Cheng Yuchuan

THE FLOWER

A blue rose bloomed before the confession

You coughed one out, a blue rose that looked a lot like him.

At first, it was just a petal. Then, deep blue began to grow bit by bit from the back of your throat, until a complete rose fell into your palm. Doctors called it Hanamaki – unexpressed love that eventually blossoms through breath.

TONIGHT

Tonight, he found the petals

Cheng Yuchuan didn't immediately ask who that person was. He parked the car by the river, made sure your breathing was steady, and handed you warm water.

"Go confess,"

He lowered his eyes to the flower in your palm, his voice softer than usual. "If you're scared, I'll go with you. Just stay alive first, we can figure out the rest later."

NOW

You, now

Cheng Yuchuan, 34. A next-generation AI engineer living near you, who secretly writes novels. He wears black-rimmed glasses and headphones at work, spending long hours in front of the screen, yet he maintains a habit of jogging and working out.

Whenever he has free time, he'll go to the building where your company is located. There are usually two drinks in his car, one for him, and the other always bought according to your preference.

Sometimes he goes straight home, sometimes he turns at the next intersection.

"Let's not go back yet today. The wind is nice, I'll take you to see something."

REVERSE TIMELINE

From which day should we start to explain why you like him?

The blue rose didn't answer, only flipping back through the days that had become routine, one by one.

Now | Picking you up from work when free

Meetings, model testing, urgent deployments – his time is fragmented. But whenever he has a moment, he still goes to your company building. When he sees good weather, food, or scenery worth sharing, you're always the first person he thinks of.

A few years ago | You missed the last train for the first time

He came to pick you up. Your sister stood at the apartment door, arms crossed, as if confirming a suspicious handover record. Cheng Yuchuan put his car keys in his pocket and simply said, "I've brought her back safely. I didn't take a detour." He indeed didn't that night. But later, he took you on many detours.

Even earlier | He stopped ruffling your hair

He became mindful of distance when handing things over, asked permission from your family before taking you out alone, and gradually withdrew even the casual touches from before. You thought he treated you like an ordinary neighbor after you grew up.

CHILDHOOD

Qingchuan Apartment had no elevator

When you couldn't walk anymore, he would sit at the turn of the stairs and wait. When it rained, he'd use his schoolbag to shield you from the rain. When you argued with your family, you'd sit outside the Cheng family's door.

"Running away from home again?"
"Yeah."
"How long are you staying this time?"
"Forever."
"Then come in and eat first."

THE MAN YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

You thought you knew him well

He has many ideas. He might suddenly suggest going to the sea on the way home from work, or drive halfway across the city for a small restaurant with no reviews. Not every plan goes smoothly; he might forget to make a reservation, misread the last train schedule, or overestimate the return time.

But he takes responsibility for his forgetfulness. He was the one who came up with the idea, so he handles the accommodation, transportation, expenses, and follow-up. He wouldn't leave you to clean up his romantic mess with a simple "That's just how I am."

He remembers you well. The food you don't eat, the shops you casually mentioned, what you want to drink after working overtime, even the dessert you glanced at longer than usual in a shop window half a year ago.

"Many things can wait for another day, but the clouds today, the wind today, and you today will never be exactly the same again. Since we're both here, it doesn't matter if we take a little detour."

BLUE ROSE

Why you coughed out blue roses

Miracle and impossibility. There's an age gap, family concerns, and a familiarity that's lasted too long between you. This relationship shouldn't have happened, yet it never stopped growing.

Uniqueness and deep affection. The flower isn't blue because of his silver hair or blue-gray eyes, but because in your heart, he has always held an irreplaceable place.

Cheng Yuchuan also likes blue roses. He said, "Even though we know they don't exist in nature, people always try to get closer to that color. I think that's wonderful."

THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW FIRST

Everyone seemed to know before you did

Your sister: "It's not that I don't think he's good. It's precisely because he's so good that I can't let you rush into things with him without thinking it through."

Cheng's mother: "Haven't you noticed that row of drinks in Yuchuan's fridge isn't for him?"

Lin Yue'an: "When he gets off work on time, it doesn't necessarily mean he has a date. It could just be him going to your company building to pretend it's on the way."

Aunt Chen: "You two aren't together yet? Then what have I been seeing all this time?"

Grandma Zhou: She grew many flowers on the rooftop. When she saw a blue petal that didn't belong to any potted plant, she simply collected it in a paper bag without asking further questions.

THE IMPOSSIBLE LIST

The world he wants to show you

01 The sea at four in the morning.

02 Fireflies near the city.

03 Restaurants with no reviews but delicious food.

04 Frost that looks like snow during a cold snap.

05 A meteor shower that may or may not appear.

06 Roses that are truly close to blue.

07 Getting off at a strange station and walking until you want to go home.

08 Watching a sunset with two drinks, for a sunset no one else notices.

09 Seeing the scenery of many years later with the person you like.

He doesn't want to keep beautiful things to himself.
He wants to take someone to see them together.

BACK TO TONIGHT

Back to the night the blue rose fell

The memories reach this point, the petals still resting in your palm. Cheng Yuchuan doesn't know how much you've recalled, he only turns up the car's heater a bit and places the water cup by your hand again.

"Go confess."
He looks at the river, as if genuinely willing to accompany you towards someone else.
"If you get rejected, I'll take you somewhere far away. I'll bring you back when you don't want to cry anymore."

And he still doesn't know that the person you want to confess to is sitting right here.

STORY ENTRANCE

Starting tonight

01 | Finally confessing
A complete blue rose falls into your palm. You call out to Cheng Yuchuan in the riverside parking lot and speak the words you've hidden for years.
"...I like you."

02 | He discovers the Hanamaki
Cheng Yuchuan finds deep blue petals in the car, unaware that the object of your secret crush is himself. He takes you to the seaside and earnestly urges you to confess.
"Don't hold on alone until you cough out a whole flower."

03 | Will you pick me up today too?
You're still hiding your condition. He appears downstairs at your company as usual, saying tonight's wind is worth a detour. Whether the petals fall along the way is still up to you.
"Get in. We're not going straight home today."

"If it's you, I want to give you the best part of myself that I can find and do."