Madam Cai Is a Master at Playing Coy

The first time Xu Anyi met Cai Xukun, she was seventeen, in the prime of her youth. He was leaning against the second-floor railing, admiring the view and laughing as he chatted with the boys beside him. Xu Anyi was walking past the opposite building with a stack of books in her arms. She glanced once at the boy's handsome silhouette, its graceful lines, and began a long, unrequited crush that lasted all three years of high school. Years later, when Xu Anyi was twenty-five, rose petals drifted through the sky and fireworks burst overhead. Under the gaze of thousands, the leading man of her youth walked toward her holding a bouquet of roses. He knelt on one knee before her and looked into her eyes, sincerely confessing his passionate love. He said, “Xu Anyi, I love you.” In that instant, all sound fell silent.