I'm a senior in high school, and the system says I'm going on a blind date with my childho

Chapter 348: Don't Cry After Reading It

In November, the autumn colors of Hangzhou are so deep that they seem to permeate the city.

The night air carried a crisp coolness, as if it could penetrate thin clothing and seep into the skin.

In dormitory room 507 of Building 3 in Qingfeng, the darkness after the lights were turned off enveloped the room, with only a small halo of light shining from Shen Yuan's desk area.

The roommates' breathing, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, intertwined to create a lullaby for the night.

Shen Yuan's computer screen was lit up, and on the screen, a complex editing track unfolded, like a long river of time carrying countless precious moments.

Those moments he captured with his own hands—

Alone in his study, he spoke to the camera about the tension and anticipation of planning, the amazement of Li Zhi when she tried on a dress, the awe of chasing the sunrise, and the frolicking in the autumn woods...

And those stunningly retouched wedding photos in quick bursts.

Shen Yuan was wearing headphones, his eyes were dry from staring at the screen for a long time, and a few stubbles had appeared on his chin.

The mouse makes final adjustments on the timeline, and the fingertips type the final render and export commands on the keyboard.

The time in the bottom right corner of the screen silently jumped to 2 a.m. on Saturday.

The progress bar is like a burdened traveler, slowly but surely trekking towards the finish line.

When the tiny point of light finally reached its end, Shen Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

He took off his headphones, and a wave of fatigue washed over him, but what followed was an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Shen Yuan leaned back in his chair, stretched his stiff neck, but his gaze lingered on the final video file icon on the screen.

He opened the video preview, dragged the progress bar, and quickly browsed the finished product that condensed all the surprises and sweetness.

The visuals are smooth, and the pacing is well-balanced.

Shen Yuan couldn't help but smile, and his tired eyes sparkled with a gentle and bright light.

He could almost see Li Zhi's expression when he saw the video.

Everything is ready.

He tapped the file lightly, as if confirming a solemn promise.

After saving and backing up the files, and importing the video to his phone, Shen Yuan finally turned off the computer screen.

The dormitory was completely dark, with only a few faint streetlights shining through the window.

He groped his way onto the bed, and the moment his body touched the soft mattress, he was almost overwhelmed by both immense exhaustion and a deeper sense of satisfaction.

When I close my eyes, the last thing that flashes through my mind is the slow-motion shot of Li Zhi running towards him in the sunset at the end of the video.

With a barely perceptible smile on his lips, Shen Yuan fell asleep almost instantly.

When I opened my eyes again, the dormitory room was already lit up.

Sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains heralded the start of a new day.

Shen Yuan lay motionless on the bed, listening to the sounds of his roommates washing up or packing their books, his mind still immersed in the satisfaction he felt when he finished work last night.

The video lies quietly in the phone, like a carefully wrapped gift waiting to be unwrapped.

It was filled with Shen Yuan's heartfelt sentiments.

What kind of expression would Li Bao have if she saw this?
Shen Yuan couldn't help but smile, but then his brows furrowed slightly.

As he was engrossed in imagining the surprised expression Li Zhi might have upon seeing the video, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Brother Shen! What are you grinning like an idiot in bed for?"

Lin Yuxuan had just finished brushing his teeth when he peered at Shen Yuan with a look of surprise.

“Yeah, smiling so brightly so early in the morning,” Zhao Feng chimed in, a rare occurrence for him.

Shen Yuan then realized that his roommates had caught his unconscious smile.

The smile on his face didn't fade; in fact, it deepened, radiating a pure and joyful glow.

"It's nothing," Shen Yuan sat up and rubbed his slightly messy hair. "It's just... I thought of something happy."

His gaze unconsciously drifted again to the phone placed beside his pillow.

Lin Yuxuan and Zhao Feng looked at him like this, especially his eyes which were full of lingering interest and anticipation, and instantly understood.

Lin Yuxuan gave an exaggerated "Oh—", drawing out the last syllable, his face clearly saying "I understand, I understand".

Zhao Feng silently withdrew his gaze, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

An unspoken understanding filled the dormitory. Shen Yuan's simple, happy question carried an unmistakable meaning for his roommates—

Who else could it be but his childhood sweetheart with whom he had just taken wedding photos?

Shen Yuan rolled out of bed and walked towards the washroom, unconsciously rubbing the edge of his phone with his hand.

The video has already been edited, but how do I show it to her?

Several scenarios immediately flashed through Shen Yuan's mind, but he quickly rejected them.

You can't exactly take it out in the cafeteria, can you?

