THF-prologue

In your youth, did you ever encounter such a person — someone to whom all your impulses and reckless passions were uniquely bound?·

When Ding Mi received Du Mingwei's call, she was sitting in the recording studio, reading through a script to build up her emotions.The studio was deathly quiet; staying inside for too long brought a subtle, creeping chill. Ding Mi sneezed, her voice sounding a bit hoarse: "Mingwei."

Du Mingwei’s voice came through the receiver:

"Find time for us to meet tonight."

Ding Mi looked down at her script, feeling somewhat apologetic: "How about this weekend?"

"Beep, beep, beep—"

The line went dead.

Ding Mi pressed her lips together.

She remembered calling Du Mingwei a few days ago, only for Du Mingwei to grit her teeth and snap:

"Oh, Ding Mi, so you actually remembered to contact me?

I thought you’d completely forgotten about your old classmates!"

'She was still holding a grudge.'

Ding Mi thought for a moment and sent a text message, but Du Mingwei ignored it.

Ding Mi had shut herself in the recording studio for a whole week, finally completing the dubbing for the female lead of a 30-episode TV drama.

She went home, slept for a whole day to catch up on rest, and then called Du Mingwei again. This time, Du Mingwei finally dropped her attitude. The two quickly agreed on a time and place.

Ding Mi lay in bed for a few minutes before rubbing her face, getting up to shower, picking out an outfit, and putting on her makeup. Once ready, she grabbed her car keys and headed out.

Ding Mi had been waiting in the restaurant for over ten minutes when Du Mingwei finally arrived. The two exchanged looks. Ding Mi was the first to break into a smile; Du Mingwei held out for three seconds before giving in, though her mouth remained sharp: "Wipe that smile off your face! I thought you’d vanished from the face of the earth! If the production team hadn't wanted to do a feature on voice actors and I saw your face on the roster, I would’ve thought it was just someone with the same name!"

Ding Mi gave her an obedient, helpless smile: "I'm sorry."

Her voice was soft and pleasing, her tone sincere and tinged with guilt. She had a small, palm-sized face, curved brows over crescent eyes, clean white teeth, and two tiny dimples at the corners of her mouth that made her look impossibly sweet. Whatever lingering anger Du Mingwei had instantly evaporated.Du Mingwei studied her:

"You haven't changed a bit."

Ding Mi replied: "You've gotten even prettier."

Du Mingwei puffed out her chest. When had she ever'not' been pretty?Ding Mi glanced at her discreetly. Back in high school, she had always wondered—how had Du Mingwei blossomed so exceptionally well? Now it was even more pronounced, easily a 36D.

They had been classmates from middle school through high school.

Back then, they were practically inseparable. Even after years without contact, they instantly found endless topics to talk about. Just reminiscing and gossiping was enough to keep them going for days on end.

Eventually, Du Mingwei fell quiet. A moment later, she looked at Ding Mi and asked.

"Look, wasn't it just a breakup with Lu Shimian? Did you really have to cut off contact with me, too?"

Finally, that name was brought up again.

Ding Mi’s fingers tightened around her glass, her slender white fingertips lightly rubbing the cool surface—her most habitual gesture whenever she felt anxious. Du Mingwei had been the closest witness to her youthful romance with Lu Shimian. At first, Ding Mi hadn't dared to reach out, terrified of unearthing those memories. And later...Seeing her silence, Du Mingwei quickly waved her hand:

"Forget it, I won't hold it against you anymore, or I'll just get mad again."

Ding Mi breathed a quiet sigh of relief, assuming the topic was dropped. But unexpectedly, Du Mingwei pressed on.

"So... why exactly did you two break up?"

Ding Mi lowered her eyes: "We just weren't compatible, I guess."

Du Mingwei knew she was dodging the truth and smirked.

"How were you not compatible? Did you sleep with him?"

Ding Mi: "...".

She looked up at Du Mingwei, stunned. The shy girl who back then couldn't even ask "Have you two kissed yet?" without blushing was long gone. Everyone had indeed grown up. The adult world was no longer so reserved.

Du Mingwei leaned in, her voice lowering: "This is a cold truth I’ve learned from years of back-and-forth with Xu Qian. If a man and a woman have shared a bed, breaking up isn't that simple. You quarrel and give each other the cold shoulder today, but once you roll between the sheets tomorrow, you're reconciled.

"Ding Mi: "..."

"Of course, there are exceptions—if the guy is useless,"

Du Mingwei added casually.

Ding Mi didn't want to dwell on the topic of Lu Shimian, so she shifted the focus: "Are you and Xu Qian planning to get married?"

She had also been the closest witness to Du Mingwei and Xu Qian’s relationship. Her own relationship with Lu Shimian had crumbled, but Du Mingwei and Xu Qian were still going strong, weren't they? Youthful love—some people really did manage to hold on until it bloomed and bore fruit.Du Mingwei blinked.

"Not yet. Maybe in a year or two."

That day, they talked endlessly, moving from the restaurant to a private KTV room. It wasn't until Xu Qian called to say he was coming to pick Du Mingwei up that they finally wrapped things up.

Xu Qian's car was parked by the curb. When he saw Ding Mi standing there, his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

Before stepping into the car, Du Mingwei suddenly turned back.

"Actually... you were the one who dumped Lu Shimian, right?"

Ding Mi was struck speechless.

Du Mingwei stared straight at her. She remembered how madly Ding Mi had liked Lu Shimian back then, and how relentlessly she had pursued him. She couldn't fathom why Ding Mi would dump him. But that was the only explanation that made sense, even if Ding Mi refused to admit it.

"A lot of people know about this,".

Du Mingwei said softly.

