Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Chapter 96 Only the Wind Has Read the Letter I Sent You

The hallway echoed with the sound of thunderstorms, and the walls reflected a cold light.

They had only talked for about ten minutes in total, but as the time was approaching noon, they needed to head downstairs to gather at the dining area and couldn't chat in detail.

Xu Qingyan had wanted to inform Lin Wanzhou in advance that the letter he was writing in the afternoon was for Pei Muchan. However, the conversation took a turn, and he ended up forgetting to mention it.

"I might have to write my afternoon's letter to Sister Pei," he said directly.

"Do you like her?" Lin Wanzhou asked with a mix of confusion and nervousness, standing a step higher on the stairs. Although she was prepared for it, her heart still clenched slightly upon hearing those words.

"I know better than to be confused about that, it has nothing to do with liking or not liking," Xu Qingyan said with a smile. "It's already the fifth day today, and after tomorrow, this love reality show will be almost over."

"How can one talk about liking someone or not in just a few days? Sister Pei has always chosen me, so I have no reason not to choose her."

Without giving Lin Wanzhou a chance to consider, he turned and walked down a few steps of the stairs.

"We knew each other long before, so I wanted to give you a heads up. Since you're a celebrity, if I ended up writing a letter to you by accident, it could cause a buzz online."

He had turned these words over in his mind countless times and carefully considered them before speaking.

After all, who talks about love on a love reality show?

But since he had joined the show, he had to take it seriously. That was the rationale. Moreover, he should give Lin Wanzhou enough respect. The more familiar you are with someone, the more respect you should grant them.

All the scheming doesn't compare to a single act of sincerity.

"Okay, I understand," Lin Wanzhou responded. She followed him down the stairs for two steps. "But writing a letter to whoever I want is my freedom, and I'll still write to you."

At her words, Xu Qingyan paused for a moment and said,

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I wanted to write to you anyway," Lin Wanzhou pretended as if it was nothing, holding the railing and stepping down until she was beside him, sneaking a glance at him.

As they brushed past each other, she continued down the stairs at a slow pace.

"Speaking of..." Xu Qingyan seemed to remember something suddenly and spoke up.

Lin Wanzhou retracted the step she had taken and stopped on the same stair as him. She looked up at him with confusion, as if waiting to hear what he wanted to say.

He was about to say something when a faint fragrance at the tip of his nose made his mind go blank for a moment.

The scent seemed tangible, tugging at his heartstrings, causing him to be at a loss for words for a few seconds. He wished he could slap himself—damn, lust had taken over.

"Speaking... cough, speaking of," Qingyan cleared his throat, trying to be serious, "I remember we used to write similar letters before, but it seems they were never exchanged, right?"

With that reminder, Lin Wanzhou remembered.

"Those were study aid letters, right? The homeroom teacher asked us to write them, your English grades were poor back then. Then we were put in the same group, and each of us wrote ten study suggestions for the other," she recalled.

Then she transferred schools, and the study aid letter meant for Xu Qingyan was found by Guan Jin, who burned it.

"What about the letter?" she asked.

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"Huh?" Xu Qingyan was even more confused. "It's been so long, of course, it's not around anymore. You transferred schools too quickly. I didn't have time to give it to you, and couldn't contact you, so..."

Lin Wanzhou pursed her lips, a hint of disappointment in her eyes, figuring it must have been thrown away.

"So, I climbed up to the back of the school, to Xianren Ridge, turned it into a paper plane, and threw it down," Xu Qingyan said with a smile. "I was quite naive back then, I don't know if you ever got it."

Lin Wanzhou was momentarily stunned, looking up at Xu Qingyan for a while. A sensation known as surprise bubbled up and filled her eyes.

"What did you write?" Her tone was light and cheerful, as if she held a treasured secret.

"Won't tell you. What about you, what did you write?" Xu Qingyan diverted her attention, hoping to avoid any awkwardness in the afternoon's letter-reading scene, "Was it study advice?"

"You go first!" Lin Wanzhou said with a playful smile.

"I don't remember."

"Liar."

The dull atmosphere between them seemed to melt away in an instant, as if the scene shifted suddenly from black-and-white to vibrant color. They headed downstairs, one after the other, their tones light and cheerful.

"I really don't remember. If you really want to know, you'd have to go check at the foot of Xianren Ridge," he said.

"Then it must have fallen into the valley by now, hanging from some branch." Lin Wanzhou replied, "I wrote one too, but I couldn't give it to you at the time and had to burn it."

"Then we're even, and neither of us should mention it," Xu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of those old matters being dug up was enough to cause him extreme embarrassment on the spot.

"Anyway, only the wind has read the letter meant for you."

"Hmm," Lin Wanzhou smiled, a thought flashing through her mind.

Some people aren't born romantic because they embody romance itself.

She followed behind Xu Qingyan as they went downstairs, her lips pursed in quiet excitement. She was reflecting on the words he had just spoken, and the image they conjured.

Someone, at the age of adolescence, had climbed Xianren Ridge for her, and sent a paper plane with their words into the wind.

Lin Wanzhou was touched not just because someone had done something romantic for her, but because during those dark, bleak days, it was the memory deep within her heart that had sustained her.

And the person from those memories not only healed her over and over in her mind but had also responded in reality.

This in itself was the most romantic thing.

She had repeatedly read "The Narrow Door," not because unrequited love is romantic. She didn't love a mere shadow; at the moment when the moon appeared, a shadow would always remain just that—a shadow.

....

Noon, the restaurant.

The downpour had stopped, turning into a drizzle, yet the sky remained gloomy.

The wind had picked up, and the staff even placed sandbags at the front of the restaurant to brace for the typhoon, to prevent the seaside villa from being flooded.

The camera slowly moved among the long tables. Xu Qingyan entered and greeted Pei Muchan before taking a seat beside her.

Lights were on everywhere. It was daylight outside, yet it felt like night.

"When is the typhoon coming?" His first question after sitting down was about the typhoon. Boys always have an interest in typhoons and storms, sometimes even more than in looking at girls in black tights.

"In the afternoon, probably around five," Pei Muchan said, finding it a bit amusing. "Are you going to go out to see it?"

"No, I don't want to get soaked to the skin."

Pei Muchan laughed, "Where have you just been?"

"Nowhere really."

"Writing letters on the rooftop?" Her eyes and brows really looked beautiful, with a hint of weary allure, "Or did you go to enjoy the flowers? I remember they cleared everything up there; there's only a pot of money plant left."

Xu Qingyan suddenly stuttered, watching several guests approaching. He wasn't sure what to say at the moment. Telling the truth wasn't appealing, and it seemed even worse to lie.

Out of options, his Adam's apple bobbed as he uncharacteristically gave in.

"Sis, let me off, please. Let's not talk about this anymore," he pleaded.

Pei Muchan leisurely swiped on her phone, glanced at him briefly with a gentle gaze, and curved the corner of her mouth like she had gained the advantage.

"Don't let it happen again."