Chapter 032: The Princess and the Soldier

"I’ll call my dad later. After all, he runs a bookstore, so he must have some spare cash," Dai Peng chimed in, confident in his family's financial situation.

"There's no rush," Lin Yu replied, "Xiaoyue isn’t a stingy girl. As long as we have a clear plan ourselves, that’s enough." Lin Yu, however, knew that while Dai Peng’s father was a decent man, he was extremely henpecked. Dai Peng’s mother had passed away years ago, and his father had since remarried a rather glamorous stepmother.

"Heh, your wife, your call," Dai Peng grinned.

"By the way, that Ye Yijing from last time wasn’t bad at all," Lin Yu teased with a mischievous smile.

"I already broke up with her." At the mention of Ye Yijing, a slight change flickered across Dai Peng’s face.

Lin Yu shook his head in mock disappointment. "You beast… No, not even worthy of being called a beast."

"Beast, huh! After that talk we had in the bathroom, I broke up with her. And I never even did anything with her," Dai Peng shrugged.

"At least you have some conscience left. In a few days, go win her back," Lin Yu suggested. Coming from a previous life, he knew that Ye Yijing was a significant figure in Dai Peng’s life.

"Let’s talk about it later. Just thinking about getting emotionally involved with a girl makes me anxious. Besides, she said she hates me. She’s the only girl who’s ever said that to me, you know!" Dai Peng looked genuinely conflicted.

"Women are like moths; they’re not afraid of being burned by the flame, only of not having the chance to throw themselves into it. She probably hates you because of that. And maybe her feelings run deeper than just liking you," Lin Yu offered his insight.

He paused, then continued, "Honestly, you’re something else. You took a studious little girl and left her both loving and hating you. How did you even manage that? You should go teach our other friends a lesson."

"How did I do it?" Dai Peng chuckled carelessly. "I didn’t do much. At first, I just thought she was cute and wanted to have some fun. You know my reputation… So Ye Yijing didn’t care for me at all."

"If I were her, I wouldn’t give you the time of day, either. Good looks aren’t everything," Lin Yu laughed, enjoying the banter with his friend.

"Not care for me? If she ignored me, would she even be a girl?" Dai Peng replied with a smug smile.

"Just tell me what happened—cut the bragging. I saw her that day; she clearly cares about you," Lin Yu scolded playfully, eyeing his friend’s face, which was enough to make women jealous.

Dai Peng paused, recalling the memory before he spoke. "Honestly, I didn’t do much. You know I’m pretty good at drawing. Once, the teacher asked me to do the blackboard for the class. That night, I stayed behind and spent the whole night drawing Ye Yijing’s silhouette. I sat behind her in class, so I knew her figure and even her hair by heart."

"Then, beneath the silhouette, I wrote: 'The Three-Life Stone stands for past, present, and future lives; it marks the tangled fates of lovers across lifetimes. Many love stories begin with a sense of déjà vu, and once in love, we all hope to be destined for three lifetimes together. In such love, we believe this lifetime’s bond was set long ago. Legend says that after death, one walks the Yellow Springs and reaches the Bridge of Forgetfulness, where the Three-Life Stone awaits. Silhouette, will you be my destined one for three lifetimes?'"

Dai Peng laughed. "That night wore me out. It rained as well, and I caught a cold staying in the classroom all night."

"Impressive, kid. Even our third brother couldn’t come up with something like that in his dreams. So, did you two just get together after that?"

"Of course not. Ye Yijing isn’t that kind of girl. The next day, when she saw it, she stopped talking to me and wanted to cut ties. Isn’t that a mess?" Dai Peng laughed at himself.

"And what happened after?" Lin Yu pressed, curious.

"You know me—when I set my mind to something, nothing can stop me. So after that, every night I stood downstairs at her building. I just stood there, looking up at her window, not saying a word, not calling her name. At first, she ignored me completely. Later, she’d occasionally glance at me through the window. Then one rainy night, she came down and handed me an umbrella, still without saying a word."

"I thought she’d just throw herself into your arms at that point," Lin Yu interjected; having never courted a girl in either of his lives, he was fascinated.

"As I said, if it were that easy, she wouldn’t be Ye Yijing. I kept standing there for ninety-nine days. On the hundredth day—the day before finals—I didn’t go to class or to her building. I missed the final exam as well, and we didn’t see each other all break. Then, on the first day of the new term, she handed me a letter. It contained just a few lines: 'If love is a beautiful accident, I think you might be my accident.'"

Dai Peng snapped his fingers, proud. "Ha! So you copied Dodo from 'The Princess and the Soldier,'" Lin Yu commented, a little envious of Dai Peng’s romantic flair.

"Exactly! Because I knew 'The Princess and the Soldier' was her favorite film. She even cried watching it, especially since it ends in tragedy. Later, she told me that from the first day I appeared, she started marking lines in her diary. The day I didn’t show up, she counted them—exactly ninety-nine days. She felt I was just like Dodo in the movie, not seeking a result, only expressing my feelings—a kind of foolishness that touches the heart. She was moved by that…"

As Dai Peng spoke, Lin Yu noticed the laughter had faded from his face, replaced by a deep, reflective expression, as if he were lost in distant memories.

After about a minute, Dai Peng collected himself and continued, "But when she gave me that love letter, I chose to turn her down. My reply was: 'If you were once a girl picking lotus in the southlands, I must have been the lotus you missed with your fair wrist. Beautiful dreams and beautiful poems are both rare and serendipitous; they appear when least expected. You are my beautiful poem, my beautiful dream, but that’s all. We’re not meant to be, so I can only be your Dodo. That way, you’ll remember me—always remember me.'"