When Jun-Yu went to take a shower, Shin-Yue sat at the dining table and continued eating. With a bite of food in her mouth, she smiled absentmindedly and murmured,
"I never imagined that something I could only admire from afar would one day be this close to me."
The moment Shin-Yue said those words, a memory from her past came rushing back.
It had happened a year ago.
That day was the annual exhibition at Shanghai University. However, the exhibition wasn't limited to students from the Science Department. The Computer Science Department also had its own showcase that day.
Shin-Yue was sitting among the crowd of spectators. She was thoroughly enjoying the science exhibition when, suddenly, her eyes came to a halt on Jun-Yu.
At that time, Jun-Yu was standing on the stage, giving a presentation on hydroponic farming—a method of growing plants without soil.
Although the research had been conducted by Professor Lin-Boshi, Jun-Yu's contribution to the project was far from insignificant. After Jun-Yu achieved excellent results in his experiments, Professor Lin-Boshi himself had chosen him to assist with the research.
Because of Jun-Yu's exceptional powers of observation, he had gradually become an important part of the professor's research team. That was why the professor had personally entrusted Jun-Yu with the responsibility of presenting their work that day.
Jun-Yu's striking appearance, gentle voice, and calm manner of speaking stirred something deep inside Shin-Yue's heart.
She became even more attentive to the science exhibition.
At one point that day, Jun-Yu happened to look toward the audience for a few seconds.
For a brief moment, his eyes met Shin-Yue's.
Then he simply turned his attention back to the digital screen.
To Jun-Yu, it was nothing more than an ordinary moment.
But that brief, icy-cold gaze sent a strange shiver through Shin-Yue's heart.
And at that moment, she realized something—
She hadn't been watching the exhibition at all.
She had been watching Jun-Yu.
After the exhibition that day, curiosity began to grow inside Shin-Yue.
"Jun-Yu... who is Jun-Yu, really?"
Driven by curiosity, Shin-Yue began searching for all kinds of information about him.
For example—
Which department did he study in?
What kind of work did he do?
What research was he involved in?
Which competitions had he participated in?
But gradually, that list began to grow.
What food did Jun-Yu like?
What food did he dislike?
How should she avoid disturbing him while he was working?
What could make him lose track of time because he was so interested?
When did he become unusually quiet?
When did a genuine smile appear on his face?
Everything.
Shin-Yue wrote all of this information down in her diary.
The first few pages looked almost like research notes.
Name — Jun-Yu
Specialty — Scientific Research
Likes — ...
Dislikes — ...
But as time passed, the diary stopped being merely a notebook of information.
Her feelings slowly began to take over its pages.
> "He looked really tired today. Is he worried about his research? Why does something inside me become so restless whenever I see him looking exhausted?"
> "I'm in a really good mood today because I saw him smile. His smile... ah, it's like the moon in the night sky. It makes his entire face look like a piece of heaven."
One day, while writing another entry in her diary, Shin-Yue suddenly stopped her pen.
She picked up the diary and read through the entire thing from beginning to end.
All those feelings she had written about Jun-Yu seemed like an entire mountain of emotions.
She asked herself,
"Am I really writing this much about him?"
A few moments later, she answered herself beneath the question.
"Yes! I wrote all of this because I've fallen in love with him. These are my feelings."
However, the strangest way Shin-Yue came to understand Jun-Yu was through something else.
Whenever she noticed that Jun-Yu looked troubled or unhappy, the same thought would immediately appear in her mind—
"Maybe Jun-Yu is having some kind of problem. That's why he isn't smiling today. Can't I do something to help him?"
The moment she asked herself that question, a virtual solution came to her mind.
As a Computer Science student, Shin-Yue worked on various research platforms and online networks. Her name there was Shin-Yue.
But when she realized that her feelings for Jun-Yu were one-sided, she suddenly changed her online username to a name she chose for herself—
N7.
One day, Shin-Yue noticed that someone using a profile named Jun-Yu had posted a request on an online platform, asking for help finding some information.
> "Could you help me find some research data on viruses?"
Shin-Yue hesitated for a moment.
From the request about virus research, she realized that this had to be that Jun-Yu—the Science Department student at Shanghai University whom she had secretly loved from afar for so long.
Jun-Yu had never seen Shin-Yue in person.
They had never even been formally introduced.
When Shin-Yue realized the truth, a strange sense of resentment began to build inside her toward Jun-Yu.
That was why she tried to keep her distance from him for a while.
But what could she do?
The heart is stubborn and foolish. Who can truly keep it under control?
For a few days, Shin-Yue had tried to imprison her own feelings.
But today, when Jun-Yu himself came to her for help, an indescribable shiver of excitement ran through her heart.
It felt as though a glimmer of hope had finally appeared.
Looking at the computer screen, Shin-Yue smiled softly and murmured,
"Shin-Yue, even if Jun-Yu doesn't know you, he can at least know N7, can't he? You shouldn't give up."
"From today onward, your identity is N7—the person who helps Jun-Yu."
A little while later, Shin-Yue replied to Jun-Yu.
Although she was a Computer Science student, she began tirelessly searching through scientific research databases day and night, all just to help Jun-Yu.
There was only one reason behind all her effort—
She never wanted to see Jun-Yu's unhappy face again.
By then, Shin-Yue had begun to understand Jun-Yu quite well.
She could tell when he was upset.
One day, Jun-Yu asked N7,
> "How did you figure that out?"
After a short while, a reply appeared.
> "The third section of your data doesn't match the other two. So I started from there."
Jun-Yu stared at the screen for a while.
Then he typed,
> "Do you work in science?"
The reply came—
> "No. I just try to understand your work."
