Li Xinya sat at her desk, staring at the pink diary in her hands. The corners were bent from flipping through it so many times, the pages filled with doodles, scribbles, and crossed-out "rules."
Her stomach churned. "If he sees this, he'll probably laugh. Or worse—think I'm ridiculous. But if I don't tell him, he'll keep thinking I'm hiding something from him. I don't want any more walls between us."
Taking a deep breath, she hugged the diary to her chest. "Okay… today, I'll tell him."
After School – The Rooftop
She found Yuxuan leaning against the fence, the sunset painting him in gold and crimson light. He was staring at the sky, his usual unreadable calm stretched across his face.
Her steps slowed, nerves crawling up her throat. "Yuxuan… can we talk?"
He glanced at her, then nodded silently.
Xinya's fingers fidgeted as she held the diary out in front of her like a peace offering. "T-this… is what I've been hiding."
He looked at the small book, then back at her. "…What is it?"
She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's… um… basically… a guidebook I made for myself. I call it—uh—'How to Love Your Boyfriend.'"
His brow lifted slightly.
Flustered, she flipped it open, showing him the messy scrawls:
Rule #1: Always act graceful.(Crossed out with "don't trip" written next to it)
Rule #2: Cook for him.(Messy, burnt doodles of rice balls)
Rule #3: Never let him see you angry.(Written over with "oops… too late.")
And so on.
"I thought if I followed these rules, I'd be the perfect girlfriend," she admitted, cheeks red. "But every single one failed. I kept messing up, and then Zhao Lin saw the notebook, and I panicked, and then you thought I was hiding something, but really—I was just embarrassed."
She finally looked up at him, eyes shining with anxious honesty. "The truth is… I don't know how to love you the right way. I'm just figuring it out… day by day. But I want to keep trying. With you."
Silence… Then a Smile
For a long moment, Yuxuan said nothing. Xinya's heart hammered so loudly she thought she might faint.
Then… a quiet laugh escaped him.
She gawked. "Y-you're laughing?!"
He reached out and tapped the diary with one finger. "You really wrote all this… just for me?"
Her face flamed. "D-don't tease me!"
But his expression softened, a rare, genuine smile spreading across his lips. "I don't want a perfect girlfriend, Xinya. I want you. The one who trips, burns rice, gets angry, and writes silly rules in a pink notebook."
Her breath caught.
Then, slowly, he leaned closer, his forehead brushing against hers. "That's the girl I chose."
Xinya's knees nearly gave out. She clutched the diary tighter to keep from collapsing, her heart fluttering wildly.
For the first time, she didn't think about rules. She just thought about him.
The Diary Entry That Night
Back home, she scribbled quickly with teary eyes and a bright smile:
Rule #8: Be honest about your heart.(Success!)
Lesson learned: Maybe… I don't need rules at all.