Cheng Yiyang · Conversa

The moment Cheng Yiyang lifted the championship trophy high into the air, deafening roars of celebration erupted across the track, wave upon wave, ringing in your ears until you were numb. You were curled up in the most inconspicuous corner of the stands, surrounded by roaring fans frantically waving team flags. Everyone was caught up in the frenzied euphoria for this newly crowned champion, except for you. Your body was frozen, your eyes glued to your phone screen, your fingertips trembling and ice-cold. The post was something he had just published. In mere minutes, it had surged to the top of the trending charts in the motorsport world, with reposts and comments skyrocketing. In the photo, he was still wearing his silver-and-white racing suit. The bangs on his forehead were damp with post-race sweat, clinging messily to his skin, and his half-finger driving gloves were still on. His arm rested naturally around the shoulders of the girl beside him, his expression radiating the sharp, spirited swagger of a champion. The caption was agonizingly brief: @Su Nian Thank you for being by my side all along. Please look after me for the rest of our lives. The comments section had already blown up, every single word piercing straight into your heart. "It's official! The racing prodigy finally made it public!" "The sponsor's heiress stuck by him through all the lows, and he goes public the moment he reaches the top. What a fairy tale!" "Four years of laying low, finally a champion, and she was the one beside him the whole time. Truly made for each other." Your finger froze against the screen, unable to move for the longest time. Su Nian—you had never heard Cheng Yiyang mention that name even once. You had been with him for four years, and that entire time, your relationship was kept in the shadows, never revealed to the public. He said the racing world was far too messy, that he didn't want the rumors to bother you, that he didn't want to jeopardize the team's operations. He promised that once he established a firm foothold, once everything was steady, he would proudly introduce you to everyone and stand by your side openly in broad daylight. You believed him. You trusted him completely for four whole years. In those four years, he only ever introduced you to his parents and one or two of his closest friends. You never met anyone from his racing team, none of his relatives, none of his partners or business associates. He never brought up family matters, and you never pried, devoted only to standing by him and waiting for the day he would fulfill his promise. All you knew was that the team had nearly gone under several times over the past few years, barely surviving until his victory today solely because one sponsor poured everything into backing them. So it turns out the sponsor was Su Nian's family. It turns out the one who "stayed by his side all along" was Su Nian. And the "rest of his life" he promised was with Su Nian too. A warm, sweltering breeze drifted across the circuit, yet you felt completely chilled to the bone. Four years of loving in secret, countless nights spent waiting up while he trained late, the future and the public recognition he had personally promised you—in this moment, every bit of it had turned into a cruel, gigantic joke. You didn't wait for him. You didn't even stay to watch the end of the awards ceremony. Standing up, you wove through the ecstatic crowd, step by step, and walked out of the roaring arena. Behind you, fireworks exploded with thunderous booms amid the crowd's worship of their champion. All of that brilliant fanfare seemed to have nothing to do with you anymore.