initially planned to find some opportunity, like a competition, to formally get to know Mai Dong. However, he had dragged his feet for half a year without finding such an opportunity.
It wasn’t until the first parent-teacher conference after Mai Dong’s enrollment, which was after the end-of-year exams in his first year of high school, that Mai Dong’s grandfather, dressed in old and dirty clothes, came to attend the conference.
At that time, Yan Xuming happened to be standing in front of the end-of-year honor roll board. On the left side was the honor roll for the first-year students, with Mai Dong’s name prominently at the top. In the middle was the honor roll for the second-year students, with Yan Xuming’s name naturally occupying the first position.
“Hey, have you heard? It seems Mai Dong’s family is quite poor. I heard his grandfather is a garbage collector. He came to the parent-teacher conference without even changing his clothes.”
“Ah? He came wearing clothes from garbage collection ah? Don’t they have a single clean outfit at home? They could at least wash them ah, geez.”
Upon hearing those words, Yan Xuming instinctively furrowed his brows. He took two steps forward and cleared his throat, “Other people’s family backgrounds are private matters. Don’t say such things in private.”
The two individuals were startled by Yan Xuming’s reaction. They quickly muttered, “Sorry, senior,” and hurried away.
Seeing is believing. Yan Xuming deliberately used the excuse of delivering some documents to go to Mai Dong’s class, where the parent-teacher conference was being held. Upon entering, he scanned the room and indeed spotted a grandfather who looked out of place compared to the other parents, both in attire and demeanor.
Yan Xuming couldn’t help but reshape his impression of Mai Dong. He realized that Mai Dong’s family situation was like this. The aloof and independent xueba instantly transformed into a pitiful figure, filled with insecurity and unable to open up to others.
Fortunately, this rumor was quickly dispelled.
One rainy day after school, Yan Xuming was concerned that no one would come to pick up Mai Dong, so he brought two umbrellas with him, intending to find Mai Dong. However, he watched as Mai Dong got into a car and drove away. While the car wasn’t luxurious by Mai Dong’s family standards—just a vehicle casually bought by his grandmother a few years ago—it still required saving up for an average family.
As Mai Dong got into the car in the pouring rain, leaving Yan Xuming standing at the school gate holding another umbrella, Yan Xuming couldn’t help but chuckle to himself and muttered, “F*ck,” under his breath.
The two still didn’t have a chance to meet. Yan Xuming didn’t have much time to dwell on these matters every day. His attention to Mai Dong was subconscious; he would always ask about who was on the list of participants in competitions, check where Mai Dong’s name was on the honor roll, and whether his position had improved or declined.
During his senior year, Yan Xuming participated in the school sports meet. After completing the relay race, he was so exhausted that he felt like his lungs were about to burst. Even though some athletes from Class Four were participating, he hadn’t managed to snatch first place, despite putting in almost all of his effort. He exchanged a fist bump and a couple of playful insults with another runner.
As the sound of the starting gun echoed again on the other side of the field, Yan Xuming glanced at the time. “I’m going over there and have a look.”
His friend called after him, “Where are you going ah? You just finished running, take a rest.”
But Yan Xuming didn’t wait for him to finish speaking. He was already too far away, waving goodbye with his back towards them.
This was Mai Dong’s first time participating in a group activity. When Yan Xuming found the list of participants from the sophomore year, he was genuinely surprised. He noted the time for the two-person three-legged race and calculated that he could just make it in time. However, as soon as he arrived, he saw Mai Dong and his partner fall to the ground together.
Yan Xuming furrowed his brows, wanting to go over and check on them. But he hesitated, fearing that the aloof and studious xueshen might find it strange for a stranger to come over and show concern.
He hesitated for a moment, watching helplessly as Mai Dong stood up and then fell again. How can there be such a stupid person? Clearly, aside from studying, they didn’t do anything else, yet they insisted on participating in the two-person three-legged race.
Ignoring his reservations, Yan Xuming squatted beside Mai Dong and handed him a cotton swab.
Previously, when Li Shengnan asked him if he liked Mai Dong since high school, Yan Xuming’s response was ambiguous.
As Mai Dong took the cotton swab and looked at it, he seemed lost in thought, his eyes reddening. It was hard not to stir a protective instinct in any normal man. His wrists were very thin, and the swab seemed almost insignificant in his grasp. At that moment, Yan Xuming even felt the impulse to lift him up and carry him, but they were still strangers, and such an action might have seemed intrusive to Mai Dong. So he refrained.
Yan Xuming had never really considered the idea of liking or not liking someone. He and Mai Dong hadn’t even had the chance to meet, so how could there be any question of liking or not?
Whether it was Yan Xuming’s imagination or not, in the time after the sports meet, he seemed to keep catching glimpses of Mai Dong everywhere: in the cafeteria, the supermarket, and the bookstore at the school gate.
He had almost grown accustomed to catching sight of Mai Dong whenever he glanced around. Sometimes it was an accidental meeting of their eyes, sometimes it was his figure in the school uniform, and sometimes it was his blue backpack.
Yan Xuming always wanted to find an opportunity to greet Mai Dong, to formally get to know him. However, every time their eyes met, Mai Dong would quickly leave, leaving Yan Xuming feeling puzzled and even doubting himself, thinking that perhaps the aloof xueba disliked him.
After graduating from high school, when the exam results came out, the class teacher called Yan Xuming immediately. The teacher sounded excited, saying that Yan Xuming had secured first place in the entire district and second place in the city, missing the top spot by just four points, which was such a pity. Yan Xuming didn’t feel too disappointed, though. He was never careless; the points he lost were deservedly lost. If his grades weren’t as good as others, there was nothing to feel regretful about.
The teacher invited him to speak at the graduation ceremony and to offer some advice to the juniors who would be entering their senior year. The night before the ceremony, Yan Xuming sat at home writing his speech. As he wrote, he remembered Mai Dong standing on the stage two years ago, reading his own speech.
Thinking about it, Yan Xuming smiled. He felt that he had spent his three years of high school relatively smoothly. The only regret he had was not getting to know Mai Dong.
In the end, what kind of person is Mai Dong?
Yan Xuming had no understanding of him. Not only did he lack understanding, but he also lacked any means of understanding. This person was like a tightly guarded city, and no one could find the door to enter.
So maybe everyone in this story fall in love first and fall deeper!!!
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Oh my! ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
I’m so glad we get to read both perspective! (≧◡≦)
Thank you for the chapter! 🫶
your pfp is so goofy
awww
Let us all thank mai dong’s diary for sacrificing itself and was picked up by yan xuming for some progress between them to finally happen 🙏