"After you broke up with him, Lu Shimian got dead drunk in the classroom and made a total scene. He was caught red-handed by the Dean of Discipline. Someone even recorded a video and took photos, posting them on the campus forum. That post blew up. You know better than anyone what Lu Shimian’s temper is like—a drunken rampage... hard to imagine, right? The very next day, Lu Shimian hacked the campus network and erased every trace of the post and video. Those two stunts combined nearly earned him a formal disciplinary penalty.

"Ding Mi stared in utter shock, her eyes wide.Seeing her reaction, a flash of regret crossed Du Mingwei’s face.

"Xu Qian used to have a saved copy of that video, but Lu Shimian forced him to delete it. Otherwise, I’d really love to show you...

"That proud, aloof youth with the calm and distant gaze—he, too, had experienced such an unravelling, reckless moment.It felt as though he had been pulled down from his high pedestal straight into the mortal dust—far more human than before.

Ding Mi licked her dry lips; her throat felt tight and parched.Du Mingwei patted her shoulder with a light smile.

"I'm off. If you ever run into Lu Shimian again, remember never to bring this up—he’ll kill you." "Especially you, his ex-girlfriend."

After Du Mingwei settled into the passenger seat, Xu Qian asked in disbelief.

"Was that really Ding Mi? I'm not seeing things, am I?"

Du Mingwei sighed: "It's her."

Xu Qian let out a low chuckle.

"Tch."

Ding Mi stood frozen on the sidewalk for a long while before finally turning away.

As time passed, Ding Mi landed a voice-over gig for a commercial. The pay was on par with top-tier voice actors—an easy and lucrative job.

However, an audition was required.

The following afternoon, she went to meet the director. After reviewing the commercial visuals and confirming the script, she prepared to step into the recording booth.Just as she took a step forward, the elevator doors chimed open, and a tall figure stepped out. He wore a crisp, simple shirt paired with dark trousers. Sharp, dark brows, a high straight bridge, and thin lips pressed into a firm line.

That face was undeniably handsome—the very face that had utterly captivated Ding Mi throughout her teenage years.

And now, it had suddenly appeared right in front of her again.

Ding Mi stood rooted to the spot, unable to pull her gaze away.Years of separation.Yet she was still completely spellbound by him.The director noticed him, immediately putting on a smile as he walked over.

"Mr. Lu."

Ding Mi remained frozen, her eyes fixed on his face.Seeing her standing there, the director took the opportunity to introduce them.

"Mr. Lu, this is Ding Mi, the voice actress for this commercial. You should be quite familiar with her voice..."

Before the director could finish, Lu Shimian cut in coldly.

"I am very familiar."

The director smiled, proceeding to list a few popular dramas and films Ding Mi had dubbed, but neither of them responded. As his voice trailed off, the air suffocated into an awkward silence.

After a few tense seconds, the director cleared his throat and looked at Ding Mi.

"Um... why don't you head inside for the audition first?"

Ding Mi gave a soft "mm" and walked into the recording booth.

Lu Shimian's sudden appearance had thoroughly shattered her concentration. The few lines of ad copy should have been trivial to memorize, but with the headphones on, her mind went blank. She had to pull out the script again, reading through it several times to warm up her voice and regain her balance.

Lu Shimian stood outside the glass for a moment.

The way she lowered her head and quietly recited her lines was identical to her high school self.

Back then, during morning reading sessions, she had always been the most focused student in the entire classroom.

When he turned to walk away, Ding Mi happened to look up and caught his profile. She stared at his clean, elegant back as he walked away, her mind wandering. Inexplicably, she began to picture what he must have looked like during that drunken rampage.

In her memory, Lu Shimian rarely drank, but he had a high tolerance; she had never seen him drunk, let alone doing something as unimaginable as causing a public scene

."Ding Mi? What are you daydreaming about?"

The director's voice came through the mic. "Audition time."

Ding Mi snapped back to reality: "Ah, right. Ready."

The audition was a success, and she secured the job.

Once the recording wrapped up, Ding Mi took off her headphones, packed her belongings, and prepared to leave.

The director looked at the young woman—she had a bright, spirited demeanor, and her smile was both sweet and charming.

With an appearance like hers, transitioning from behind the scenes to on-screen acting wouldn't be a problem at all. With the right promotion, she could easily make a name for herself.

He decided to test the waters. "Ding Mi, are you interested in acting in a TV drama? I can arrange a role for you."

Ding Mi smiled politely and shook her head: "Thank you for the offer, Director, but I don't know how to act."

Director: "Acting can be learned."

Ding Mi: "I can't learn it."

Acting wasn't something you could pull off simply because you were pretty. Over the past few years, several directors had tried to recruit her, but she had turned them all down. Her acting lived entirely within her voice.The director expressed his regret.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, feel free to reach out."

Ding Mi nodded politely.

"Okay, thank you, Director."

"Ding-dong—".

The elevator arrived, empty. Ding Mi stepped in with her head slightly bowed.

Just as she was about to press the floor button, a pair of hands suddenly pried open the closing doors. The doors slid back open, and a young man with a crew cut stepped in.

"Mr. Lu, after you."

Ding Mi looked up.Lu Shimian stood right behind the young man. He cast a cool, distant glance at her before walking in unhurriedly.

The crew-cut assistant reached out to press the button. Instinctively, Ding Mi shifted to the side, taking a small step back until she was standing side by side with Lu Shimian.She glanced down, her eyes landing on his hand hanging naturally at his side—clean, slender fingers with distinct, elegant knuckles.The heavy, awkward silence filled the enclosed space once more.

If she weren't entirely sure that Lu Shimian hadn't lost his memory, Ding Mi would have genuinely believed that, in his eyes, she was nothing more than a complete stranger.

She suddenly recalled the question Du Mingwei had asked a few days ago.

She and Lu Shimian, huh...

They had done it.

And they had broken up.