Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 427 Belongs Only to Me

Chapter 427 Belongs Only to Me
To this day, Guzheng can no longer remember what her grandmother said that night.

Time is like a file; while it refines and beautifies memories, it also slowly erases them. Even things that we thought would be etched deep in our memories will gradually fade with time.

But she could never forget the word "unique" that her grandmother often mentioned.

She often wondered if her grandmother would not have passed away that day if she had become a unique person earlier.

The sweltering weather and the incessant chirping of cicadas make it absolutely unsuitable to sleep outside.

At the funeral, her tearful parents hugged her tightly, telling her not to think too much, that things had turned out this way entirely because of their fault, and had nothing to do with whether she was unique or not.

Doesn't it really matter?
As the firelight flickered, she couldn't help but ask herself a question.

At the crematorium, Grandma closed her eyes, looking as peaceful as if she were asleep. The smile on her face seemed to be saying a final goodbye to her family before she was slowly pushed into the incinerator.

After that day, she learned for the first time that it wasn't just torches that could burn for a very long time; people could also burn for an extremely long time.

Is it because my maternal grandmother herself was a unique "material"?

It must be.

My maternal grandmother was a truly unique person.

She was certain of this, but she could never find anything unique about herself. Every time she asked the people around her, she got some ordinary answers that were not special at all.

She realized that she was actually just an ordinary person.

So she started to study hard, because her grandmother had said that as long as she studied hard, she could understand herself, and as long as she could understand herself, she would definitely find her unique qualities in the future.

...but she never found it.

The year she graduated from sixth grade, someone said the village was going to be demolished. She knew what demolition meant; it meant that in the near future, everything in the village, including her old home and the bamboo grove behind the house, would cease to exist.

When she learned that she was going to the city with her parents, she was surprisingly not very sad. Instead, she went to all the places she used to frequent and found all the treasures stored in the secret base—the most precious things she had ever collected.

At dusk, she left all of these things at her grandmother's grave.

There are uniquely shaped smooth pebbles, rare golden cicada shells, colorful feathers, and even "dinosaur fossils" larger than a fist...

Looking at these treasures, she suddenly realized that the reason she collected these things was because they were special and unique enough.

Objects can be unique because of their unusual colors and shapes, but what about people?

What makes a person unique?
She was still thinking about this question until the moment she boarded the train, but even today, she still can't come up with a definite answer.

It seems I can't become a unique person.

So she began to change her approach—

If you don't know how to make yourself "unique", why not try to pursue the "uniqueness" that you can see directly?

Once you become number one, you'll never become number two.

So……

If you can consistently win first place, wouldn't that be considered "unique"?

……

"come on!"

"Go for it, senior! I love you!"

The biting winter wind brushed against her cheeks, pulling the girl's thoughts from the sweltering summer back to the winter playground.

The deafening shouts filled my ears again, giving me a sense of unreality.

Gu Zheng was stunned. She didn't expect that she had been lost in thought for so long, long enough that the senior students in front of her had already taken over the baton and started.

The game remained evenly matched, with all the runners carrying the final leg anxiously awaiting their turn. It was almost their turn.

The cold wind blew incessantly, making my clothes flutter loudly.

At a time when most people should be tense, Guzheng suddenly felt relaxed and even breathed a sigh of relief.

I instinctively turned my head and saw Han Zhou waving his fists and shouting something. If Sister Yin and Teacher Ouyang hadn't been holding him firmly in his wheelchair, he might have already stood up and started shouting.

She suddenly felt like laughing.

Everyone's cheering him on, so why does this guy seem so childish?
It was too noisy around her, and she couldn't hear what Han Zhou was shouting. Judging from his lip movements, it should be "Guzheng, charge!"

If only someone could add "I love you" at the end, like that person did...

She thought greedily, a blush flashing across her face, followed by a surge of fighting spirit burning in her eyes.

The sun had somehow moved to the front, and it looked rather dazzling.

But she didn't look away.

She will win the game and then confess her feelings to Han Zhou.

If this guy won't tell me, then I'll do it myself.

Shout that sentence louder than anyone else's—that's the next "first" she's going to win.

Although I'm really curious, there's really no need to dwell on why Han Zhou would fall for me.

Just like she didn't know why she fell in love with Han Zhou.

That guy isn't exactly unique, is he?

Gu Zheng couldn't help but glance in the direction where Han Zhou was again.

This time she saw more.

Not just Han Zhou, everyone is cheering themselves on right now.

Mom and Dad raised their arms and shouted, their movements exaggerated beyond belief. Teacher Ouyang smiled, Sister Yin waved continuously, and Xiaoxiao and Yaya jumped around in the crowd, their heads only occasionally visible. The usually quiet senior Zhongling mustered her courage and used her hands as "megaphones" to try to make her voice louder. Even Wang Lengqiu raised her hand and repeated "thank you."

—I guess it means "keep going"?

She smiled and raised her right hand, extending one index finger in response.

Han Zhou is right; not everyone wants to lose first place.

She only needs to run forward, and someone will keep chasing her from behind.

"If we don't hurry, we might not be able to see them again next year."

"You have to keep winning."

In a daze, the surrounding noise seemed to suddenly stop, and the girl heard two laughs from different times.

Gu Zheng touched the dolphin pendant on her chest and felt that the sunlight in the distance had become softer.

To this day, my grandmother still doesn't know what she meant by "unique".
it's fine.

Just like before, all we need to do is keep winning.

Even if this is not truly unique, and may even be a form of self-deception.

But who knows...