Imagine that scene; the atmosphere is so strange, it's practically a desecration of this carefully prepared surprise and two days of hard work filming.

No, absolutely not.

He immediately dismissed the idea.

You need to find a quiet, private place and time to slowly savor the experience.

Shen Yuan turned on the tap, and the icy water running down his face made him more awake.

The library's study area? It's too quiet; it's not suitable for watching videos, and the atmosphere is too serious.

He suddenly remembered the lake at school.

Zijingang is so big, let's find a less crowded lakeside?

Yes, maybe by the lake.

Shen Yuan felt he could do what he always did: take her hand and walk over, then naturally find a place to sit down, and take out his phone...

Shen Yuan dried his face, looked at the expectant light dancing in his eyes in the mirror, and the corners of his mouth turned up again.

Ok, deal.

Time slipped quietly into the afternoon.

The afternoon sun in autumn has lost the scorching heat of midsummer and become warm and languid.

A gentle breeze rustled through the still somewhat green leaves on campus, filling the air with the scent of grass and trees.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi held hands and strolled slowly along the path.

They had no specific destination; they were simply enjoying the leisurely weekend afternoon.

The fallen leaves rustled softly beneath their feet, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, casting dappled, dancing shadows on them.

Li Zhi tilted her head slightly, feeling the warmth from her palm. Her gaze swept over the familiar campus scenery and finally landed on the profile of the person next to her.

Shen Yuan seemed to be focused on the road beneath his feet, but the smile he couldn't hide at the corner of his mouth clearly fell into Li Zhi's eyes.

A thought quietly took root in the girl's heart and grew clearer and clearer.

Li Zhi suddenly stopped and pulled Shen Yuan with a slight force.

Shen Yuan also stopped, looking down at her with a hint of confusion: "What's wrong?"

The girl looked up, her clear eyes reflecting the sunlight and Shen Yuan's figure.

She pursed her lips slightly, a hint of expectant blush appearing on her fair cheeks: "Shen Yuan."

Shen Yuan's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and he replied, "Hmm?"

Li Zhi's beautiful eyes curved into a smile, as if she had discovered some little secret. With a hint of smugness, she looked directly at him and asked:

"The video... have you finished editing it?"

It was as if a small pebble had been precisely dropped into a calm lake. Shen Yuan's expression froze for a moment.

He subconsciously widened his eyes slightly, a clear hint of surprise flashing across his pupils—the unexpected shock of his carefully prepared surprise being revealed prematurely.

"what……?"

Seeing his obviously caught-in-the-middle look, Li Zhi's smile deepened.

She shook their clasped hands, as if asking a question, or perhaps trying to reassure him about his disrupted plans: "Hmm? Is it all cut? I guessed right, didn't I?"

After a brief moment of surprise, looking into Li Zhi's eyes, the astonishment in Shen Yuan's eyes quickly faded like a tide, replaced by a sense of helplessness that said, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

He chuckled softly.

Shen Yuan raised his hand and gently pinched Li Zhi's soft cheek, his voice filled with tenderness and the joy of about to share the fruits of their labor:
"Tsk... My Li Bao, how can you be so smart? You can't hide anything from me."

A smile instantly bloomed on Li Zhi's face.

She shook Shen Yuan's hand, urging him urgently:

"Then what are you waiting for? Show it to me now!"

Seeing her eagerness, Shen Yuan's last bit of regret about his plans being disrupted vanished.

He looked around and his gaze fell on a quiet bench by the lake not far away.

He tightened his grip on her hand and led her over there: "Come on, let's find a place to sit down and watch. Don't cry after you're done watching."

"No way!"

Li Zhi retorted softly, but her pace involuntarily quickened to match his.

The two sat side by side on a lakeside bench, the air filled with the fragrance of grass and trees and the cool scent of the lake water.

Li Zhi turned slightly to the side, her clear eyes fixed intently on the phone screen in Shen Yuan's hand.

Her face was filled with undisguised joy and anticipation, like a child waiting to unwrap their most beloved gift.

Li Zhi unconsciously leaned closer to him, as if that would bring her closer to the scene that was about to unfold.

Shen Yuan sensed her closeness and quickly located the video.

"Look, there you go."

Li Zhi took the phone from Shen Yuan, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, and then opened the video call.

The video starts playing.

The first thing that caught Li Zhi's eye was a familiar scene.

That was Shen Yuan's desk in his study.

The camera angle was fixed on a small phone stand, steadily framing a corner of the desk and Shen Yuan sitting at the desk.

