Chapter 22.2 - Ruo Zhi, Go for it! (2)
Luo Zhi opened her eyes. She should have made the most of these four years.
In fact, from the moment she unexpectedly rushed to the supermarket to help him, she had been hopeful about the "story that might unfold," or perhaps she had always been hopeful, just waiting to give herself a chance. As it turned out, several chance encounters had given her opportunities to get closer, and she hadn’t avoided them. But in truth, how she had behaved, she didn’t even know herself.
She just thought, as they slowly drew closer, maybe...
Maybe he would...
Like her.
She was still confident. Although she had once looked up to his back with humility, she had never doubted that she deserved to be loved. But she hadn't thought about the possibility that in his eyes, she might be nothing special.
Even though every move she made, every word she said, and every thought she had was carefully considered to stand out as special, if anyone other than him had been involved in those conversations, she might have silently moved on. But in front of him, she tried so hard to speak beautifully, trying to make him smile in response to her words.
She had once told herself not to try to act in any specific way, but love made it impossible for her to just "be herself." And he truly had the ability to make her feel so disheartened that she swore to give up, only to have her resolve dissipate with a single text message. Whatever she did, however she did it, whatever she said, however she said it, whatever she thought, however she thought... It was all controlled by his actions, whether it was four years ago, with no interaction, or today. She couldn't control herself. She really wanted to stop deliberately ignoring him, stop paying attention to him, stop being cold, stop being warm, stop being witty, stop being calm—but she couldn’t be herself.
This was love, right? If love can't pull someone into a transformation, then its magic is too small.
Courage returned to her body. Since it was already like this, why not "perform" once more?
"Luo Zhi, you can do it." She said softly.
Baili suddenly sat up. Luo Zhi was startled and stared at the upper bunk.
"You're in bed?"
"Yeah, when have I not slept until eleven on weekends?"
"You scared me!"
"I heard everything, you know? The phone call and that line, 'Luo Zhi, you can do it!!!'"
Baili’s face looked a bit puffy, but her expression was happy.
"He texted me. I’m going downstairs."
Baili nodded, and suddenly her face broke into a wide smile.
"Luo Zhi?"
"Mm?"
"Go for it."
Luo Zhi's nose tingled, and the tears she had been holding back fell onto the back of her hand, which was gripping the door handle. She nodded, though Baili couldn't see it.
