The Long Chase for a President's Spouse

" What?"

This time, Zhang Heng hung up resolutely. Acting on reflex, Gu Zhun hailed a cab immediately and made his way to Plaza X. In the car, Gu Zhun finally began to make sense of Zhang Heng's instruction. Clearly, the counter-proposal meant that Zhang Heng would definitely meet him, but why did he feel like he had little say and choice in this entire course of events?

"Zero-One-Zero-One, are you there? Target sighted! I repeat, target sighted!" Ye Ruixi whispered excitedly into his walkie-talkie as Gu Zhun's cab drew up by the curb.

"Silly-Idiot, are you dumb? Stop stating the obvious. It's already shown on the plaza screen!"

As Ye RuiXi and Wen YiHong continued with their silly espionage role-play from the sides of the plaza square, Gu Zhun was making his way to the fountain at the centre of the plaza.

Where were the middle-aged aunties who usually gathered for line-dance sessions in the evening? Where did all the shoppers go? Wasn't the plaza usually bustling with life at this hour of the day?

Gu Zhun wondered briefly about the emptiness of the square though he did not think too much of it. After all, it was natural for people to choose the comfort of their homes at the end of a long work day. Waiting by the fountain, he began looking around for Zhang Heng instead. But Zhang Heng was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe he has decided not to show up after all? Is it possible?" As the wait dragged on, Gu Zhun became less and less sure of his deduction. He began to wither at the thought that Zhang Heng might have lost all feelings for him.

Serves me right; it's my fault that I'm so cold and detached. Why couldn't I have taken more initiative? I was the one who made him feel insecure all the time

Suddenly, music began to play, cutting through the fog of negativity in Gu Zhun's mind. The people scattered across different parts of the square started moving in unison towards the centre. Illuminated by the light from their handphone screens, they began to sing:

Hiroi uchuu no kazu aru hitotsu1

(In this vast universe)

Hundreds of voices united as one and washed over Gu Zhun as the crowd slowly formed a circle around him. "What what's going on?"

Aoi Chikyuu no hiroi sekai de chiisana koi no omoi wa todoku

(In the vast world on this blue planet, my small feelings of love reach out)

Riding on the tireless wave of voices, countless sakura petals began to fall gently from the sky like the most delicate of snowflakes touched with the barest hint of a blush. One by one, they drifted softly to the ground.

"What's happening?"

Through the speakers around the square, an unfamiliar voice began to speak, "Dear Mr. Gu Zhun, I have a letter here for you. You may not want to hear its contents because you are probably still angry about the writer's intentional neglect in the past few weeks. Nevertheless, I will read out the letter for you, because it contains the writer's truest feelings and these are feelings in which I truly believe as well.

"'Gu Zhun, how are you? Hahahaha Well, this is probably my first letter to you. Naturally, the childish love poems I wrote in the past don't count, since you only read them because I told you that I wanted to send them to the school Literary Newsletter for publication Hahaha, are you recalling those poems right now? Hahahaha.'

"Well, the amount of laughter in this letter is making me feel a little awkward but I will strive to be as faithful to the language as possible," the speaker clarified briefly, eliciting a chortle from Gu Zhun in response. Unbeknownst to Gu Zhun, however, a camera was following his every move closely.

Distracted by the speaker, he was entirely oblivious to the fact that his reactions were being streamed live on the huge plaza screen above him, against the chorus of voices that continued singing in the background. Every one of his expressions was crystal clear to everyone gathered in the plaza.

The speaker turned his attention back to the letter, "'Please forgive me for turning around to talk to you all the time back then. It might have been nothing but a huge annoyance to you, and you might have thought I was wasting my time looking for all kinds of excuses to strike up a conversation with you instead of pretty girls in the school because you might have never known that I was already in love with you.

"'Back then, I was a coward. I was too afraid to confess the truth. Every kiss, every touch, every attempt to hold your hand had to be wrapped cautiously under layers of pretence and false nonchalance. I was scared that you would leave me immediately if I told you how I felt If telling the truth meant losing you forever, I would rather take my secret with me to the grave.'"

Gu Zhun trembled helplessly as memory after memory began to surface in his mind. Seven years ago, Zhang Heng was a hopeless student who slept through all his cla.s.ses and copied his work from others all the time. But he only ever got into fights because of Gu Zhun, and he flirted with no one but Gu Zhun

I know, Zhang Heng. I've always known

Footnotes:

Lyrics taken from Chiisana Koi no Uta by Mongol800