In the bottom right corner of the video, the date enlarged on the tablet screen is clearly displayed: September 30th.

Shen Yuan in the picture looks a little nervous.

He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, then looked directly at the camera.

The gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, landing directly on Li Zhi, who was staring at his phone by the lake.

Shen Yuan's voice rang out, flowing clearly through the phone's speaker between the two:

"Hello everyone,"

"I'm going to give Li Zhi a surprise. This video is to record the preparation process for this surprise."

He paused for a moment, then uttered the crucial information:

"I want to take wedding photos with her."

When Li Zhi heard the crystal-clear phrase "take a wedding photo," his body visibly trembled slightly.

She slightly opened her mouth, and her long eyelashes fluttered rapidly like the wings of a startled butterfly.

Although she had already personally experienced the dreamlike filming process and guessed the existence of this video.

But now I heard Shen Yuan solemnly announce this plan to the camera that night, in his study where he was all alone.

That secretly recorded sentiment, carrying the power of time, struck the softest spot in her heart.

The wind by the lake seemed to have stopped, and the whole world seemed to consist only of the boy planning his future on the phone screen and his magnetic whisper in my ear.

Li Zhi instinctively gripped her phone tighter, the promise that she "wouldn't cry" seemingly being temporarily set aside by this unexpected turn of events.

So moved was I almost bursting from my eyes.

Soon, the scene shifts to the morning of the day of the operation.

Shen Yuan washed up at the sink in his dormitory, carefully shaved his beard, straightened his collar, and practiced a relaxed expression in front of the mirror, trying to hide the excitement and nervousness in his eyes.

The scene then cuts to inside a moving car.

Li Zhi looked at himself, full of doubt, and turned to the camera: "This is not the road to the mountains at all."

Looking at her confused face on her phone screen and recalling her subsequent experience at the photo studio, Li Zhi felt a surge of complex emotions.

Soon, the video showed Li Zhi entering the fitting room surrounded by several people.

As the curtain was drawn, Yang Yishui's head quickly peeked out from behind it.

Get ready to be amazed by your wife!

The curtain was quickly pulled open the next second.

Under the warm light, Li Zhi stood gracefully in a satin mermaid wedding dress.

Soon, the scene cut back to the moment the curtain was drawn back open.

The vintage lace long-sleeved wedding dress exudes understated elegance. She lightly touches the hem of the dress with her fingertips, her eyelashes lowered like a sacred sculpture.

When the curtain was lifted for the third time, Li Zhi changed into a bold black wedding dress, her cold and elegant temperament contrasting with her slightly awkward fingertips.

The curtains were lifted repeatedly, capturing all the wedding dresses used in the wedding photoshoot.

Li Zhi stared at the image of herself at nineteen, wearing a wedding dress, on the screen, her fingertips lightly touching the edge of the phone until they turned slightly red.

Shen Yuan kept gazing at her profile, as if reliving every frame of his heartbeat that he had missed outside the fitting room that day.

The climax of the video came with the location shooting.

On the mountaintop, where the morning light was just beginning to break, even the biting cold wind couldn't obscure the magnificent sunrise.

Yang Yishui's camera followed the entire process closely, perfectly capturing it:

As the sun leaped above the horizon, its golden rays shone brilliantly, and the photographer raced against time to capture the silhouettes of them cuddling together.

During breaks in filming, the two breathed on each other to keep warm in the cold wind, and smiled at each other in a natural and sweet way.

Golden leaves fluttered in the apricot grove. Li Zhi lifted her skirt, and dried flowers in her hair fell in a flurry as she ran.

Under the setting sun over the reed marshes, Li Zhi tiptoed to remove the reed fluff from Shen Yuan's shoulder.

These unplanned, vibrant moments were cleverly interspersed by Shen Yuan into the final cut, allowing the solemn wedding photos to overflow with the unique joyful atmosphere of youth.

As the video neared its end, the background music reached a climax, and the screen suddenly switched to a series of meticulously edited wedding photos flashing rapidly across the screen.

Every frame captures their most beautiful moments, just like the photos Li Zhi had previously chosen.

The video is over.

Li Zhi held his phone, remaining motionless for a long time.

Shen Yuan looked at the girl beside him and saw that her eyes were slightly red and her eyelashes were covered with tiny teardrops.

The emotion evoked by the video rippled silently in her clear eyes, like ripples on a lake.

Just then, Li Zhi raised her head and looked at Shen Yuan, her eyes filled with lingering tears and deep, unyielding affection.

The next second, Li Zhi leaned forward and kissed Shen Yuan's lips directly.

(End of this chapter)