A letter

"No," Li Yichen said, shaking his head honestly.

Ouyang Xuanxuan really wanted to bite him. Was his head made of wood? I've made it so obvious. Can't you take a hint?

"I do," Ouyang Xuanxuan said through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Only then did Li Yichen catch on. Women are such a pain. If you want to look, just look. Why ask me?

"What do you mean by 'oh'?" Ouyang Xuanxuan's expression turned hostile.

"Nothing." Li Yichen finally managed to swallow the rest of his words. He quickly picked up a pair of scissors from the counter and said with a smile, "I'll open it for you."

"Hmph. That's more like it."

Li Yichen smiled wryly, sliced through the tape with the scissors, opened the box, and took out its contents one by one, setting them on the counter.

Inside were some photographs, small accessories, and trophies.

Most of the photographs showed a boy with Zhou Tingting.

In every photograph, Zhou Tingting wore a radiant smile, without a trace of sadness.

"This boy must be her boyfriend, Zhou Yixuan, right?" Ouyang Xuanxuan picked up a photograph. "You know, he's pretty handsome."

Li Yichen couldn't help rolling his eyes. For some reason, hearing Ouyang Xuanxuan praise another guy made him uncomfortable, so he chimed in, "I'm handsome too."

Ouyang Xuanxuan looked up, glanced at him, and said dismissively, "You? Pretty average. Passable, I suppose."

Li Yichen was utterly exasperated and felt an urge to smack her.

Ouyang Xuanxuan found his frustration immensely amusing. She lifted her chin smugly and went back to looking through the photographs.

Then Ouyang Xuanxuan picked up another photograph. This one showed three people instead of two.

Pointing at the third boy in the photograph, Ouyang Xuanxuan frowned. "Isn't this the guy from earlier?"

"Yeah, looks like him." Li Yichen leaned over for a look and nodded.

"There's something odd about him. He doesn't look like a good person." After examining him from every angle, Ouyang Xuanxuan reached that conclusion.

"How can you tell whether he's a good person?" Li Yichen was puzzled. Could she read faces, too?

"Intuition," Ouyang Xuanxuan said confidently. "A woman's intuition can be pretty accurate sometimes."

"A bad person? Intuition?" Li Yichen rolled his eyes, then pulled a letter from the bottom of the box.

"Ta-da!" Li Yichen waved the envelope in front of Ouyang Xuanxuan. "Look what I found."

"Oh! A letter." Ouyang Xuanxuan's eyes lit up. No woman could resist gossip, and she was no exception.

She practically snatched it from Li Yichen's hand, eagerly opened it, and pulled out a neatly folded sheet of stationery.

Holding the sheet, Ouyang Xuanxuan flushed slightly. She took a deep breath before slowly unfolding it.

Then she began reading it aloud, slowly.

To Yixuan, may you be at peace in heaven!

It's been a whole year...

My life no longer holds your embraces, your kisses.

When I'm sad and hurting, your smile is no longer there to comfort me.

I've lost the most important thing in my life—you, the one I once naively believed would stay with me forever.

I've never truly loved anyone else. Because I can't accept someone who isn't you.

Everything we shared is still as vivid as yesterday. So vivid that I still remember the funeral that shattered my heart.

Sometimes, I almost catch your scent in the air. But when I turn around, no one is there.

How I wish you were still beside me.

You were the only one who would hold me, kiss me, and patiently listen to me.

But you left. You took my heart and my soul with you.

From the moment you left, I was no longer the person I used to be.

I love you.

I miss you so much.

Truly, so very much...

"Boo-hoo... They loved each other so deeply. Why did heaven have to tear them apart?" As she read, Ouyang Xuanxuan actually started crying again.

Li Yichen's eyes grew damp too. He sighed. "Life rarely goes the way we want it to."

"Do you think her boyfriend will see this?" Ouyang Xuanxuan suddenly asked.

Li Yichen paused, then said uncertainly, "Maybe."

"I wish that boy, Zhou Yixuan, could see this letter from Tingting." Ouyang Xuanxuan wiped away her tears. "At least he'd know someone is still thinking of him, loving him, and missing him."

"If only I could go to the Underworld," Ouyang Xuanxuan suddenly said. "Then I could give this letter to Zhou Yixuan."

Then she laughed at herself. "Ouyang Xuanxuan, what are you thinking? You know perfectly well that's impossible."

"Impossible?" Li Yichen murmured. "It might not be."

"What did you say?" Ouyang Xuanxuan hadn't caught his words.

"Nothing." Li Yichen came back to his senses and smiled. "It's getting late. If we don't head back, the dorms will lock their doors, and we'll have to sleep on the street."

"Why would we sleep on the street? Can't we stay at a hotel?" Ouyang Xuanxuan rolled her eyes at him. "You're such a blockhead. You've really earned your single status."

With that, she turned and stormed off.

"Hey, wait for me! I'll walk you back." However clueless Li Yichen was, he knew he couldn't let Ouyang Xuanxuan go back alone. He quickly locked the door and ran after her.

Duan Mingyu kicked open the dorm room door and shouted, "Get up, guys! Have a drink with me!"

As he spoke, he set the liquor and a plastic bag of prepared dishes on the table.

"Mingyu, what's gotten into you today?" One of his buddies rolled over and sat up, looking puzzled.

"If I tell you to drink, just drink. Why all the damn questions?" Duan Mingyu snapped.

"Don't ask. Judging by that face, someone must've rejected him again." Another roommate laughed as he helped pour everyone a drink.

"Come on. Cheers." Duan Mingyu drained his glass in one gulp.

"Mingyu, if you're drinking away your sorrows, take it slow." The others only took small sips and urged him to pace himself.

After a few drinks, Duan Mingyu gradually grew more talkative. "Tell me, how am I any worse than Zhou Yixuan? He's been dead for a year. Why won't Zhou Tingting accept me?"

"If you ask me, you're just asking for misery. So many girls chase after you, but you turn them all down and insist on hanging yourself from this one tree." One roommate couldn't stand watching him anymore.

"Bullshit." Duan Mingyu glared at them with bloodshot eyes. "You all know Zhou Tingting is the only woman I'll ever want."

He paused, then continued, "If you're my brothers, hurry up and figure something out for me, damn it. I can't take much more."

"Boo-hoo..." As he spoke, he actually began to cry. "I really can't take much more... Please help me."

"Hmm." They exchanged glances, and one of them patted his shoulder. "I do have an idea."

"What idea?" Duan Mingyu immediately lifted his head, as though he'd found a lifeline.

"Ask her out for karaoke sometime. We'll be there to put in a good word for you, and maybe it'll work out. If that still doesn't work, sleep with her and make it a done deal."