In the Eighth Year, I Planned This Heart-Fluttering Moment

In the eighth year of secretly loving him, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.

With my parents away on a business trip and my brother working late, I was “conveniently” left with his best friend: the man whose silhouette I’d been drawing for eight years.

The first time I rode in his passenger seat, I deliberately buckled my seat belt wrong. When he leaned over, his breath brushed my ear. “Still as clumsy as ever.”

“I did it on purpose,” I said.

His fingers paused. He said nothing. But in the reflection of the car window, I saw him smile.

From then on, I began my long-planned pursuit: forgetting my umbrella, leaving behind my scarf, sending him late-night voice messages saying I couldn’t sleep...

I thought I was hiding it well, until one day I got a fever and called his name. He stayed by my side all night, holding my hand and whispering:

“You win. I’ve been feeling... something for you for a long time.”

Meanwhile, my roommate Su Nian was secretly in love with my sharp-tongued older brother.

She had been drawing his architectural designs for three years, hiding her feelings in every line.

The day my brother finally realized what was going on, he rushed to her dorm with a mug in his hand. At the bottom were five words she had written three years ago: “I love you too.”

Two couples, one story of carefully planned pursuit and feelings realized too late, both finding their way to each other.

Warning: extreme sweetness ahead. Every time the male lead makes an exception, I fall for him all over again.