Qin Yichi's Past Life Secret Crush (2)

Qin Yichi always subconsciously remembered her every move, her preferences, and her habits:
She loved lemon-flavored hard candies and small strawberry cakes.
She insisted on having boba and cheese foam in her milk tea.
She enjoyed listening to traditional-style instrumental music and quiet, romantic English songs.
She had made a new friend in the class next door, and the two had become very close.
She wore that light blue dress again today; she had worn it last Tuesday as well, and it looked so beautiful...

Whenever their eyes met, Qin Yichi was always the first to lose his composure, silently averting his gaze.
He did not know why, but he simply dared not look Qiao Zhen in the eyes.
Moreover, his heart would beat rapidly.
Thump, thump...

Recently, the female students had started passing around paper stars, and the stationery shop at the school gate had nearly run out of star-folding paper.
When Qin Yichi returned to his seat, he saw a gold star resting on his desk, three-dimensional and plump, along with a delicate little card:
[Happy Winter Solstice! Sending you a lucky little star~]
At the end, a simple hand-drawn face was sketched.
Qin Yichi recognized Qiao Zhen’s handwriting at a glance—neat and pretty, completely different from his own chicken-scratch.
He held the paper star in his palms, staring at it for a long time, before gently placing it into his pencil case.

Suddenly, he heard the girls in front of him chatting: "Oh my god, writing love notes inside paper stars? That is so romantic~"
The moment those words were spoken, an strange and complicated emotion surged in Qin Yichi’s heart.
He silently took the star out of his pencil case and carefully tried to unfold it.
But it was empty inside.
He wanted to fold it back, but it was ruined; no matter how he tried, it wouldn't hold its shape and remained crumpled.
So ugly.
"..." Qin Yichi scratched his head in frustration.

After school, he secretly bought a pack, went home, and followed the instructions on the packaging to fold them slowly, practicing many times.
He wrote words seriously inside a paper star, choosing the pink paper that Qiao Zhen liked most.
[I like you]
Among the countless stars, it was the most beautiful one.
The next morning, he pretended to be casual as he handed it to Qiao Zhen.
Qiao Zhen’s eyes sparkled, and she accepted it with pleasant surprise: "Why are you folding these too! I love it!"
Qin Yichi’s ears turned slightly warm, and he looked away: "Just... folded it randomly."
The next second, he caught a glimpse of Qiao Zhen pulling a small box out of her backpack, filled with colorful paper stars.
They must have been gifts from others.
And his confession star had become the most unremarkable one, buried among them.
Qin Yichi opened his mouth but said nothing; a sour, aching sensation welled up inside him, spreading through his entire body.

Qin Yichi could not pinpoint when he started to like Qiao Zhen.
Perhaps it was when she treated his wounds; perhaps when she said she would marry him as a child; perhaps when she tutored him; or perhaps when she believed in him with unwavering faith...

It was every steady, powerful heartbeat; every chaotic, flustered encounter of their eyes.
Qin Yichi truly realized his feelings when he discovered his emotions were no longer under his control.
When Qiao Zhen was happy, he would inexplicably become happy; when Qiao Zhen was down, he would feel unhappy too.
He thought of her during class, thought of her while eating, thought of her before falling asleep... In short, he thought of her every single moment.
His scratch paper was filled with her name.
She was like a glowing, radiant little sun, like a bouncy little rabbit, like a dazzling, precious pearl.
She was simply too good—good in every way, with sparkling points everywhere.
Whenever he saw Qiao Zhen talking to other boys, Qin Yichi was always unhappy deep down.
He would get jealous.
He really, really wanted to hide Qiao Zhen away, so no one else could find her.
She had so many friends around her.
But in his world, there was only her.

The two attended the same middle school.
Qin Yichi never dared to confess, never dared to say those four words, "I like you."
If he failed, if Qiao Zhen distanced herself from him, then he would truly have nothing left.
He could not imagine a life without Qiao Zhen; he did not want to return to that gray, decaying world he once knew.
He was a coward.

In their second year of middle school, after Qin Chong harassed a woman while drunk and was beaten up by a group of people, he accidentally fell into a lake and drowned.
Qin Yichi felt an indescribable sense of relief.
It was around that time that his grades became excellent, his personality improved, and he often invited others to play basketball.
He gradually made more friends and got to know many brothers worth trusting.
He continued to walk to and from school with Qiao Zhen as usual, cherishing every minute and second spent by her side.
One late night, he dreamed of Qiao Zhen wearing a sexy white camisole, kneeling on his lap. The girl tilted her head, her voice sweet and coquettish:
"Qin Yichi, do you like me~"
So alluring and ambiguous...
When he woke up, Qin Yichi realized his body’s abnormal reaction and his expression stiffened slightly.
For those few days, he didn't even dare to speak to Qiao Zhen, let alone look directly into her clear, innocent eyes.
He knew that thinking this way was wrong, that it was not right, but during the day, those ambiguous images rushed into his mind like madness, constantly spreading and expanding.
He really wanted to "bully" her fiercely.
He wanted to possess her.

Qin Yichi thought these feelings would fade with time.
But he found that every day he liked Qiao Zhen even more than the day before.
She was cute when she smiled, cute when she cried, and even cuter when she blushed.
Qin Yichi always wanted to ruffle her hair, pinch her cheeks, and pull her into his arms to kiss her lips fiercely.
Thump, thump—

Qin Yichi’s heartbeat grew louder and louder, and deep inside, there was only one thought:
She is so well-behaved,
So cute,
I like her so much.

Qiao Zhen was always popular with both boys and girls.
She was pretty, had a good personality, a sweet voice, and when she stared at someone and smiled, she was always exceptionally gentle and soft.
She was a typical "good girl," even a bit insecure and introverted, often keeping her eyes lowered as