Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

Zhou Jingchen smelled like a pine forest on a clear, oxygen-filled morning after the rain, clean with a hint of the fresh, bitter scent of crushed hazelnuts.

The two embraced tightly, and Wenxi was enveloped by his breath. Her heart pounded like a drum, and her mind went blank, unsure of how to react.

Zhou Jingchen said he wanted her to love him? Why?

After a moment, he finally stepped back slightly, bent down gently, and devoutly cupped her face in his hands, his gaze fixed on her, meeting her eyes with deep affection.

His eyes reddened, and he swallowed hard.

"Sister, I've liked you since I was little, I like you so much, I don't know what to do."

"When we were little, you would snatch my candy, stuff me with half an apple you'd already bitten, scribble all over my textbooks, and make me your little slave. Back then, you were a chubby little dumpling."

"In middle school, you stole my allowance, made me do your homework, skipped class to go to the movies with your classmates, and were always up to mischief, playing pranks on this person and teasing that person. Back then, you were a mischievous little devil."

"When you entered high school and college, you suddenly blossomed into a beautiful woman. You danced like a graceful butterfly. You had a beautiful face and a great figure, just like a bright and flamboyant peony."

The boys who were pursuing you could line up from the classroom to the school gate. But me? I could only silently follow behind you, leaning on my crutches, and even when I fell, I needed your help to get up.

I watched you run in the fields with other people, watched you smile at other people, watched you receive stacks of love letters, watched you date other people, watched you hug other people...

"My heart is burning with jealousy, I'm going crazy with jealousy! Your smile is so beautiful, I don't want you to smile at anyone else, I want to hide your smile so that only I can see it."

"I've wanted to tell you countless times: Wenxi, I love you so much. But can I? I can't! I'm just an orphan, a cripple with difficulty walking, a disabled person who can barely walk steadily. You are a little princess surrounded by admirers, the moon hanging in the sky. How could someone like me be worthy of you? How dare I even dream of you?"

As he spoke, his voice trembled, and hot tears fell, sliding down his cheeks and leaving winding wet streaks.

"I'm a cripple, but I'm also a normal boy. You've never treated me like a boy. You dance and wiggle your butt in front of me, and when you're angry, you pinch, twist, and bite me like a little monster. You sit on my lap, pounce on me... Every time, I wish I could hold you in my arms and kiss you to death, but I only dare to think about it."

Wenxi stared at him in astonishment, her round, bright almond-shaped eyes wide.

The man in front of her had his back to the light. His eyes were lowered, and his tall figure enveloped her in half of the shadow. Wenxi's breath was filled with the crisp and pleasant scent of snow-covered pine wood emanating from him, which was intoxicating and dizzying.

"Do you know why I studied so hard?" He raised his hand and slapped his left leg hard, his teeth clenched tightly. "Do you know why I'm so determined to heal this crippled leg?"

"I can be disabled for the rest of my life, but Zhou Jingchen, who likes Wenxi, cannot be disabled."

"I want my moon princess to see me, to stand tall and proud beside you without needing a cane; I want to become good enough, worthy of you. I tell myself that as long as I can stand up, as long as I can walk steadily, as long as I stand tall enough to shelter you from the wind and rain, to become your support, I can stand openly before you and tell you that I love you, that I have loved you for many years."

He pulled her into a tight embrace again, resting his chin on the top of her head, and lowered his head to kiss her soft hair tenderly.

"I know you feel there's a chasm between us, so you keep pushing me away. These words are my heartfelt confession; they're not out of sympathy, pity, or taking advantage of your misfortune."

"You are Wenxi, the Wenxi who, even if she falls and bleeds, will get up and dust herself off. You are smart, beautiful, kind, and resilient. You never need anyone to save you."

"I just... beg you, give me a chance to stand by you. Just like when we were kids, you took me and the other kids in the alley to play soccer; just like when it rained and you held an umbrella for me; just like how you always put my arm around your shoulder, letting me lean on you and slowly walk forward."

Hot, wet tears seeped into Wenxi's collar, burning all the way to her heart.

These words seemed to have exhausted all his strength; his voice grew lower, hoarser, and more humble as it faded.

"Wenxi, please stop running, okay? My legs aren't good, I can't catch up with you. Last time I was chasing you on the overpass, I fell hard and it hurt so much I couldn't get up. The brace I had in my leg almost broke..."

Hearing this, Wenxi felt a surge of sorrow.

Her heart clenched, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She instinctively raised her hands, wanting to wrap them around his waist, but her hands froze a few centimeters from his back.

Zhou Jingchen's voice was terribly hoarse, and he held her tighter and tighter, as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would disappear.

"Don't push me away anymore, give me a chance, Wenxi. Give me an equal opportunity to stand beside you, like the other boys, okay?"

Wenxi felt a pang in her heart. A surge of emotions—gratitude, surprise, heartache, and bitterness—overwhelmed her.

"You lied to me, you big liar!" she cried, pounding her fist on his back, accusing him, "You stood me up in college without even an explanation. I called your house, and your girlfriend answered. I even heard you ask her name as Xiaobao... And now you're trying to lie to me again? Do you think I'm so easy to fool? Do you think that if you say something nice, I'll believe you and let you play with me?"

Her soft fists pounded against his strong, broad back, and tears fell like broken beads, soaking his shirt.

Zhou Jingchen was taken aback for a moment, then cupped her face in his hands. Seeing her beautiful face streaked with tears, he bent down and gently pecked at her glistening tears.

Then his eyes lit up, and he belatedly fell into a state of ecstasy.

"You like me, don't you? You're jealous, aren't you? Wenxi, do you... like me too?"

He hurriedly explained, his words tumbling out incoherently: "I didn't stand you up. That day I brought flowers to your school to find you, and I saw...you hugging a boy...It was raining so hard that day, and I got sick with a fever as soon as I got back to Linshen. When I got better, I called you again, but you weren't answering."

"I don't know anything about the phone call! I don't have a girlfriend, never! My sister must have answered that call, her name is Lu Xiaobao, really."

As if afraid she wouldn't believe him, he shakily pulled out his phone, frantically flipped to the contact list, and handed it to her.

Wenxi did see through her blurry vision that there was indeed a name called Lu Xiaobao.

Lu is his parents' surname.

What a ridiculous misunderstanding, what a melodramatic misunderstanding! Her pride was shattered, and she thought he didn't like her.

She cried for many days and thought about it for many years, wondering why Zhou Jingchen didn't like her.

It turned out to be a huge misunderstanding.

Unfortunately, it's too late. Everything is too late now.

Time flies, and years pass. She is no longer the dazzling Wenxi she once was.

She sold pirated DVDs on the overpass and danced in bars; he saw her at her most disheveled and vulnerable.

She was proud and unyielding since childhood, but now she lives like a rat hiding in a gutter.

He was the high and mighty President Zhou, a rising star in the tech industry; there was an insurmountable chasm between them.

Everything was wrong.

Wrong time, wrong place.

Even this belated confession was wrong.

Wenxi seemed to wake from a dream and abruptly pushed him away.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear those words tonight."

After saying that, she flung open the door as fast as she could and staggered away from the space that had made her heart race and suffocate her so much she felt like she was drowning.