We're Just One Step Apart

The Gu family waited seven years before welcoming Gu Jiuning, their precious darling. Her elders cherished her, her brothers protected her, and even Shi Qing, her childhood friend, spoiled her into a little ray of sunshine who could freely pout and beg for affection. All they wanted was for her to live a happy, peaceful life, untouched by hardship.

But fate had other plans. Just before her eighteenth birthday, a top-secret national security agreement was placed before her: she would be confined to a research facility, cut off from all contact, and work on the future of the nation’s artificial intelligence. She signed without hesitation, but forgot to explain herself to the family waiting to celebrate her birthday. From then on, she vanished without a trace.

Three years of silence and a wall that seemed impossible to break stood between them. But their love never faded. It was hidden in the stubborn claim, “I’m fine,” in the chat records left undeleted late at night, and in the magnolia-engraved necklace that had never found its way to its intended recipient.

(Don’t worry, it has a happy ending!)