When Hearts Collide: From Ashes to Love

After a full day of hard work, Marian and Zoe reaped a decent profit—over a thousand for a single day. It would've been even better if they hadn't run into those three troublemakers. The two of them grabbed a quick bite outside, then headed home, exhausted.

That night, after washing up, Marian lay in bed, every muscle aching. The room was cozy and warm, yet her heart felt numb as her thoughts drifted back to college days.

Coming from a small town, Marian had been admitted to Xicheng University, one of the top institutions. Due to her family's financial struggles, she worked tirelessly—studying like mad, taking on multiple part-time jobs. Even if she collapsed from exhaustion, she never regretted her choices.

Her efforts paid off. From freshman to sophomore year, she earned both the college scholarship and the national scholarship. She made decent money from tutoring gigs, so by junior year, she was no longer overly stressed about tuition or living expenses. At last, she could allow herself a bit of the carefree "romance and whimsy" of college life.

One day, she happened to be free from any part-time job, so she went to the sports field with her roommates to watch Xicheng University's campus idol, Aaron, play basketball.

It was the first time Marian had seen such a good-looking boy in real life.

Still, it was only a passing impression to her—he was good-looking and stylish, but it had nothing to do with her. She watched from a distance, like admiring a celebrity, never imagining she'd ever cross paths with him… until New Year's Day.

Xicheng University was big on romance, placing a lot of emphasis on festivities like Christmas and New Year, which were more about form than substance. That year, the university hosted a New Year's Eve gala, followed by a masquerade ball afterward.

Zoe and Li Lin were back in the dorm, hands rubbing together with excitement, declaring, "We're totally going to snag the campus idol tonight!"

Seeing Marian silly and clueless with her nose in a textbook, they immediately dragged her up and started doing her makeup, giving her a dress—fussing over her until the three of them left the dorm looking quite lovely. The campus auditorium was dazzling, full of girls in pretty dresses and guys in suits. Marian, who'd worried she might be overdressed, relaxed at once. Far from it—they looked almost dull in comparison.

Zoe had somehow gotten her hands on masks—one for each of them—so they blended into the crowd without a trace.

Having never attended a dance, Marian only learned the rules from eavesdropping:

"When the music starts, random strangers will invite you to dance. When it stops, whoever is still dancing with you is your destined lover!"

"Pshhh, 'destined lover'? More like a one-night stand, right? It's Xicheng's tradition—whoever's left dancing with you at the end is who you'll spend the night with."

"Oh my gosh, I swear on my life—tonight, please let the campus idol choose me!"

"Ha! You wish. Girls around Aaron are like starving wolves. There's no room for you. You should pray some lesser idol picks you."

Marian blushed, so close to backing out. But she couldn't find Zoe or Li Lin. Wandering alone in the dance crowd, she barely noticed when the music started or stopped, until at one point the music cut out and she accidentally stepped on someone's skirt, triggering a chain reaction. She herself only avoided disaster thanks to someone steadying her at the last second.

People immediately pulled off their masks to see who could be that clumsy. That was when they saw Aaron's arm around Marian's waist.

"What the… that's Aaron. Who's that girl in his arms? She's so…"

"Never seen her before. She's pretty plain, right?"

"Plain-looking but sly—she literally stepped on someone else's skirt. So gross!"

Marian's cheeks burned. She muttered softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

No one heard her, but Aaron's gaze shifted somewhere across the dance floor, and in one swift motion, he grabbed her hand and pulled her away. "It's fine. By the rules, I'm yours tonight."

Amid envious, jealous glares, Marian stood in a daze.

Outside, the temperature was low. Stepping out of the auditorium, she shivered, goosebumps covering her arms. Aaron noticed and removed his coat, draping it over her shoulders. "Put this on. Don't catch a cold."

She mumbled "oh, oh" twice, slipping into his coat without hesitation.

The large men's coat was warm and carried a pleasant scent that Marian couldn't quite identify. Did guys wear perfume? She'd always assumed it was something only girls did. She couldn't help sniffling again and again, finding the fragrance nice. But she didn't ask—it was surely expensive. Not just the fragrance—this coat must have been pricey, too, as well as… the boy in front of her, whose face in even the dim roadside light had such defined contours. So this was the "sculpted bone structure" people talked about.

Even more remarkable was that his features were delicate, his demeanor aloof, and the look in his eyes—cool and indifferent—gave Marian a weird sense that she'd wandered into a romance novel as the heroine.

Men with this kind of look and temperament existed only in novels, she thought.

What she didn't know was that Aaron had been waiting for a certain message. At last, five minutes after leaving the auditorium, he got what he wanted:

"You really plan to spend the night with that girl? Tsk, tsk. That's quite a sacrifice!"

Aaron walked while typing on his phone, "Then come steal me."

A prompt reply appeared on his screen: "You're not exactly immobile. Stop messing around and hurry back."

At those words, his gaze instantly darkened. He switched off his phone, frustration building at the idea that the other person might not come for him.

Unaware of this, Marian noticed his sudden gloom and couldn't help asking, "What happened?" Glancing at his thin shirt, she belatedly realized something was amiss. With her cheeks flushed from the cold, she apologized,

"Aaron, let me return your coat. It's really cold."

Aaron halted, raising an eyebrow. "You know me?"

