Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The applause from the lecture hall still echoed in my ears.

Li Chen followed Yan Xi out of the building; the late autumn wind carried a chill.

"Where should we celebrate?" he asked.

"No celebration," Yan Xi replied crisply.

She opened the car door and got into the driver's seat without looking back at him.

Li Chen sat in the passenger seat and watched her skillfully start the car.

The Porsche drove out of the school gate, not heading towards the city center, but instead circling around to the other side of the school.

"Where are we going?" Li Chen asked.

"A place." Yan Xi looked ahead.

"Where?"

You'll know when you get there.

The atmosphere in the car was a little strange. Yan Xi didn't say anything, so Li Chen didn't press her for details.

He watched the street scene rushing past the window, the streetlights turning on one by one.

The car eventually stopped in front of a small road near the north gate of the school.

He recognized this place.

The Ginkgo Road at Linjiang University is where he and Yan Xi first walked side by side.

It's late autumn now. The golden brilliance of the daytime fades into darkness at night, the streetlights are dim, and the scene looks rather desolate.

"You brought me here to see withered leaves?" Li Chen unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Get out of the car." Yan Xi had already pushed open the door and gotten out of the car.

Li Chen followed behind her, the two walking one after the other on the path covered with fallen leaves, their feet making a rustling sound.

Yan Xi stopped in the middle of the road.

She turned around and looked at Li Chen.

Aren't you curious why I brought you here?

"A little."

"Because this is where we started," Yan Xi said.

She looked at Li Chen, her eyes shining brightly in the dim light.

Li Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Yan Xi took a step forward and reached out to straighten his suit collar.

"Stay here and don't move."

After she finished speaking, she took two steps back, creating a small distance between herself and Li Chen.

She looked up and surveyed the dark woods around her.

Then, she looked at Li Chen, a slight smile curving her lips.

Li Chen saw her raise her hand and snap her fingers in the air.

Nothing happened.

Just as Li Chen was about to speak, Yan Xi snapped her fingers again.

Still no movement.

"that……"

"Shut up." Yan Xi glared at him.

She took a deep breath and snapped her fingers for the third time.

This time, the world around us has changed.

Countless warm yellow lights instantly lit up on the trees lining both sides of the Ginkgo Road.

Sunlight streamed down through the dense foliage, illuminating the entire path as if it were daytime.

Those lights are not static.

They were flickering up and down at an extremely slow and gentle frequency.

It's like breathing.

Li Chen stood there, stunned.

He looked at the lights, then at Yan Xi standing in the center of the light.

She was dressed in a black gown, enveloped in this warm yellow sea of ​​light, looking like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.

"This is……"

"A glimmer of light," Yan Xi said, a hint of barely perceptible smugness in her voice.

"I hacked into your backend and gained access to the core algorithm."

She walked up to Li Chen and looked up at him.

"The flashing frequency of these lights is adjusted based on a person's real-time heart rate data."

Li Chen felt his throat was a little dry.

Yan Xi reached out and gently tapped his chest with her index finger.

"Guess whose heartbeat it's syncing with right now?"

Li Chen lowered his head and looked at the gentle, undulating light.

That light was perfectly in sync with his heartbeat at that moment.

He remembered the music box light bulb that Luo Yun had kept for more than ten years; it was also this warm yellow.

The music box he repaired for her himself lit up with the same light when it was played.

It turns out she knew everything.

She knew he would appreciate this understated romance, and she knew he would be captivated by such millisecond-precise details.

"Yan Xi." He called her name, his voice a little hoarse.

Yan Xi did not answer.

"The day I receive the award, you wear the suit I prepared for you."

I'm putting on the ring you gave me.

"Now, I'm standing here."

Li Chen's heart was beating faster and faster, and the lights on both sides of the road were flashing at an accelerated frequency.

Yan Xi looked at him, her eyes slowly reddening.

She just watched without saying a word.

Li Chen slowly knelt down on one knee.

He took the small black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it.

Inside lay not the ring Yan Xi had given him, but a brand new ring that fit her finger perfectly.

He designed it himself, and the inner wall is engraved with the character "辰".

He raised his head and looked up at Yan Xi, who was standing amidst a sky full of stars.

The entire Ginkgo Road was now empty except for the two of them and a patch of light that resonated with his heartbeat.

It was very quiet around.

Only the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the silent rise and fall of the lights, in sync with my heartbeat.

Li Chen knelt on one knee on the ground covered with golden fallen leaves, holding up the ring.

Yan Xi looked down at him, and finally couldn't hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks.

She didn't wipe it away, letting the tear fall onto her black dress, leaving a small, dark stain.

Li Chen looked at her, and his eyes also reddened.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word of the flowery language he had prepared.

He remembered her focused profile as she drew, her slightly furrowed brow as she cooked, and the resolute look in her eyes when she stood in front of him in the alley.

Those images flashed through my mind frame by frame.

Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke in the calmest voice possible.

"They all say that a promise is a very heavy thing."

"Eighteen years ago, Yan Zhen promised you a music box, but he made you wait all night."

"Later, Luo Yun promised to help you find that lamp bead, but she also made you wait for eight years."

Li Chen's voice was soft, yet it struck Yan Xi's heart like a hammer, each word hitting her hard.

They all love you, but they all made you wait and guess.

He looked into Yan Xi's eyes with utmost seriousness.

"Yan Xi, I can't guarantee that our future will be perfect, or that we'll never have any regrets."

"But I can assure you of one thing."

He held up the ring in his hand, his voice trembling slightly.

"The lights here are always on for you in advance."

"You don't need to wait, and you don't need to guess."

"It will always be lit whenever you need it, whenever you turn around."

Yan Xi's tears finally broke free.

She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, but her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.

These words healed her from the sleepless night she spent at the age of seven, and healed all the unresolved expectations she had held for the past eighteen years.

No need to wait, no need to guess.

These six words are the ultimate sense of security that Li Chen can give her.

She looked at the man kneeling in front of her, and saw the heartache and tenderness in his eyes.

She slowly, very slowly, extended her left hand.

When Li Chen saw her actions, a childlike smile appeared on his face.

He carefully picked up the ring and gently slipped it onto her ring finger.

The dimensions are exactly as described.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

Then he stood up and hugged her tightly.