Chapter 1| You Are the Only Thing I Dare Not Touch

That summer, the rain came suddenly.

Wen Yan stood under the teaching building, clutching a stack of books, her school uniform slowly soaked by the droplets. She didn’t run or hide; she just lowered her head, watching the rainwater flow down the steps.

She was waiting.

Waiting for someone.

Someone who had promised to come, but was always late—Shen Che.

“You’re not using an umbrella again.”
His voice came from behind her.

She didn’t turn around, just whispered, “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Shen Che walked up beside her and held an umbrella over her head. It tilted slightly, letting all the rain fall on his side.

“I said I would come.”

Only then did she lift her gaze to him, her eyes a little red, but she held back her tears.

“You always say that.”

Shen Che didn’t explain. He just reached out and took the books from her arms, his tone calm, as if stating a fact completely unrelated to emotions.

“Let’s go.”

They walked side by side in the rain. They weren’t holding hands, yet it felt closer than holding hands.

Because everyone knew—
Wen Yan was someone Shen Che protected.

But only Wen Yan didn’t know that he protected her because he didn’t dare to claim her.

That night, she sent him a message.

[Do you like me even a little?]

The screen lit up and went dark again.

Shen Che stared at those words, for a very long time.

Then he deleted everything he wanted to say, and only replied:

[Don’t overthink it.]

Wen Yan stared at those two words and suddenly laughed.

And then, as she laughed, tears fell.

What she didn’t know was—
At that moment, Shen Che smashed his phone against the wall. The screen shattered, just like the love he had never said aloud.