Recalling her "accidental" step on someone's skirt at the dance floor, he swiftly guessed the girl before him wasn't as innocent as she seemed. A sneer mingled with the chill on his face, and Aaron quickened his pace. Marian didn't know where he was heading; she had no choice but to match his faster steps in the frigid night. Her breath came out in visible puffs. "Of course I know you… You're the campus idol, haha~"

She felt awkward about saying that to a guy, as if she were… flirting with him.

Aaron didn't respond. In his mind, Marian was already pinned as a scheming sort, no better than any other manipulative girl. They walked quite a distance before arriving at the campus gate. Across the street stood a luxury hotel—Marian had seen plenty of classmates going in and out of there. She noticed Aaron staring silently at the hotel sign, and her heart began pounding. Even she, oblivious as she was, had heard the rumored rule about that night's "dance partner."

Could he be serious about it?

That couldn't be right. They'd only just met—how could they do something like that?

"Aaron, this isn't right. We should head back."

She reached out to tug his sleeve. Aaron jerked away without a word.

He pulled out his phone from his bag again, saw no new notifications, and looked crestfallen. Then, pretending nothing was wrong, he browsed through his social media. Upon spotting Yao Ning's latest post, his lips pursed in a tight line, a dull ache settling in his chest.

"New Year's—so grateful for your company~ [Photo]"

Attached was a close selfie of Yao Ning leaning head-to-head with a guy he recognized—someone from the sports department who'd faced him on the basketball court.

A sense of helplessness swelled inside him. Aaron repeatedly locked and unlocked his phone. Meanwhile, Marian stood off to the side, shivering, clueless about his mood swings and only sensing he was upset.

Suddenly, he yanked her closer and snapped a photo. Marian found herself nestled against his chest, which felt so warm, warm enough that staying there a century wouldn't have been too long—or so she later embellished in her memory. In reality, after a mere three seconds, he withdrew.

"Alright, you can go now."

Marian blinked. "Um… alone?"

"Here, take the coat back," she offered.

Aaron pressed her hand down. "Keep it. Return it another time."

Hearing "another time," implying they'd meet again, filled her with delight—so much so that she no longer felt cold. "Alright."

She'd gone just a few steps before he called her back. Marian turned, her eyes glowing with anticipation.

"Like a fawn's eyes," Aaron thought scornfully, finding that description cliché yet apt.

He rarely saw such bright eyes—pure and clear. That moment, he reconsidered his impression of Marian. Though not particularly pretty or alluring, her skin was smooth, her eyes clear and bright. Not his type, but at least a passably delicate girl.

"What's your phone number? I'll add you on WeChat."

Marian, happier than she'd ever been, stupidly pulled up her QR code. Only when she saw his puzzled look did she realize he'd just asked for her number, and here she was, offering a code. She laughed self-consciously, but he didn't seem to mind. After adding her, he turned and disappeared into the hotel across the street.

When she returned to her dorm, Marian rushed to the bathroom. Only after a hot shower did she feel alive again. Zoe and Li Lin were all over her, wearing expressions that said, "Confess everything or face dire consequences."

"Nothing happened," Marian surrendered, raising both hands, gulping ginger tea to stop herself from shivering.

Zoe was skeptical, snatching up the men's coat she'd carefully laid on her bed. "Then what's this? Aaron's coat!!!"

"I'm telling the truth! After we left the auditorium, he was worried I'd get cold, so he took off his coat and draped it over me. Then we ended up at the campus gate."

"The campus gate?!"

Everyone knew what the gate implied.

Marian cut off their risqué imaginings. "We just stood there for a bit, exchanged WeChat, and then I went back."

"Huh?? Nothing happened?"

"Of course not. We're both students—what could happen?" Marian declared righteously, leaving Zoe and Li Lin looking disappointed.

That night, once the lights were out, Marian curled up under her covers, refreshing Aaron's social media feed over and over. Nothing. She eventually messaged him: "I'll bring your coat to class tomorrow, okay?"

He replied, "No need. Just throw it out."

Marian was stunned. Such an expensive coat, tossed out on a whim. She answered, "That's not right. I'll return it tomorrow."

This time, he didn't reply.

Aaron had booked a couple's suite, lying alone in a double bed. He posted something to his Moments feed—just one photo—set so only a select few could see, specifically including his location. He was gambling that someone would come find him or at least ping him on WeChat.

Then he tossed the phone aside and took a hot shower. Afterward, he casually reached for his phone again. His chats were blowing up—childhood friends Yao Qian and Xu Huanran spamming him with question marks.

Xu Huanran: "Dude, what's going on? Heard some plain girl ambushed you at the dance???"

Yao Qian: "You can't be serious about hooking up with that girl, right?"

Xu Huanran: "Holy crap, for real?? I'm heading over now to watch the show—still remember the address??"

Yao Qian: "Zip it!" And to Aaron: "Aaron, listen to me, don't do anything reckless. If you don't actually like her, there's no point."

Aaron said nothing; what he cared about was why a certain someone hadn't messaged at all.

The minutes ticked by, midnight passed, the new year officially began. Eventually, he typed back: "Okay."

No one knew how he spent that night.

By the next day, Yao Qian and Xu Huanran noticed Aaron's massive dark circles. Jokingly, they asked, "So did you or did you not send that girl home?" Aaron wouldn't answer, only feigning nonchalance. "What about you guys? How'd you spend last night?" He wasn't paying attention to their response anyway.

At last, he asked softly, a bitter ache in his chest, "Hey, where's Ning Ning?"

Yao Qian sighed. "That crazy kid? No idea. She never came home last night."

It felt like Aaron had been plunged into an icy well. He felt a coldness that reached his very core.