šBack From Loveļ¼ē±å·²å½ę„ļ¼
šChapter 4: Close, Then Cold
šSetting: Sunday ā Chengdu | Morning at Xiaoxi's Apartment, Later at a Riverside Book Market
Chen Xiaoxi woke up with a text hangover.
Not from alcohol. From emotion.
She sat curled up in bed, tangled in her panda-print duvet, re-reading her own WeChat message from the night before like it had been sent by someone else.
> "Thanks for today. And for the coffee.
Sorry I ran.
I'm justā¦ still figuring things out."
No reply. Yet.
She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and groaned dramaticallyālike a teenager or someone five seconds away from watching sad dog videos for emotional catharsis.
Just as she started composing a follow-up text ("Ignore the last message, I was possessed by sincerity"), her phone buzzed.
[Lu Zihan]:
> "No apology needed.
I'm figuring things out too.
Just don't disappear, okay?"
Her breath caught.
Simple. No pressure. No games.
Just enough warmth to make her stupid little heart go thump-thump-thump again.
---
āScene 1: Almost Something
They agreed to meet that afternoon at a riverside book marketāa low-key spot with street vendors, old novels, and aggressively judgmental ducks patrolling the riverbank.
Xiaoxi arrived early.
Which was out of character. She was usually fashionably five minutes late, or "I had to fix my eyeliner" late. But today, she was on time and nervousāchecking her phone too often and pretending not to fluff her hair every ten steps.
When she saw Zihan approachingācamera in one hand, coffee in the otherāshe smiled before she could stop herself.
"Don't tell me you're early," he said, grinning.
"Don't tell me you brought me coffee."
"I brought you coffee," he replied.
She took it, brushing his fingers accidentally-on-purpose. "You know that's manipulative, right?"
"I prefer 'emotionally strategic.'"
They walked through the narrow lanes, occasionally stopping to flip through old books, comment on cheesy romance covers, and laugh about everything from poorly translated titles to a mystery vendor who looked suspiciously like someone's grandpa in a spy movie.
It felt easy again.
Until it didn't.
: The Chill Creeps In
They sat on the edge of the riverbank, their knees almost touching.
"I'm glad you texted," Zihan said, looking out at the water.
Xiaoxi hesitated. "I almost didn't."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Because I've got this annoying habit of liking people just enough to panic and then overthink myself into solitude."
He turned to her. "And am I people?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her bag, pulled out a novel she'd bought earlier, and handed it to him wordlessly.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
He raised an eyebrow. "A breakup book?"
"A warning," she said flatly. "Dating me is like that book. Philosophical. A bit cold. Mostly depressing."
Zihan looked at the book. Then at her.
And smiled gently.
"I like depressing things," he said. "But I like honest people more."
That should've made her feel better.
But somehow, it made her feel worse
Cold Feet, Cold Air:
As the sun began to dip behind the willow trees, the temperature dropped.
And so did the mood.
Xiaoxi grew quieter. Her jokes came slower. Her replies shorter.
Zihan noticed. Of course, he did.
He wasn't the type to push. He didn't confront her with "what's wrong?" or dramatic accusations. He simply stopped talking too, leaving the space for her to speak. Or not.
When she finally looked at him, something in his expression made her chest ache. Like he knew she was slipping away in real time.
"Listen," she said, standing up and brushing imaginary dust off her coat. "Thisā¦ whatever this is? It's moving fast."
"We're sitting," he replied. "Barely moving at all."
She smiled, sadly. "You know what I mean."
He stood too. "Yeah. I do."
"Maybe we just caught each other at the wrong time."
He nodded once. Slowly. "Maybe."
The silence between them was colder than the wind.
She turned to go. And this time, she didn't look back.
š±Later That Night
Her phone buzzed.
[Lu Zihan]:
> "Hey. If you need space, I'll give it to you.
Just don't let your fear ruin something real before it has a chance to start.
I don't play games, Xiaoxi. But I won't chase ghosts either."
She stared at the message for a long time.
And for once, didn't know what to say.