A calm, decisive pawnshop keeper × a gentle, fiercely protective young officer
Childhood sweethearts, mutual secret crushes, both each other's first, happy ending
When Chen Su was sixteen, disaster struck her family.
Seeking protection, she moved in with Gu Yu, the man she had secretly loved for years.
Stubborn by nature and occasionally rebellious, she nevertheless had to tread carefully because she was living under someone else's roof.
Gu Yu was a man who thought the world of himself.
During the year they spent together day and night,
she became the person he was most determined to protect.
What did that mean?
Eating together, living together, going everywhere together.
On the very day she moved in, Chen Su caught Gu Yu smoking.
From then on, they shared a secret no one else knew.
Later, Chen Su did all sorts of ridiculous things Gu Yu would never forget. For example, she kept a love letter someone else had written to him, and he caught her sleeping in his room...
A year later, Gu Yu was accepted into military academy.
On the day he left, she still said goodbye in a soft voice: “Goodbye, big brother.”
Time flew by, and years passed before they met again.
The day they reunited, Gu Yu lost control of his emotions.
He lowered his head, his voice hoarse but earnest. “Chen Sūsu, I want to protect you for the rest of my life.”
[Little Scene · In the Bloom of Youth]
At eighteen, Gu Yu received a finely polished Eight Treasures compass.
The girl said it was a birthday present for him from when she turned twelve, and also his coming-of-age gift.
Gu Yu slowly ran his fingers over the object in its velvet case. A hard-to-read smile curled his lips as he asked lightly:
“For me?”
[Little Scene · The Green Days of Youth]
Two years after they parted, Chen Su sat at the table filling out her college application.
Gu Yu glanced at the computer screen and shot her a sidelong look, managing a chilly tease: “Can't study now that I'm not around?”
