Mint Raises a Clockwork Bird

[A cool-headed, warm-hearted office worker and writer x a quiet, gentle, forest-like artist, not at first] [Both leads are inexperienced + mutual healing + no possessiveness + a touch of bittersweet pure romance + easygoing daily life] Not a wish-fulfillment story. The romance is the main focus, set in a realistic modern world. At twenty-two, Qin Nansi left everything behind and came to a new place, where he found a home. A quiet encounter at a restaurant. A chance glance. A year of affection, a year of watching from afar in silence. He tried hard to forget the once-dazzling figure from his past, hoping to embrace the new people in this new world with all his heart. The latter had suffered trauma too. Their wounds were different, yet they were like moths flying through the same night in search of a light. “Have you made up your mind, Qin Nansi? It’s time to face the road ahead. Your past no longer belongs to you.” Mint stirs to life among the gears, and you arrive as promised, carrying the morning light. As summer sinks into the sound of the gears turning once more, we are both escaping the past and embracing a brilliant tomorrow. “Feed my rusted, clockwork-bird soul with the freshest mint.” “All right. Sorry, my writer's instincts kicked in.” Qin Nansi ruffled his hair.