Chapter 4

Lian Feng stood under the icy stream of water, his breath steady, but his mind in turmoil. The cold was supposed to numb him, yet his chest felt tighter than ever."They broke up?"The words kept replaying in his head.

For four years, he had liked her—admired her from a distance, watched as she shone effortlessly in everything she did.

It had started the day he saw her kneeling on the street, hands covered in blood as she helped an injured man, completely unfazed by the chaos around her. That moment had struck him harder than anything.Then, he saw her again—dancing under the spotlight, dazzling like she was meant to be there.By then, he already knew.He had fallen for her.HardVery hard.But he had never dared to tell her. Instead, he kept his feelings buried, only sharing his secret with Chen Dong and Ye Zichen, his closest friends in the NDA academy. They had teased him endlessly, but they also understood.They saw the way he would always find an excuse to attend her debates, the way his eyes lingered on her during performances, the way he absorbed every detail about her without even realizing it.Three months ago, he had finally gathered the courage to start writing those anonymous confession letters.Like a quiet observer in the shadows, he had always known how brilliant she was—the pride of the media academy, the debate champion, the dance queen. And yet, he had never been able to step forward. He had only watched, only supported from afar, only hoped.Lian Feng's hands tightened around the cold water faucet, his mind still swirling with thoughts as the memory resurfaced in his mind.For months, he had written those letters with such care. Each one was a piece of his heart, a quiet confession of his feelings. Every letter called her his wife, each one filled with little details about himself, things he never told anyone. He shared his favorite books, his hopes, his dreams. He encouraged her, cheered her on, and told her how wonderful she was—everything about her, from her beauty to her confidence in debates, had captivated him.He had written them all in secret, hoping that one day, she'd notice, that somehow, she'd feel the sincerity of his feelings even without knowing who he was.And then came the 28th letter—his birthday gift to her, his most important letter yet. He'd poured his soul into it, thinking it would be the one that finally bridged the gap between them.He had written everything he had always wanted to say to her, everything that had been building up for months.But when he went to place it on her desk, something unexpected happened. For the first time, it wasn't his letter that arrived on her desk. It was hers."Who are you? Can we meet? ~Shen Jiu :)"Lian Feng felt his heart race, his hands trembling as he held the letter from Shen Jiu. The joy he felt in that moment was indescribable. She had noticed.She had finally reached out. It was everything he had hoped for.

But as he was about to take the next step and finally meet her, disaster struck.

In his excitement, he had made the mistake of dropping the letter in the hallway. Before he could pick it up, someone else had already grabbed it—Zheng Tianyi.Zheng Tianyi.The guy who always seemed to get in his way, the guy who could never let him have anything. Lian Feng had watched helplessly as Zheng Tianyi took the letter straight to Shen Jiu. The frustration was suffocating. He'd spent months writing those letters, pouring his heart into them, only for it to be ruined by Zheng Tianyi's interference.But what stung more was that, when he finally gathered the courage to meet Shen Jiu the next day, he saw her with Zheng Tianyi, laughing together as they talked. The letter—his letter—was in Zheng Tianyi's hands.Lian Feng's chest tightened.

Funny how it was Zheng Tianyi, the one guy who never could outdo him in anything that mattered, had stolen the one thing he had been working for all along.

As Lian Feng stepped out of the shower, feeling the cool air of the room against his skin, he grabbed his uniform and was about to slip it on when he heard the familiar voices of his friends rushing toward him.

"Brother! Heavens, they broke up!" Chen Dong exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Congratulations!" Ye Zichen cheered, and before Lian Feng knew it, both of them had jumped onto his shoulders, making him laugh heartily.

"I wonder why Sister-in-Law even said yes to him!" Ye Zichen mused, his words filled with amusement.

 Lian Feng was about to respond when Chen Dong beat him to it. "Probably because Sister-in-Law thought it was Zheng Tianyi who wrote those heartfelt letters to her," he said with a teasing grin. "She must've been moved by those letters!" Lian Feng couldn't help but laugh, his heart lightened by the conversation. It felt good to be with his friends, who were just as enthusiastic and supportive of him. The news on the forum, while not entirely what he had hoped for, had somehow comforted his insecure heart. At least now he knew that things were finally shifting in his favor."Let's hurry to breakfast!" Lian Feng said, shaking his head at his friends' antics. "Otherwise, if we don't get there in time, we won't get any breakfast today!"The three of them rushed out of the dorm room, their excitement palpable."Let's go, Media Academy! Go tell Sister-in-Law the whole truth!" Chen Dong said with an exaggerated cheer, and Ye Zhichen followed suit, his voice filled with the same enthusiasm."Yes, go, go!" they both exclaimed, their energy contagious. Lian Feng smiled, feeling a new sense of purpose. "Let's go there after classes," he said, his tone resolute.

The trio made their way to breakfast, their minds already buzzing with plans for the day, and for the inevitable confrontation that lay ahead.