It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

Yup!

Why not take a spontaneous trip?

The thought took root in my mind and wouldn't go away.

Gazing at the white curtain of rain, Lu Ran's emotions, like the turbulent raindrops, pondered the feasibility of this move—

Tomorrow and the day after are the weekend, so there's plenty of time.

Both "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "Dragon Raja" have reached the climax of the first part, but both have drafts in reserve.

The only problem is that Huaizhong Pictorial has been pirated, but it's unlikely to be resolved in the short term; we can only patiently wait for the police's findings...

After all the calculations, it seems like I really can steal a half-day of leisure from my busy life.

He checked the train tickets from Huaicheng to Suocheng.

There is no high-speed rail connection. The nearest express train to Suocheng departs from Huaicheng West Station at 20:46, taking 34 hours and 38 minutes and covering a total distance of 3028 kilometers.

"Wow, it'll take two days and two nights to sit here." Lu Ran exclaimed in surprise.

It would take four days to travel there and back, and he has to prepare for his final exams next week, so it's definitely not feasible.

"Taking an airplane, huh?" someone whispered in his ear with a teasing laugh.

Lu Ran glanced over in surprise. The girl's neat short hair was covered with raindrops, and she had a delicate and lovely face with spirited eyebrows and eyes.

Di Lingyan's cheeks were flushed, and her similar eyes and lips made his heart skip a beat.

"What did you say?" Lu Ran put down his phone guiltily.

"Didn't you complain that the train was too slow? The plane is much faster; it only takes two hours to get there." Di Lingyan rubbed the damp black hair under her forehead, pouted her lips, and her bright, peach-blossom eyes rippled slightly.

Lu Ran couldn't figure out what she was thinking. "You...have been there?"

"No." Di Lingyan tossed his bangs and said casually, "Who doesn't want to go to Suocheng? Snow-capped mountains, plateaus, Potala Palace, the holy land for artsy young people to show off, I've wanted to go since I was a child."

Lu Ran felt relieved and echoed, "Yes, I'd really like to go and see."

"Then...shall we go?" Di Lingyan nudged him with her shoulder, her expression mischievous and lively like a deer. "Youth has no price, let's go!"

"Now?" Lu Ran swallowed hard. "The final exams are next month."

"What does it matter?" Di Lingyan said nonchalantly. "You think you can surpass Yi Shuang?"

"Can't we go during summer vacation?" Lu Ran tried to persuade her to calm down.

"I might not have time during summer vacation. You're going to Shanghai to participate in the National Essay Competition. If you win, there will be a lot more things waiting for you. I..." Di Lingyan's voice trailed off, barely audible amidst the rain, "Is that not okay?"

"Just us?" Lu Ran asked.

"Just us." Di Lingyan curled the corners of her mouth.

"Liang-jie and Xing-ping are practicing comics, and Yi-shuang and Han-zhi have both gone home, so it's just the two of us."

The third issue of Huaizhong Pictorial sold out, which is ultimately exciting news.

Xia Liang and Li Xingping are determined to hone their drawing skills and continue their efforts to create an even more impressive comic.

Zhao Yishuang was picked up and taken home in a luxury car that was hailed as a state guest.

Zheng Qianyun also took Zuo Hanzhi away. Hmm, she always felt that Hanzhi would be bullied if she was with Lu Ran...

"Hmm..." Lu Ran thought for a moment, "Give me your ID card, I'll buy the tickets."

"Great!" Di Lingyan was overjoyed and took out her ID card from the inner pocket of her shoulder bag and handed it to him.

Lu Ran bought a ticket for a flight that departs at 9:30 p.m.

Two tickets cost just over three thousand, but the time was condensed to two hours and twenty minutes—

It's a great deal!

Rather, it's more accurate to say that there are no faster modes of transportation available anymore.

He examined Di Lingyan's ID photo with curiosity. This should be junior high school.

She bears a striking resemblance to Sister Di, with shoulder-length hair and youthful features, yet she is already a stunning beauty in the making.

"Have you seen enough...give it back!" Di Lingyan said shyly.

Her girlish charm made Lu Ran momentarily stunned.

He wanted to say something to cover it up, so he looked around and saw the lotus pond in the rain, and pointed to it in the distance.

"No flower or leaf in the world can compare; the flower is placed in a golden basin, while the leaf turns to dust."

This is……

Di Lingyan opened her eyes wide and stared at him intently.

Although the girls in the literary club don't outwardly boast, they will intentionally or unintentionally show off the "love letters" they received from Lu Ran.

