He won.
The instant Gao Xing took off, victory cheers were already roaring in his heart.
He’d suggested this race format for one reason: he was a long-distance runner from the Engineering School. Even among the male-dominated Science School, his stamina was top-tier.
No one understood long runs better than him.
That’s why, from his very first stride, he sensed his body was in peak condition today.
Every muscle, every hair, even every cell synced with his steps, channeling his entire being forward.
He ignored everything else, pouring every ounce of strength into one goal:
The finish line ahead.
The moment his foot crossed it, Gao Xing couldn’t suppress a triumphant roar.
He’d won—by a landslide. Cheng Yu had been left so far behind he’d never even appeared in Gao Xing’s rearview.
“Linsw! You saw that! I won! I’m the—”
His jubilant shout died abruptly.
The finish line was eerily empty.
He whirled around, scanning the track. The entire field lay deserted.
Wind brushed his sweat-dampened cheeks.
Gao Xing tilted his head back and yelled one crisp, clear word to the sky:
“Cao!”
…………
Of course he found no one. The moment the race began, Cheng Yu had already decided his move.
Three seconds. That’s all it took to make a man run three laps for him.
First second: Cheng Yu mimicked Gao Xing’s sprint—only to be instantly left in the dust.
Second second: Cheng Yu pivoted sharply backward without hesitation.
Third second: He stood before Linsw Lin, tapping her shoulder.
“Perfect. Retreat! Withdraw! Let’s vanish.”
Linsw was stunned.
Rare bewilderment flickered across her delicate features as she stared at Cheng Yu. “But… you said you’d race him?”
“We did. I forfeited.”
Seeing her frozen in place, Cheng Yu rolled his eyes, grabbed her wrist, and bolted toward the track’s side gate.
Linsw still looked dazed, stumbling after him. “But… you bragged you’d never lose. That he couldn’t beat you.”
“He didn’t. I never finished the race.”
“Aren’t you worried he’ll call you a cheater?”
“Doesn’t matter. I never agreed to any penalty for losing.”
“But… why drag me along?”
“Seriously?” Cheng Yu shot her a look that screamed *Have you lost your marbles?* “If I left you there, you’d shout that I ran away. Then I’d be humiliated *and* trapped. You clearly don’t want to stay with him either. So we flee together—we become accomplices in shame. That way, you’ll never rat me out, right… *darling*?”
He spat the last word through gritted teeth, dripping with exasperation.
Linsw stared at his back as he pulled her through sun-dappled tree shadows. Light and dark played across his figure, as if draping him in a cloak of radiance.
A laugh burst from her—uncontrollable, breathless. All traces of her usual poised composure vanished. She sounded like a carefree seven-year-old.
But this laughter was genuine.
*When was the last time I laughed like this?*
Ah. Right. The day she first saw Cheng Yu.
She’d remember forever: her enrollment day, her heart heavy as if walking a cliff with no return.
Family troubles had soured her mood. Every passerby seemed like a mirror of her future self—
A future of predictable college years, a safe career, a quiet marriage. A life so flat it stretched endlessly before her.
Ordinary. Suffocating.
An old beggar approached, muttering requests. Linsw impatiently tossed him spare change and walked on.
At a crosswalk, waiting for green, she heard a bizarre laugh behind her:
“Heh heh heh… Old man, I’ve awakened.
No matter what you ask, no matter what you want—I won’t take that risk again.
My answer to you is only one…”
Linsw turned just as a boy struck a dramatic pose and bellowed:
“Nani kudasai yo!”
He then ducked his head and sprinted past her, dashing across the newly green light into the distance.
*What… an idiot.*
*Is he cosplaying a delusional anime hero?*
Linsw gaped after him, stunned.
Then she laughed.
Ignoring curious stares, she leaned against the traffic light, laughing until her sides ached—laughing like sunshine, laughing without a care, laughing until she doubled over.
*Not everyone lives like that.*
*Here’s someone who ignores stares, does the unexpected, and runs from what he hates.*
*Ridiculous. Hilarious.*
*Yet…*
“…Like a prince rescuing someone from despair.”
She whispered it, her gaze tracing the boy’s retreating figure with a strange light.
That day, Linsw skipped enrollment. She went straight to a salon, chopped off her long hair, dyed it gold, slipped in colored contacts, and arrived at campus glowing.
As if shedding her old self, rebelling against everything she refused to accept, stepping into a new life.
Regret lingered too—she hadn’t caught the boy’s name. His face was etched in her mind, but finding one person in a massive university seemed impossible…
On her first day, Linsw walked toward her classroom, heart heavy with missed chances.
*Was it just… not meant to be?*
She looked up—and froze.
A familiar figure stepped into the classroom ahead.
She checked the door number. Her class.
In that instant, Linsw believed in one word:
Fate.
A feverish thrill surged within her, urging her to learn more, get closer, unravel this boy who’d appeared like magic.
She discreetly asked around, learned his name was Cheng Yu, and began plotting their “accidental” meetings. She was desperate to make him her prince.
Reality, however, veered off-script.
Her first attempt: “accidentally” dropping her notebook while walking ahead of him.
She slowed her steps, silently chanting his name.
Seconds later—
Cheng Yu sped past her without breaking stride.
Linsw stood stunned.
Then, laughter bubbled up again, fiercer than before.
*Of course. My prince is different from everyone else.*
She tried again and again. Cheng Yu dodged her like he’d foreseen her moves—gracefully, cleverly, always slipping away.
Linsw never gave up.
Instead, her determination flared brighter.
She refused to be ordinary. She’d fight for everything she wanted.
And Cheng Yu? He was her starting point.
No matter how hard it got, she’d make him hers.
For that goal, she’d never quit.
Remembering this journey, Linsw’s smile bloomed uncontrollably as she watched Cheng Yu. Admiration and delight shimmered in her eyes.
Cheng Yu frowned at her. “Is it *that* funny? Why won’t you stop laughing?”
“Not just that,” Linsw said softly, her eyes crinkling with warmth. “Meeting you in college… it’s been wonderfully interesting, Cheng Yu.”
Sunlight gilded her smile, dazzling enough to make Cheng Yu’s mind flash back years—to the first time he saw Linsw Lin.
Then he shuddered, yanking himself back to reality.
*Stay calm, Cheng Yu. Don’t be fooled by her smile. Never get too close. Got it?*
*Prince Charming… however you resist, I’ll make you mine.*
Sunlight painted their silhouettes as they ran side by side toward an uncertain future—
When a crisp, clear voice echoed from the distant track behind them:
“Cao!”
