Yuri + one-on-one romance + flawed characters + love and hate + possibly a little angst + happy ending + plot-focused + modern alternate universe with a Western-inspired setting + very short novella, around 200,000 Chinese characters.
[The ascetic detective, a white crow among pigeons × the queen of the bar district, a flower of desire that ensnares the heart]
*
While tracking Duka, a criminal in Westport, Shelley accidentally takes a detour down a different path.
Concealing her identity as a detective, she goes undercover at Duka's bar to investigate. There, she meets Remia, Westport's most popular singer, and, as if under some strange spell, follows her home.
Shelley knows full well that Remia is a dangerous and irresistible temptation. She must stay alert at all times around her.
And yet, with every step, she falls harder and lets down her guard, until even the last vestige of reason fades away.
*
Remia dropped out of school early and started working at a bar.
A year later, she became Westport's most popular live singer, and admirers flocked to her.
Still young, she fell in love again and again, and suffered one drunken heartbreak after another, but she never stopped hoping for true love.
She said that if love was an artist's nourishment, then suffering was the price they inevitably had to pay.
Then a woman named Shelley strode into her life with brisk, decisive steps, drew a gun, and shot straight through her heart.
At that moment, Remia knew that no matter how their story ended... this would be the last time she ever fell in love.
