Zhihu Select
Zhihu Select's Books(36)
浪漫主义
Modern Do you believe in love at first sight? The moment I first met Mingyuan, I had that feeling.
I cautiously accommodated him, maintaining his pride with my humility—warm yet hypocritical, like the fake flowers welcoming guests at a restaurant’s entrance.
Until one day, I was utterly exhausted and chose to give up. I encountered another person during a time of chaos in my life.
"So I showed up."
To be honest, he awakened my desires. He saw through my games with words, understanding that I was greedy, selfish, and prone to avoidance, yet he still held my hand tightly, as he always did.
I received a constant stream of messages from Mingyuan, but they no longer mattered to me.
I should be someone with a strong capacity to endure and process my emotions.
During the time I was Mingyuan's girlfriend, I tried my best to dissolve negative feelings within myself—without confiding or disturbing anyone.
I once tried to act cute, hoping he would comfort me, thinking that just a few kind words would suffice. But he looked at me with great difficulty, saying, "I really don’t know how to comfort you. The ways of comforting girls are just tricks of scumbags; I don’t want to be like them."
At that moment, I thought to myself that it was normal for a straight guy not to know how to comfort someone, and I could slowly teach him. The boy I liked would love me in his own way.
The blindness of love made me completely overlook the obvious logical error in that statement.
Until this moment.
Last night, late at night around midnight, sharp pain in my lower abdomen jolted me awake from a rather unsettled sleep, shocking my nerves.
Menstrual cramps.
I was breaking into a cold sweat, curling up in bed in the hot summer, tightly closing my eyes, hoping that if I just held on, it would pass.
The endless pain dulled my reason; this time, the intensity of the cramps seemed more severe than ever before. I struggled to get out of bed and, to avoid waking my roommate, stumbled around in the dark searching for ibuprofen.
It should be fine now.
I comforted myself with that thought.
But the pain didn’t subside with the medication; in fact, I felt a churn in my stomach. In a hazy moment, I remembered the doctor's advice: it’s best not to take ibuprofen on an empty stomach and to take it half an hour before cramps start...
The sound of me vomiting in the bathroom woke my roommate.
She turned on the light, just as I was stepping out. She was startled by my state and nearly called for an ambulance, "Oh my God, your lips are so pale."
She poured me a cup of hot water and waited with me until the pain slowly faded.
When I woke up the next day, I momentarily felt as if I had been reborn.
I hesitated for a long time, holding my phone, but I still wanted to tell Mingyuan about it. He was very busy with work and didn’t like being disturbed, so I didn’t dare call him and chose to send a message instead.
I was really feeling a bit unwell, wanting some comfort, even just from Chatime.
As dusk approached, he finally replied.
"What should we do?"
"Go to the hospital."
When I saw the message, my emotions were somewhat flat.
At that time, there were a thousand kilometers between us, and I knew that distance made care seem pale and powerless. As a modern, independent woman, I also shouldn’t be that fragile.
But he, it seemed, had never cared.
He had never comforted me or offered much consolation. All of this, I had never taught him.
By sheer chance, I scrolled back through our chat history. The time had always... Capturing the Cool Boy
Modern Here's the translated text in English:
---
My best friend’s younger brother is such a cocky guy.
The first time we met, I accidentally walked in on him getting out of the bath, and he just tossed a shirt over my head.
My friend tried to ease the situation: “This is my sister's beautiful friend, isn’t she pretty?”
He shot me a cold glance and said sharply, “Really ugly.”
Hmph, just a cocky guy, right? I’ll show you, big sister can handle this!
After a period of caring for him with all my heart and little details…
I gave up.
He remained as arrogant as ever, even refusing to call me “sister.”
Just two days after I gave up, he sent me a message for the first time—
Cocky guy: Is this a case of pursuing by pretending to let go?
Cocky guy: Sister.
1
I went to my friend’s house to drop off something and unexpectedly bumped into a handsome guy just getting out of the bath.
He was tall and had long legs, with visible muscles, and the little fabric he had was barely covering essential parts.
Before I could take a good look, I was covered by a shirt.
My view was blocked, and only then did I realize what happened, unable to help but scream.
My friend came out upon hearing the commotion.
I pointed at the handsome guy, now wrapped in a towel: “Who is that?”
My friend: “My brother.”
Me: ??
Wait a minute, I remembered her brother as a short, dark kid!
My friend turned to the handsome guy, trying to ease the awkwardness: “This is my sister’s beautiful friend, isn’t she pretty?”
He coldly looked at me: “Really ugly.”
After saying that, he turned and went inside.
Me: …
Wow, turns out he’s a cocky guy!
Me: “How old is he?”
My friend looked apologetic: “My brother… is twenty, and he went through his rebellious phase pretty late.”
