That day he stuck to her like glue and even insisted in walking her home, albeit it being uncomfortable for him. 

"Uhm..." 

The girl was speechless with full hesitancy, but she figured it wouldn't hurt anyway, and this person she's with was actually fun to be with. Although he's not too responsive, he radiated with warmness which touched her. There were simply the kind of people whom you would know in an instant that they were kindred spirits, and he happened to be one. 

On the way to the girl's lodging, Chen Linyun noticed her frequently ma.s.saging her head. Upon her confirmation of having headache, they stopped in a pharmacy first, and the boy bought some medicinal pills for her. 

Once again, he touched her hear with his gesture, unknowingly. It wasn't his intention to impress her whatsoever. The gesture came naturally on him. 

The girl stared at him in amazement, her rosy cheeks turning a shade brighter as he handed her the pouch with the medicine. 'Nohody had done anything similar to me before, except, maybe... Minhe-ge...' Her heart ached as if it was pinched finely, upon remembering her brother who had always been there for her especially when their parents were away on trips.

---

They reached the girl's lodging around ten in the morning. 

They bid goodbye, albeit temporarily. Chen Linyun had made sure succeeding steps would be possible with them. Of course, he did not fail to get the girl's contact details - mobile number and email address, and they even got connected in several social media. The lad gave out the excuse of the meals the girl owed him.

Xue Jinxu found Chen Linyun somewhat cute and adorable like a soft white fluffy bunny. She didn't see anything wrong in being connected with him, even if she knew she had to leave soon. 

The two met a few more times. Whether it was accidental or premeditated, one could not confirm. Though each time was full of laughter - the girl's boisterous laughter, accomoanied by the boy's flushed red face and meek demeanor. Each time, the boy asked for the meal the girl owed him, yet he always ended up paying for the meal. Not that the girl, Xue Jinxu could not afford it, but because Chen Linyun insisted in paying all the time! In the end the five meals never got consumed, yet they ate out and hang out. 

However, the inevitable still happened. Xue Jinxu left the university for home, to face greater responsibilities that was not supposed to be hers. She stepped up and volunteered because she knew that she can and should. 

The Xue family sent their princess in a man's world. 

Eighteen-year-old Xue Jinxu, so naive and soft and green as spring, as young as buds of a blossoming flower, yet to face the realities of life, went through a harsh crash-course of everything vis-vis her continuing studies. 

The girl had to toughen up if she wants to climb the management ladder and be the leader among men. As young as she was, she needed to work double time with her technical skills and character-building.

Good thing, and she was pleased to know that at the end of each day awaits warmness of friends.h.i.+p which did not falter nor wan despite the distance. Every single night in Beijing, and day in Canada, or vice versa, whenever their schedule permits, the two friends confided with each other. Sometimes, a person found himself or rather herself more at ease to open up to a stranger than with people the person had known for years. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Thus, Xue Jinxu did not find it hard to entrust her inner sentiments with the kind boy who helped her out one fateful night. Before long, their closeness grew while their distance stayed the same. Some more years pa.s.sed, and finally the two graduated in their respective courses, now both in the Finance field. Xue Jinxu had left the School of Art at Rutherford University for a business course in Beijing, while Chen Linyun graduated with flying colors and had been scouted by investment firms even before he finished school. During these years of being contented with video calls and social media correspondence, Chen Linyun busied himself with interns.h.i.+ps and actual trading. It did not take long, he became famous in the trading world as an amateur. No doubt that companies vied to sign him in an employment contract. 

These past years, the boy's roommates, brothers and friends Si Yazu, Mo Wenbin and Zhou Xin thought him crazy for getting fired up before, during and after his habitual talk through a video call with his only girl-friend, with great emphasis on the dash. They rolled their eyes at him and sometimes even threw pillows at him to "wake him up" from his delusions. After all, they were thousands of miles apart - sea and land and status between them. In those years, Xue Jinxu was starting to form a respectable reputation in her own field. She's becoming more famous... 'She's becoming prettier, too.' Thought the young Chen Linyun oblivious of the impossibility of what he wanted. 

There was an instance that a girl in the same university baked some goodies for Chen Linyun. He was on the soccer field with Mo Wenbin. The girl timidly approached him, full of shyness, and almost backed out. She overcame her uneasiness just to give the home-made cookies just for him.

Chen Linyun rejected politely. How could he accept another girl'snofferings and somewhat confession of the heart?

Just to save the day, and the girl's face from further humiliation, Mo Wenbin received the cookies in behalf of, and as proxy for Chen Linyun. Even after too much gibe, Chen Linyun did not taste it or take a bit from it, not even once. That evening he reported what happened to his dearest friend from overseas.

She just laughed it off... what better way to alleviate her own hards.h.i.+ps than to hear youthful stories which her friend experiences from where he is. At the back of her mind there was envy, too, for her to be just a normal girl in school. She could only be soft and sweet and loud and rowdy and uninhibited the way she used to when she confides with Chen Linyun. Of course she had other friends, too - girl-friends, in fact, such as Teng Man Rui, but she limited talking to them because she was afraid to be asked for an explanation when her family had too much of a secret to protect. She didn't want to lie to her friends either. Keeping distance is key.

During a phone call, the girl slipped wistfully, "I wish we could talk in person again, just like before I left the university..."

Chen Linyun, at the other line of the call millions of stars apart, smiled enigmatically. "We will."