Li Xingping has a poem called "Slowly in the Past," which was given to her by Zheng Yue, but it is, after all, an authentic work by Lu Ran.

She posted it on Weibo, and it has received millions of likes so far. The line "One lifetime is only enough to love one person" has become widely circulated and is regarded by netizens as Lu Ran's classic love quote of loyalty and devotion.

Xia Liang was in the most awkward position, holding only half of the line "Having seen the vast ocean, other waters are nothing; having beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds are nothing."

Because it seems that Canghai is Zhao Yishuang, and Wushan is Zuo Hanzhi...

However, Xia Liang's unusual thought process didn't take it to heart; instead, she was pleased.

Not only did he promote it extensively in his fan club, but he also solicited second half-line suggestions online, sparking a large number of netizens to create their own versions of Lu Ran's poem.

Needless to say, Zuo Hanzhi was the one to whom Lu Ran reserved his last bit of affection.

"When You Are Old", "The Crab Is Peeling My Shell", "Zuo Hanzhi Supremacist"... have also become the officially recognized empress by netizens.

Zhao Yishuang was Lu Ran's first crush, and netizens wouldn't believe it if you said there were no love letters from Lu Ran.

During the band's performance, it was Zhao Yishuang who played the pipa.

Therefore, scholars generally believe that Zhao Yishuang is the mysterious pipa player, and "Pipa Xing" is the most affectionate poem that Lu Ran wrote for Zhao Yishuang.

After going around in circles, Di Lingyan hadn't gotten anything.

Even the song "Slowly in the Past," Di Lingyan secretly thought, was actually given to Zheng Yue by Lu Ran, strictly speaking.

Even Zheng Yue has it, but I'm the only one who doesn't.

Could it be that my charm is not as great as that of boys...? Di Lingyan didn't believe it. With Lu Ran's personality of spreading his affections evenly, he would forget about her.

But she was too shy to speak up directly; that would make it seem like she liked him, no way...

So she stubbornly kept it to herself.

We waited and waited, and finally it happened...

Di Lingyan's bright eyes held a secret joy as she meticulously etched the poem into her heart—

Flowers and leaves in this world are incomparable; flowers are placed in golden basins, while leaves turn to dust.

Hmm, it seems to mean that flowers and leaves in the world are never treated equally. The beautiful flowers are carefully cared for in golden basins, while the green leaves that set them off can only fall into dust.

No, am I a flower or a leaf?

An indescribable bitterness welled up from the bottom of her heart and rushed to her nose. From a young age, she had grown up in the dazzling halo of her older sister.

In terms of grades, music, and art, Di Qingling was the most perfect top student, the figure she chased but could never reach.

When I realized that I couldn't get the same approval from my parents through my studies.

Di Lingyan chose another path: running. Day after day, under the scorching sun and pouring rain, she reaped flowers and honors, and for the first time, she felt a triumphant sense of exhilaration.

However, my older sister was so outstanding that she resolutely switched careers to become a theater director while still in college.

Despite everyone's skepticism, she quickly rose from a newcomer to a senior executive at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Drama Center, successfully creating a series of hit comedies and achieving more remarkable success than her father had accomplished in half a lifetime.

When others talk about the daughters of the Di family, they only know Di Qingling.

From then on, Di Lingyan locked herself away, shutting herself off with romance novels. Running was no longer a passion for her, but an escape.

At this time.

Lu Ran's poem seemed to strip away the girl's tightly closed heart completely.

Tears kept welling up, and I kept holding them back...

Snapped!

Lu Ran slapped the ID card into her palm. "Don't rush, there's more to come."

"Only green lotus leaves and red lotus buds, unfurling and closing as nature would." (Note 18)

Green lotus and red lotus, stretching freely and innocently, inspired him.

"How about we call this poem 'A Gift to Lingyan'?"

Gift of Spirit Flame...

The sound of rain falling from the sky.

Di Lingyan's heart was empty and silent.

The lotus leaves, the doubts, the lotus flowers, the ridicule—all those voices have faded into the distance.

Suddenly, she stumbled and fell into Lu Ran's chest, her jet-black wolf tail, as black as a lion's mane, trembling on her shoulder.

"I like you, Lu Ran... I think I've fallen for you..."

-

Note 18: From Li Shangyin's love poem "Gift of Lotus Flowers," written to his newlywed wife. Li Shangyin's career was thwarted throughout his life because he married the daughter of General Wang of the Li faction. However, he never regretted this marriage. After Wang's death, Li Shangyin never remarried.