I Hear You're Hard to Win Over

Dazzling, carefree top student × quiet, socially anxious, timid sweetheart

One-on-one romance from school uniforms to wedding gowns, healing, a slow burn, unrequited love fulfilled, and a rival who gets his comeuppance

Everyone at Jin City No. 1 High School knew that the school bully, Zhou Tianbai, and top student Xie Shi'an couldn’t stand each other.

Not only was Xie Shi'an better-looking and better at school, he could also beat Zhou Tianbai, a delinquent, to a pulp.

But Zhou Tianbai never expected Xie Shi'an to beat him up and steal his childhood sweetheart, Jiang Yao, as his girlfriend.

One day, the school held an anonymous letter-writing event. Zhou Tianbai intercepted Jiang Yao’s letter. In the girl’s neat handwriting, it read: I hope the young boy I met in Qicun will always shine bright. May you always be safe, Shi'an.

Zhou Tianbai (excitedly grabbing the microphone): That’s right. It’s me.

But someone snatched the letter away. His rival, Xie Shi'an, laughed disdainfully. “The hell it is.”

When they met again, he wanted Jiang Yao to trail after him in tears.

But now, he wanted to fall to his knees and ask her why she wouldn’t talk to him anymore.

The girl looked serious. “Brother Tianbai, weren’t you the one who told me to stop bothering you?”

*

Xie Shi'an and Jiang Yao first met in Qicun, but when they met again, he didn’t remember her.

Back then, she had been clutching a cat and crying her eyes out. She opened her palm to reveal a crumpled lemon candy.

“Here, you can have the candy. Will you look after it for me?”

Xie Shi'an said yes.

When they met again, the boy had, just as expected, forgotten her. She resolved to keep her distance, but he kept coming after her, always finding a reason to bother her.

She was furious, but the boy pulled a handful of candy from his pocket. It was the same brand she’d given him three years ago, and he held it out to her in both hands.

“You can have the candy and me. Please don’t cry.”