Chi Yan remained silent...
Chu Yang didn't let him dwell on it any longer. She picked up her milk tea and stood up, "Let's just end it here." Although there were many traces suggesting that they were a couple before, she knew herself—feelings and such weren't actually that important to her. Now that they had both forgotten each other, being together would only waste each other's time. It was better to break up directly.
Chi Yan was stunned for a moment. His heart told him that this wasn't right, this wasn't how it should be.
He immediately stood up and called out to stop her, "Wait."
Chu Yang turned around, "Hmm?"
Chi Yan tightly gripped the hem of his shirt, "Can't we not break up? Can we try again?"
Chu Yang sounded callous, like an icy woman, "But it would be such a waste of time. I don't have that much time to spare. Let's just end it."
Chi Yan watched as Chu Yang walked out of the milk tea shop, leaving a void in his heart. He wanted to call out, but no matter how much he opened his mouth, nothing came out. This was wrong, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. Chi Yan suddenly grabbed his head, feeling short of breath.
At the neighboring table were two girls who stared at each other wide-eyed. Finally, they gasped, "Oh my god! They broke up?"
...
It didn't take long before most people at the two universities knew—Chi Yan, the B University campus heartthrob, and Chu Yang from A University had broken up!
Wei Feng read the news on the forum, looked at Chi Yan lying on the bed, and shouted, "Bro Yan!!!"
Zheng Qing next to him was so startled that he almost fell off his chair. "Dammit! Feng, why are you yelling so loud? You scared me!"
Wei Feng showed Zheng Qing the news. Initially calm, Zheng Qing almost dropped his phone after reading it. "Holy crap! Bro Yan!!!"
Chi Yan looked at them, still somewhat dazed. "Hmm?"
"Bro Yan, you... you... you broke up with the big shot? No way? Bro Yan, Chu Yang is your everything! How could you break up with her? You're going to regret this, bro. Quick, go clarify things! You two absolutely can't break up. Let's just say you forgot, it's no big deal. If you keep being together, the feelings will come back."
Chi Yan's voice sounded muffled, "It was her idea."
Wei Feng looked exasperated. "Bro, the big shot said so, and you just agreed? You should have persisted relentlessly, no matter what, to make the big shot change her mind!"
Zheng Qing nodded vigorously, "Bro Yan, Feng is right. You should have persisted relentlessly. Women fear clingy men!"
Even Lian Yuanzhi chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Chi Yan sat up, pondering, "Was I a whipped boyfriend before?" He didn't think he was.
Wei Feng said, "Bro, you weren't a whipped boyfriend. You were just lovesick!!! But it's more or less the same."
Chi Yan: ...
On the other side, Chu Yang was also being bombarded by Jin Yang and the others.
"Yang Yang, you broke up with Campus Heartthrob Chi Yan?"
"Ah ah ah, no way! Yang Yang, what were you thinking? You two were so good together."
"Although you've forgotten each other now, the feelings should still be there, right?"
"Chi Yan was so good to you. We won't believe in love anymore if you two break up, wah wah wah!"
"This must be a rumor, this has to be a rumor!!"
Chu Yang remained unmoved, "It's not a rumor, it's true. We don't remember each other, and I don't have any feelings for him in my heart. Plus, I'm very busy and don't have the energy to deal with a relationship like that. I said I wanted to break up, and he agreed. It's a win-win for everyone, isn't it great?"
Jin Yang and the others didn't understand. "But you two loved each other so much before. You used to always go find each other, you even lived together."
"Yes, yes, look at your chat history, look at your social media posts. You two were so in love before, how can you deny the past just because of memory loss?"
"Imagine how terrible it would be if you regained your memories!"
"What if Chi Yan likes someone else during this period of memory loss?"
Chu Yang replied, "Then it means we were never meant to be."
Everyone exchanged glances, eventually resigning with a sigh.
But privately, in the small group chat without Chu Yang and Chi Yan, Jin Yang, Wei Feng, and the others whispered about how to get the two back together.
As for the other people who heard about Chu Yang and Chi Yan's breakup, some were shocked and in disbelief, some thought it might be a false rumor. But when a day passed and neither came out to clarify, some rejoiced over their misfortune, some felt it had nothing to do with them and didn't care.
"I heard it was Chu Yang who initiated it, right at the milk tea shop by the school gate. Someone overheard them."
"So the previous rumors weren't actually rumors?"
"Chi Yan really got cheated on?"
"They already issued an apology letter, saying the previous rumors were fake. Don't you people have any ability to discern truth from fiction?"
"Exactly. I think something must have happened afterwards."
"Maybe they had a fight. Maybe they'll get back together in less than a month? Couples fight all the time, don't they?"
"True. It's pretty normal for couples to break up and get back together."
"Why are you so concerned about their relationship? You're all adults. What's the big deal about breaking up?"
"I guess this is what happens when you flaunt your relationship too much."
"I'm shocked that Chu Yang is so badass! To actually break up with Chi Yan! Chi Yan, of all people, and yet there's someone who finds him unworthy?"
"I agree. Even though Chu Yang seems very capable too, but still, it's Chi Yan we're talking about."
"I'm not kidding, Chi Yan getting dumped is honestly the funniest joke I've ever heard."
... Discussions raged online, but Chu Yang didn't see them. When she went out and people asked if she had broken up, Chu Yang simply nodded and admitted it. She didn't think there was anything to hide—she just didn't realize that so many people knew about her previous relationship with Chi Yan.
Then she realized, of course, Chi Yan was after all a campus heartthrob and very good-looking. It made sense that he would know a lot of people, while she was just an ordinary person.
That night, Chi Yan had a dream.
In the dream, he should have still been a freshman. He was returning to school from home by bus, but when the bus reached the elevated highway, for some reason, it seemed like the driver had a medical emergency and the bus fell off the highway bridge.
After that, he didn't know what happened.
He was in a coma at the hospital for two months before finally waking up. His grandfather was so worried that he got sick himself.
Then Chi Yan suddenly felt that something was off. Why would the bus fall off the elevated highway? That shouldn't have happened. How could a bus just fall off a highway bridge?
The incident resulted in many deaths. He narrowly escaped death himself, sustaining severe injuries and being admitted to the ICU multiple times. Only after consulting many top experts was his life finally saved.
Afterwards, he stayed in the hospital for a year, undergoing rehabilitation. A year later, he returned to campus. Everything had changed.
His former classmates had become his seniors, but no one had forgotten him. Everyone was happy to see him back on campus, and he quickly reintegrated into campus life, studying as usual, participating in competitions, going to the library. Although he couldn't engage in strenuous physical activities or play basketball anymore and could only watch from the sidelines, he also couldn't do things like boxing or skateboarding.
But it didn't matter. For him, being alive was already a blessing.