Jun-Yu frowned.
The answer was strange.
But even stranger was the fact that the help from this mysterious person was useful almost every time.
He had no idea that the person sitting on the other side of the screen was Shin-Yue.
And Shin-Yue knew that the person whose research she was helping was the very same man she had secretly loved from afar for so long.
Sometimes, she deliberately took a little longer to reply.
Just so she could receive one more message from Jun-Yu.
Before Shin-Yue and N7 could develop a truly close relationship, a storm of emotions gathered inside her heart.
Today, her heart was broken.
She had wanted to meet Jun-Yu in person someday as N7, reveal her true identity, and confess her feelings to him.
But on the very day she was about to tell Jun-Yu everything, she learned that he was the son of the CEO of their rival company.
Worried that her involvement might create problems for the company, her family, and Jun-Yu himself, Shin-Yue chose not to approach him.
For a while, she even distanced herself from her online network.
And she stopped writing in her diary—the diary where she had once poured out all her feelings for him.
Today, Shin-Yue opened that old diary once again and put her pen to the page.
> "Jun-Yu! Today, I came to know a new side of him. He is the future CEO of a company. Someday, he may work at a major research center. He has the potential to become a great scientist. But there is one thing he doesn't have—arrogance. What he does have is a heart filled with genuine love for people."
After writing those words, Shin-Yue began wondering why she had felt compelled to open her old diary today.
Earlier, she had gone to the cafeteria to buy some food.
But there, she noticed Jun-Yu sitting at a table with Si-Yuan, the university laboratory's gatekeeper, laughing, chatting, and having lunch together.
Si-Yuan chuckled and said,
Si-Yuan: "What else can Jun-Yu do? This is a university cafeteria, not his uncle's house where he can demand whatever food he wants."
The cafeteria food wasn't necessarily to everyone's taste.
Jun-Yu was one of those people who couldn't really enjoy it.
But with his busy life revolving around research and studies, he rarely got the chance to have a proper meal.
So today, Jun-Yu and Si-Yuan were eating cafeteria food together and talking about it.
As soon as Si-Yuan finished speaking, Jun-Yu laughed and replied,
Jun-Yu: "Uncle, you're absolutely right. But no matter how bad the food tastes, it's this very food that keeps all the students—and us—from going hungry. So regardless of how it tastes, I don't think we should complain about it."
Jun-Yu was the biggest crush of nearly every girl at the university, and his high social status only made him more admired.
But seeing him sitting at the same table, happily sharing a meal with nothing more than a university gatekeeper caused whispers to spread among many of the girls.
Yet seeing how Jun-Yu never treated people differently based on their status made Shin-Yue's heart tremble once again.
Today, she wrote the final entry in her diary:
> "Jun-Yu, today I got to know another new side of you, and at the same time, I learned something new from you. From today onward, I will help you again. But not because I love you. I will stand beside you simply as one human being standing beside another—selflessly, just as you do."
Several days passed.
Then came a late afternoon during the rainy season.
Shin-Yue was standing beneath a cherry blossom tree beside the parking area. The sky was covered with deep, dark clouds. It seemed as though the Rain Queen's madness could begin at any moment.
That day, her driver was running late.
Shin-Yue kept looking toward the university gate again and again.
Suddenly, a light drizzle began to fall. But within moments, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.
Raindrops began soaking Shin-Yue's clothes. However, before she could become completely drenched, someone drove a Ferrari up beside her and stopped.
Slowly, the car window rolled down, and an umbrella was extended toward Shin-Yue.
It took Shin-Yue only a moment to realize that Jun-Yu was inside the car.
Unfortunately, Jun-Yu was wearing black sunglasses, and his gaze remained fixed straight ahead toward the gate.
Jun-Yu: "Take it. I'm in a hurry, so you can use it."
Jun-Yu said it in a serious voice without even looking at Shin-Yue.
Shin-Yue hesitated.
"Should I take the umbrella... or shouldn't I?"
But this was the first thing she had ever received from the person she loved.
So, despite her hesitation, Shin-Yue finally took the umbrella.
When she opened it, she noticed Jun-Yu's bookmark attached to the handle.
However, the moment Jun-Yu saw her take the umbrella, he drove away.
Shin-Yue watched his car disappear and felt a wave of disappointment.
What a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
What a beautiful feeling.
Two hearts beneath a cherry blossom tree on a romantic rainy day.
Perhaps the cherry blossoms were falling in rhythm with the rain, making their unspoken emotions feel even more intense.
But reality was completely different.
Shin-Yue was just as happy to receive the umbrella from Jun-Yu as she was disappointed afterward.
A strange, contented smile appeared on her face, yet tears had gathered in her eyes.
Shin-Yue: "Jun-Yu... even today, you didn't see me?"
"I'm so happy. This is the first thing I've ever received from you."
"But if you never want to know me, then I don't want your pity."
With those words, Shin-Yue let go of the umbrella and allowed herself to stand in the rain.
Under the rushing rain, it felt as though she was letting all her sadness and pain wash away.
---
Several hours later, Shin-Yue sat gloomily at the table in her room.
Her hair was still wet.
Because she was so depressed, she hadn't even dried her hair after returning from the university.
The umbrella Jun-Yu had given her was lying on the table in front of her.
Shin-Yue stared at it without blinking.
---
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening reached Shin-Yue's ears.
Slowly, everything around her began to fade into a haze.
Her thoughts broke, and she returned to reality.
She told herself,
"What happened has already become the past, and now I am living in the present."
"I don't know what the future holds, but I know only this—I love Jun-Yu."
"And I will never be able to bear seeing him in pain."
"Nor will I ever be able to give up hope of having him in my life."