Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 28 - 27: The Most Beautiful Misunderstanding (Extra for 7 Alliance @ Sansheng Yuan Yintian Emperor)

Chapter 28: Chapter 27: The Most Beautiful Misunderstanding (Extra for 7 Alliance @ Sansheng Yuan Yintian Emperor)

"Fragile? After you abandoned me, my heart became tough as steel, impervious to swords and guns," Qi Yi dismissed.

Qi Yi’s tone made Yan Yan feel that her concern might indeed have been superfluous.

Four years had passed, and Qi Yi was definitely not the same person he used to be, just as she was no longer the same Yan Yan.

"Honestly, I never expected you to confess to me. Since the second day after starting high school—actually, from the first day—I stared at you every day, not out of love, but simply to survive," Yan Yan said, startling him.

"Survive?" Qi Yi couldn’t believe what Yan Yan was implying.

Watch him to survive? Was he bread or milk? Could merely looking at him satisfy her hunger?

But seeing the expression Yan Yan wore as she spoke, he sensed she was not joking.

"When we were together, I must have mentioned how I had been unpopular from elementary through middle school. No matter what I said or did, I was always targeted, often unable to understand why," Yan Yan continued, yet she still hadn’t answered his earlier question.

"Hmm, and then?" Qi Yi was genuinely curious.

"Then, I entered high school," Yan Yan spoke, then suddenly paused noticeably.

"And after that? Can’t you finish your story all at once?" Qi Yi asked helplessly, frustrated with Yan Yan’s tendency to pause at crucial moments.

"I entered our high school with the lowest scores, a position naturally targeted for bullying. From my early experiences, those at the top or bottom were targeted the same.

But on the first day of high school, you were unusually popular, shining like a beacon, illuminating every corner you touched. Wherever you stood, people would come up to talk to you. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Not just our classmates but also students from other classes who perhaps knew you from junior high.

On the first day of high school, fearing once again becoming the target, I didn’t approach you like the others. I hid in the least conspicuous corner, observing this brilliance in the classroom.

The next day, everyone in class had chosen you to be the class president. It’s no exaggeration to say that you shone brilliantly in my eyes.

Before Teacher Ge specifically switched our seats, I sat in the most secluded corner of the class; my most important daily task was watching you, this beacon of light.

I wanted to understand how to stand out and be special without being targeted.

Unlike me, whether I did well or poorly in studies, whether or not I became a class officer, I was always targeted.

When you occasionally caught me looking at you, I had no reason to avoid it. In my view, the way you looked at people must have been part of why you were well-liked, something I desperately wanted to figure out.

When our eyes met, there was no malice or disgust in your gaze, which was enough for me to be grateful, so I would naturally smile at you to express my gratitude.

Someone as celebrated as you likely can’t understand how a person who has been targeted their whole life feels profoundly thankful for a look that carries no implication of targeting.

You shone brilliantly, while I was just a moth fluttering towards the flame for survival.

At that time, all I wanted was a normal, ordinary high school life without being targeted.

That’s probably the real reason why you felt my gaze on you was different from everyone else who liked you," Yan Yan obediently finished her explanation all at once.

After listening, Qi Yi didn’t respond.

So, it turned out, the beginning of their love was merely Qi Yi misunderstanding Yan Yan’s feelings for him.

If the high school version of Qi Yi knew the truth, he would have been deeply embarrassed.

But the current Qi Yi felt that it must have been the most beautiful misunderstanding.

"You watched me all the time but didn’t like me a bit?" Qi Yi once again used a self-mocking tone.

"Uh, that’s a difficult question to answer. But what you just said reveals another question—if you weren’t watching me all the time, how would you know I was constantly watching you?" Yan Yan felt that the self-mocking Qi Yi was more multidimensional than the high school version.

"My soul was captivated by your gaze; what’s so strange about me looking at you?" Qi Yi didn’t mind Yan Yan knowing he also watched her; he cared about whether Yan Yan really hadn’t liked him at all in the beginning.

"Thank you, Qi Yi," Yan Yan suddenly switched to an incredibly emotive tone and expression.

"Thank me for what?" Qi Yi was instantly moved by her tone.

"Thank you for falling in love with me during our sophomore year.

Classmates always say, being with you brought me academic improvement.

But they could never know that your love gave me confidence and a whole new life.

I believe, because of you, my high school classmates came to think I wasn’t so unlikeable.

You made me feel that I wasn’t an outcast, not destined to be targeted.

Most importantly, the confidence your love gave me led me to stop loathing myself.

I began to believe, being targeted might not necessarily be my fault.

Carrying this confidence, when I faced bullying again in my freshman year of college, I wasn’t timid, self-blaming, or deeply guilty.

My middle school classmates always thought I was aloof and difficult to get along with.

In truth, being frequently targeted made me overly cautious, an attitude that didn’t match my age.

Your love helped me find my inherently cheerful self.

Though that beautiful year was brief, it transformed me into who I am now.

So, thank you."

Yan Yan had followed Qi Yi’s earlier directive to "say it all at once."

Qi Yi felt something swirling in his eyes, a sensation he hadn’t experienced even when they broke up.

He didn’t know how to respond to Yan Yan’s "thank you," but he didn’t plan to avoid her gaze either.

"Alright, I might have been a bit too sentimental. I can now answer your earlier question, about whether I liked you a little when I was constantly watching you.

If you had asked me during freshman year, I would have said no.

Back then, I genuinely felt my feelings for you were only admiration and esteem.

At that time, still struggling for ’survival,’ I couldn’t afford to like you.

And I didn’t truly understand my own feelings," Yan Yan began her sincere reply to Qi Yi’s most pressing inquiry.