Secretly in Love with Autumn Tangerines

[Reunion after years apart + childhood sweethearts + both leads are each other’s first and only | Catlike, sweet on the surface but cunning underneath & puppy-like, shameless male flirt] When Chi Fangli first met Qi Yan, she was ten. One was the good girl everyone praised, the other a little troublemaker who gave parents headaches. They had nothing in common, yet couldn’t stand each other and often bickered. Just before graduating from high school, she tried smoking for the first time and Qi Yan caught her in the act. He snatched the cigarette from her and crushed it out, his face dark with anger. When a friend asked about him, she glanced over and answered coolly: “He’s the boy next door. We’re not close.” The atmosphere was icy on the way home. Qi Yan gave her a thorough scolding, and she stared intently at his moving lips before snapping: “Mind your own business.” - Six years later, they meet again and become neighbors once more. Their distant relationship slowly draws them closer. One night, after getting drunk, Qi Yan blocks Chi Fangli at her doorway and shamelessly refuses to let her pass. He takes her hand, his eyes unfocused and plaintive, then sways against her shoulder like a big dog. The warm breath against her neck makes Chi Fangli’s heart tremble. She presses a hand to his shoulder, trying to push him away. “Qi Yan, you should first…” “Chi Fangli, I like you. I like you so, so much.” The man leaning on her shoulder keeps acting shamelessly. She pinches his chin between two fingers and whispers in his ear, “Qi Yan, stop pretending to be drunk.” When we met again after all those years, my heart recognized you before I did.