[Sweet on the surface, dark and obsessive underneath & suave, yet sincere]
[Childhood friends + campus romance + mutual secret crushes + a sweet little love story]
At the end of a winter in the Year of the Rabbit, Nancheng gained an orphan.
The villagers of Jiangjia Village were discussing who would adopt Jiang Dongnuan. No one wanted to take on the trouble.
Xia Yiliang was clearly delighted at the thought of having a little sister in the family, so he took the tiny, black-bean-like Jiang Dongnuan home.
When she was five, Jiang Dongnuan asked Xia Yiliang if they could lock the village chief and the others in a box. Xia Yiliang said they could.
When she was twenty, Jiang Dongnuan asked Xia Yiliang if she could lock him in a room. Xia Yiliang hesitated, then said no.
Ten-year-old Xia Yiliang loved to play, but there was always a little tagalong stuck to his heels. He put on a stern face and pointed toward home. “Go back, or don’t follow me again.”
Eight-year-old Jiang Dongnuan cried as she went home.
&
One day, fifteen-year-old Xia Yiliang spotted a pink letter in Jiang Dongnuan’s bag. His handsome, roguish brows drew together, and he secretly tore the letter to shreds on the spot.
Thirteen-year-old Jiang Dongnuan was on her way to meet a male classmate when she noticed Xia Yiliang following her. She put on a stern face and pointed toward home. “Go back, or I’ll tell Mom you knocked out one of Fatty’s teeth!”
One day, Xia Yiliang flipped through his photo album and realized the same person appeared in every picture. He couldn’t help murmuring, “You’ve practically been in my life for its entire first half.”
“Then will you entrust me with the second half of your life, too?” the girl asked, eyes shining.
