Dew Turns White from This Night

Chapter 3

She cast one last glance at the skyscraper before slowly making her way to the car.

The 120 Building, the tallest structure in City G, stood majestic against the night sky, its neon lights unceasing, soaring into the vast heavens.

Here, in these 120 floors, congregated the headquarters of the most renowned corporations in City G. Those who emerge from here are not merely white-collar workers but the very architects of their destinies.

That man was one among them, seated in the most prominent position, overseeing the world below.

At this hour, had he left work? What might he be doing?

She couldn't think about it anymore. Truly, she couldn't. To think further would only pierce her heart with pain.

Youyan shook her head lightly. The buses in City G were notoriously crowded and chaotic. Tonight, however, the bus wasn't too packed. As she watched the scenery recede through the window, her thoughts wandered into the past.

Suddenly, she remembered a casual conversation with Susan a few days ago about their classmates. Despite majoring in foreign languages, most had predictably ventured into trade translation, with over 70% following this path.

Among those who excelled in translation, Fang Ying and Zhou Huaian were the most distinguished. They had mastered simultaneous interpretation, securing all the diplomatic summits and international business negotiations in City G. They performed their professions with such brilliance, one might think they had no regrets in life.

Zhou Huaian... Just thinking of his name made her heart clench with unexpected pain, then beat rapidly. She held her chest for a long while until her emotions settled.

Because wherever Zhou Huaian was, that man would surely be there too.

Hate. Hate to the power of a hundred.

How was it that after all this roundabout, she always circled back to him?

Gu Ye Bai, that exceptionally talented, aloof, and distant man.

She recalled her conversation with Susan.

At the end, Susan sighed, "Yan, do you remember Zhou Qin?"

"The scholar? What about him?" She smiled.

Zhou Qin, the prodigy of G University, an outlier in their class, had become an editor and writer, now quite well-known.

"I heard that at the beginning of this year, for Zhou Huaian's birthday, Zhou Qin wrote a poem for her."

"What poem?" Her voice was calm, but her eyebrows inexplicably twitched.

"I can't remember the beginning, but the last two lines were, 'The clouds have no fixed abode, now they linger for the blue mountains.'"

Hearing this, her hand trembled, nearly dropping the phone.

The night was cool as water.

Outside the window, the crescent moon wove through the sky like a thread, with the occasional screech of summer insects. All these sights seemed to plunge one's heart into a deep melancholy.

Time seemed to roll back four years. Back then, she was still a student at G University, still with Gu Ye Bai, before everything changed.

In the evening, they would go to Ying Mountain near the school to watch the sunset. His eyes sparkled with light, his sketchbook in hand, capturing the scene meticulously, while she would lean against his back, chattering away about everything from political elections to celebrity gossip.

Sometimes, when her chatter became too much, he'd frown, his thin lips would meet hers, silencing her incessant talking. She would smile, her ploy for attention successful! She loved his kisses, the way they melded together, the faint taste of grass in his mouth bringing her comfort.

He was too intelligent not to understand her little schemes, yet as punishment, he would deepen the kiss with such tender affection, until he was satisfied to see her cheeks flushed with a spreading blush.