From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

The warm firelight fell on her cool and aloof features, softening her distant and cold aura and making her appear gentler, less sharp than usual, and more tender.

We sat side by side by the fire, not saying a word, but we didn't feel awkward at all.

They were both naturally quiet people, and having gone through thick and thin together, they had long been accustomed to each other's silence, so there was no need to deliberately try to make conversation to ease the atmosphere.

All that could be heard was the soft crackling of burning firewood, mixed with the sound of the wind flowing across the distant wasteland, weaving together the quietest white noise of the wasteland in the dead of night.

After a long silence, Su Wan suddenly spoke first, breaking the stillness.

Her voice was soft, with a barely perceptible hoarseness, as she asked gently, "Do you think I'm pretty stupid?"

I immediately turned to look at her, frowning slightly, and said, "How could that be?"

"A relationship that ended long ago, a person who left long ago, yet I've remembered it for so many years. I even risked my life to venture alone into a dangerous no-man's-land for an expired promise."

As she spoke, a hint of self-mockery suddenly crept into her voice.

"If it were someone else, they would probably think I'm stubborn and pretentious, or even that I brought this on myself."

Without even thinking, I shook my head and retorted, "Absolutely not."

"People who cherish the past are never foolish. You're just too sentimental, and you're used to hiding all your emotions inside so that others can't see through you."

As I spoke, I reached out and added a piece of dry firewood to the fire. Sparks crackled and popped, making the warm light even brighter.

I continued, "If it were me, I might not be as composed as you, and I certainly wouldn't have your courage to venture alone into such a desolate place as the no-man's-land for an old promise from many years ago. You're not stupid at all."

Su Wan chuckled softly, a laugh completely different from her usual aloof demeanor.

The faint firelight reflected in her clear eyes, like scattered stars, yet it inexplicably evoked a sense of pity in one's heart.

"You're quite good at comforting people," she murmured softly.

"Having known each other for so long, you should know me. I never say fancy words; I just tell the truth."

The night was gentle, and my tense nerves gradually relaxed.

At times like these, it's easiest to shed all pretenses and reveal one's true feelings.

I hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to ask, "If you're willing, you can tell me your story with him."

The reason I pressed her for answers wasn't out of curiosity, but because I wanted her to open up about the things that had been weighing on her mind for so many years.

She kept it all bottled up inside, causing endless internal strife. Even though we safely made it out of the no-man's land this time, she will never be able to overcome that hurdle in her heart.

She said she was relieved and acted as if she didn't care.

But I can tell that she hasn't truly let go, or at least not completely let go.

After saying this, Su Wan did not respond immediately, but stared quietly at the flickering campfire, her eyes deep and thoughtful.

The air fell silent instantly, and my words seemed particularly abrupt and awkward.

I immediately gave an awkward smile and quickly tried to smooth things over: "It's nothing, I was just asking casually. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Everyone has their own secrets, I understand."

I had barely finished speaking when Su Wan suddenly spoke up unexpectedly.

"We've known each other since high school."

"Back then, I was the class's discipline monitor, a strict and serious person. He, on the other hand, was one of the most mischievous students in the whole school."

"Eight out of ten times when the class gets points deducted for discipline, it's because of him. He always drags the class down and makes me get called in for a private talk and criticism by the homeroom teacher."

"I really hated him back then. Not only was he undisciplined, but he was also always picking fights with me and making me angry."

"Later, in order to improve class discipline, the teacher made an unexpected arrangement: he made him my discipline assistant, specifically to help me manage class order."

At this point, Su Wan gently shook her head, a self-deprecating smile curving her lips:

"I was almost going crazy at the time. Asking him to help me manage discipline? Wasn't that a joke? With him around, the class discipline would only get worse and worse."

"But I gradually realized that the teacher was actually right."

"Since becoming my assistant, he has really gradually curbed all his unruly nature. He used to be the one who started making noise during self-study periods, but later he was also the one who took the initiative to stop the students from fighting and maintain order."

"Once during a free period in PE class, I was really curious and casually asked him if he was suddenly being strict with discipline because he was afraid of being punished by the teacher."

Su Wan paused slightly as she finished speaking.

"He was laughing so cockyly, it was really annoying, and he said he was fearless and not afraid of teachers at all."

He said he was just afraid that I would get scolded by the teacher again because the class lost points.

Just one sentence sent a jolt through me, and I felt a strange pang of sadness.

Without her saying anything more, I could already understand the feelings she had been suppressing for so many years.

Su Wan did not stop, continuing to speak softly and slowly, her tone as calm as if she were recounting a past event unrelated to herself.

"But his grades were still a complete mess."

"Then one day, he suddenly asked me which university I wanted to apply to. I said Tsinghua."

"I was just saying it casually, but I didn't expect him to look at me so seriously and say that he would also take the Tsinghua University entrance exam."

"At the time, I just thought it was ridiculous and absurd."

Su Wan gave a wry smile. "With his grades back then, let alone Tsinghua University, even the cutoff score for a regular first-tier university was out of reach. I just took it as him bragging."

"After that, we actually had less and less contact. He started taking leave frequently and was often not in the classroom."

"Until one day, a classmate ran into him handing out flyers on the street. I immediately dragged my classmate to find him, and we actually found him handing out flyers under the scorching sun on the street."

"He looked at me with a sense of inferiority in his eyes, but he tried to appear relaxed and smiled, saying that he was just helping a friend out temporarily."

"I was very straightforward back then and didn't think much about it. I gave him a good scolding on the spot."

"I angrily retorted to him, 'With your current attitude of wasting your studies and neglecting your studies, you still want to get into Tsinghua University? You're just daydreaming.'"

After she finished speaking, Su Wan suddenly fell into a long silence.

I didn't disturb them, and silently took out a cigarette and lit it.

A full minute passed before she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and continued to speak softly, her tone full of sighs and regret.

"It was only much later that I learned the truth: all the money he earned from handing out flyers on the street was used to pay for a cram school for the college entrance exam."

"The classes he missed were all unimportant elective courses. While others were relaxing and chatting during elective classes, he would secretly run away from school and cram for them."

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but take a deep breath, filled with shock and admiration.

The love of youth is the purest, and also the most clumsy.

No one knows how much effort that boy was holding back, desperately trying to catch up with the person he liked.

After a moment of silence, I finally looked seriously at Su Wan in the firelight and asked softly, "Back then, did you know he liked you?"