She was still thinking when she suddenly felt like there was something else stuffed inside her sock...
She reached out and pinched a layer of mesh-like material.
Like a magician performing a trick, a white silk stocking slowly emerged.
An Nuannuan looked at the object before her, silently thinking that she didn't recall ever wearing such a thing.
But she had seen many other girls wearing them and knew these were called silk stockings, specifically for women to wear.
So, whose were these?
In an instant, An Nuannuan's mind conjured the image of that tall figure.
Her lips pouted immediately, and one hand lightly clutched at her chest.
An emotion she had never felt before began to grow slowly in her chest.
It was a little sour, a bit stifling, mingled with an unwilling sense of iffy hope...
She didn't know what this feeling was called, but it was indeed uncomfortable.
Her thoughts drifted back to that night six years ago when he seemed like a messenger sent by the gods.
In that hospital room filled with the smell of disinfectant, he brought her the first cake she received in years.
Even though he felt sad that night, he still comforted her gently.
From that day on, the name Xu Musen had been etched in An Nuannuan's heart.
She wasn't good at interacting with others, having spent a long period in solitude, silently in her empty room.
When An Nuannuan first transferred to high school, some classmates did try to talk to her, but they couldn't handle her bluntness and straightforward thinking.
Thus, she never really had any friends.
An Nuannuan didn't care, though, because she came to high school solely to find Xu Musen.
But on the day she transferred, it just so happened to be the moment Xu Musen confessed his love for Yao Mingyue.
She already lacked courage and was not good with words, especially seeing Xu Musen with eyes only for Yao Mingyue, so in the end, she quietly chose not to disturb his life.
It was like that night six years ago.
For Xu Musen, perhaps it was just a fleeting moment of warmth.
In the end, he reserved all his tenderness and patience for his childhood friend.
Yet, that fleeting warmth was enough for An Nuannuan to cherish for a lifetime.
In those six years, he chose Yao Mingyue.
It wasn't until their senior year of high school that An Nuannuan finally had the chance to slowly be with him.
She treasured those times dearly; in the past, she didn't want to disturb Xu Musen.
She was aware that the old Xu Musen genuinely loved his childhood friend.
As long as Xu Musen still loved her, she wouldn't come out and interrupt.
But now, she was unwilling to miss the opportunity again, to wait another six years.
And Xu Musen too did not want to continue with his life as before.
So, they were both starting from the same starting line.
She looked at the small cotton sock and the white silk stocking before her.
In her eyes, this was no longer just about stockings and socks.
It signified a new choice and pursuit.
She clenched her fair, delicate fists silently.
A sense of determination that she had never experienced before was also growing in her heart.
She still didn't understand what it meant to like someone as a lover.
Yet, she knew that if she had to choose someone to share her life with,
She hoped more than anything that it would be him...
She also hoped that she could be someone whom he would never regret falling in love with.
This "war" between the silk stockings and the cotton socks...