"Monitor, is there a girl you secretly have a crush on?"

  A friend who is close to He Xin Yan asked him this question.

  "We'll be too busy studying to fall in love. I bet five cents he won't even have a clue. Even when we get to university, it's not certain he'll have a girlfriend!" The other friends chimed in, saying that the only thing he loved was doing endless homework.

  But only Xinyan himself knew that he was actually secretly in love with someone.

  He had been secretly in love with a little girl since he was sixteen years old.

  He was sixteen years old when she was thirteen; they were both at an age of tender youth, especially her, like a water lily bud that had just emerged from the water and revealed a little of its petals.

  Xin Yan had known her since she was ten years old. At first, he indeed thought of himself as just being a qualified good older brother, but gradually, year after year passed, and he couldn't help but cast more and more glances at her.

  She is a... different girl. Unlike girls of the same age, even unlike those who are several years older than her, and unlike everyone else. Her emotions are light, whether it's anger, sadness or happiness, they're all light, and she has the same attitude towards other people and things around her.

  Sometimes, Xin Yanlai would feel that this girl was like a wisp of smoke, and if he didn't look at her carefully, she would suddenly disappear without a trace.

  He has been meticulously taking care of her, it's hard to say whether it's out of a sense of responsibility or a private desire to get closer. In that emotion, there is curiosity, tenderness, and many inexplicable feelings, she almost undertook the heaviest part of his youthful thoughts.

  That summer when Xin Yanlai was sixteen, Xin Xiaolu and Xin Yuan lived in his house, and they spent their days together. One afternoon, Xin Xiaolu sat under the shade of a tree in the garden, while Auntie cut up some chilled watermelon inside the house. Xin Yanlai opened the door leading to the garden, carrying two slices of watermelon, ready to bring them over to her.

  He opened the door, lifted his head, and suddenly froze.

  A slender girl sat quietly on a white long chair under the tree, next to a flower bed where pink peonies were clustered. She closed her eyes as if she was asleep. Xin Yan came staring blankly, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He didn't know how long he had been dazed, but he remembered that when he came back to himself, the small water droplets from the iced watermelon in his hand wetted his palm, and the cold water seeped through the gaps of his palm and dripped onto the ground, forming a small puddle.

  He inexplicably felt a sense of unease, unsure what had suddenly come over him, and after being at a loss for half a moment, he quietly returned to the house with the watermelon.

  For a long time after that, he would dream of the afternoon of that day, the summer garden girl. Even in his dreams, he could smell the sweet scent of watermelon and the fragrance of roses mixed together in the garden, intoxicating.

  No desire to discuss "Female Leads and Male Seconds" with more like-minded people, "Popular Online Novels" or discuss favorite books with more book friends.