I stared at my friend and squinted: “As long as he’s of age.”
My friend had a knowing smile and immediately sent me her brother's WhatsApp: “Help me put him in his place.”
2
The cocky guy's name is Mu Wang, he’s in his junior year at T University, and apparently, he’s quite a prominent figure at school.
Indeed, he has the qualifications to be a cocky guy.
I became even more interested and started “friendly” exchanges with Mu Wang on WhatsApp.
Me: “Brother, wanna grab a meal together sometime?”
Mu Wang: “Who are you?”
Me: “Your sister’s friend, the one who bumped into you while you were getting out of the bath.”
He didn’t respond for a long time.
Me: “?!”
!!??
That little brat deleted me?
I quickly found my friend: “Your brother deleted me, hurry up and make him add me back!”
My friend: “He doesn’t listen to me; you’ll have to talk to him yourself.”
Me: “How can I talk to him when he’s deleted me?”
My friend: “Do you play League of Legends? He’s playing ranked with his classmates tonight; I’ll give you my account.”
Waaah, my good friend, I’m so grateful for you.
That night, when I was on the mic in the game team and heard a voice that wasn’t my friend’s, Mu Wang’s classmate was surprised.
“It’s not Mu Wang's sister, huh?” a soft-voiced boy asked, “Who are you, sister?”
I softened my tone: “I’m Mu Wang’s sister’s friend…”
“Oh, oh, can you support, sister?”
“I can.”
“Then just lay back; we’ll carry you.”
I cried; what a treasure of a brother! Mu Wang is like nothing compared to this! I need to change my target!
Then Mu Wang played as marksman, and I, as support, had to stick with him.
Mu Wang: “Support, go check the bush.”
I happily went over.
Then I got gang-beaten by a bunch of big guys hiding in the bush and died.
Mu Wang: “Support, don’t throw.”
Me: ?
Weren’t you the one who told me to check the bush?
After that, similar incidents happened many times, and I seriously suspected that Mu Wang was trying to mess with me.
---
Feel free to ask if you need anything else! The Love That Returns from Afar
Modern I've liked this older man for nine years, enduring the torment of societal judgment day and night. Last week, I confessed my feelings to him, but he rejected me. This week, he brought a girlfriend to my house for a gathering.
I took the opportunity to corner him when he went to the restroom and confronted him, "Did you get a girlfriend just to make me give up?"
He calmly replied, "Because of emptiness."
1
I had a crush on Liang Yuan since my first year of university. At that time, he was thirty-five, living a solitary life, free to come and go, carrying a DSLR, traveling far and wide, capturing one sought-after piece after another.
I was also learning photography and had heard some legends about him, developing admiration for him and wanting to be his apprentice. However, I didn't dare to say it outright, fearing he might think I was trying to bind him with favors.
So, I resorted to the stupidest method—I took my camera to find him whenever I had free time. He didn't care much for me; most of the time, it was just me talking to myself and entertaining myself.
After three months of this, I don’t know which compliment finally struck a chord, but he agreed to talk to me about photography. However, that day, he seemed to be in a bad mood, with his eyelids drooping and an indifferent expression.
The cold white light overhead shone down on his deeply contoured face, and he exuded a charm that only comes from being shaped by the passage of time, as if he was a vessel filled with untold stories from his past. Perfect Lover
Modern One morning, I woke up to find my best friend's boss lying next to me.
His sleeping face was particularly exquisite, with a high nose bridge and red lips… swollen, possibly due to angular cheilitis.
"Still not enough?"
The man kept his eyes closed, furrowing his brows, his tone one of exasperation.
Realizing that I had indeed been staring at him for a long time, I felt my face flush slightly. My legs, hidden under the covers, were nervously trembling: "You’re awake, um… should I just leave or make you breakfast?"
After a prolonged silence, he slowly opened his eyes and touched his mouth: "Why so forceful?"
"Don't let me start a relationship; if I do, I'll definitely end up ruining his lips."
That was my bold statement before getting drunk last night, and I really didn’t expect to follow through.
I slowly and gently pulled up the blanket to cover my face: "I’m sorry, I’ll pay for your medical bills." Romantic Fights: Treacherous Lovers
Short stories In this collection of short stories, witness the tumultuous love affairs of two infatuated individuals.
Through revenge, they prove their capacity for love.
Amidst a callous and indifferent world, they bring a touch of sweetness, warmth, and sincerity.
Being involved with dangerous lovers is like waging a war: meticulously planned attacks, strategic teasing, obsessive greed, and calculated schemes for conquest...
For example, she uses the mistress's husband to exact revenge on her cheating spouse.
Or, to seek retribution against the man who assaulted her, she falls in love with his son a decade later.
Explore the perilous and captivating relationships of love through a series of thrilling tales. 
