After the Southern Rain Clears

Cool and slow to warm up x scheming and calculating

Male unrequited love | Long-laid plans | A guiding lover

"Give me a sign, just a little slip, so I know you like me too."

Under the blazing sun, Nan Shuyao stood at the entrance to the gym, looking on coldly.

Laughter and playful banter rang out from inside, grating on her ears.

They looked perfect together, she thought, if only one of them weren't her boyfriend.

She turned to leave, but accidentally bumped into someone. Looking up, she met a pair of deep-set eyes.

Chong Xiao.

A University's famous men's basketball team captain, winner of countless honors and awards, from a family beyond compare. He was said to be cold and taciturn, keeping strangers at a distance.

She had barely interacted with him. She apologized and tried to leave, but he stopped her.

"You're not going to break up?"

She was puzzled. "What does it have to do with you whether I break up or not?"

"It does." He looked at her calmly, but his shadow fell over her, his gaze searing and intense.

"Want to get back at him and be with me?"

-

One night, Ying Jia had too much to drink and called Nan Shuyao to come pick him up.

The room was a riot of noise. He opened the balcony door, only to find their team captain standing there, of all people, with a girl in his arms.

His eyes flew wide open.

Nan Shuyao heard the noise and tried to look back, but a hand cupped the back of her head, and he kissed her more deeply, more intensely.

Watching them embrace as if no one else existed, Ying Jia's face flushed red and then ashen. His nails dug deep into his palms, but he never had the nerve to step onto the balcony.

Chong Xiao lifted his eyelids and leisurely savored every trace of his discomposure, then casually shut the balcony door.

-

"Did you come back to me?"

At the question, Nan Shuyao instinctively shook her head.

"Then why are you here?" His breath pressed insistently against her slender, fair neck, oppressive and unrelenting.

"Answer me."

Nan Shuyao had never seen Chong Xiao like this.

He felt like a stranger, as if he'd torn away all the restraint and patience he'd kept hidden, unleashing an overwhelming aggression that left her unable to breathe.

She clutched the front of his shirt and spoke in a trembling voice. "I never thought about getting back together..."

"I came to see you."

His breath caught beside her ear.

Chong Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed. The tension drained from his body as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"I've been pursuing you for so long," he sighed happily. "...You finally agreed to let me in."

-

Chong Xiao had always had an easy, fortunate life. He'd never done anything particularly absurd.

The most absurd thing, probably, was falling for someone else's girlfriend and waiting for them to break up like a demon lurking in the shadows.

[Reading Guide]

1. One-on-one pairing, happy ending, both leads' first time.

2. The male lead is chaste. The female lead has an ex, but they only held hands and hugged.

3. The female lead is a genuine innocent flower and is truly slow to warm up. The male lead is a guiding lover, and she will be healed.

4. The ex's scenes are purely there to bring the leads closer. Don't read if you mind! Don't read if you prefer stories about an exceptionally capable female lead! I'll delete hostile comments.

Upcoming novel "After Falling Under a Love Spell with the Cool-Headed Family Head."

Gentle, devoted wife x celibate professor

Marriage before love | Love at first sight | Skin hunger

Chen Suizhao was getting married.

It was a family-arranged marriage. She had no say in it.

She'd heard the man was aloof by nature, dignified and self-possessed, still unmarried at nearly thirty, and hated being forced into anything.

She prepared herself to be treated coldly.

On the day they met, Shen Fangzhuo wore silver-rimmed glasses and an immaculate suit. His striking looks drew plenty of glances, but the look he gave her was cold as ice, as if he didn't want to look at her any longer than necessary.

Chen Suizhao thought he must truly resent this sudden marriage.

So on their first night as newlyweds, she considerately suggested they sleep in separate rooms.

The next day, she talked it over with him, explaining that she was a germaphobe and hoped they could keep their belongings separate to avoid unnecessary contact.

If her husband didn't like her, there was no reason for her to force herself on him.

-

Their polite, distant life together was peaceful. Chen Suizhao was busy with work, leaving early and returning late, and rarely crossed paths with Shen Fangzhuo.

At home, she made sure to keep her distance from him.

She kept her shoes far from his in the entryway, never left personal belongings in the living room, never entered his area, and stayed well away whenever he was there.

Shen Fangzhuo, meanwhile, would stare at her expressionlessly, then turn around and go back to his room without a word.

Chen Suizhao thought he really did hate her.

His eyes even turned red whenever he saw her.

-

One day, Chen Suizhao returned home early from a business trip.

The house was pitch-black. Only a faint light shone through the crack beneath her bedroom door, and muffled sounds kept coming from inside.

She followed the sounds and froze when she saw what was in the room.

Shen Fangzhuo was leaning against her headboard, his face flushed as he panted helplessly.

He clutched her silk pajamas in one hand, draped them over his face and inhaled greedily. Then he gently rubbed the hair tie on his wrist against his nose, as if it could quench his thirst.

It was the hair tie she'd lost long ago.

Hearing him murmur "Zhaozhao" over and over, Chen Suizhao was so shocked she accidentally made a noise.

"..."

Shen Fangzhuo strode toward her, lit by the glow from the hallway.

He easily pinned her within the small space, then repeatedly brushed his lips against her wrist bone before lowering his head to inhale the scent of her neck, seeming on the verge of losing control.

Chen Suizhao was frightened. She trembled and pushed him away, but he grew even more agitated and pressed toward her uncontrollably, lowering his voice to beg.

"I'm sorry, Zhaozhao. I just... I just couldn't help myself..."

He leaned against her neck, his eyes red and his voice hoarse with wounded desperation.

"I'm not dirty..."

"Please don't hate me..."

[Reading Guide]

1. One-on-one pairing, happy ending, both leads' first time.

2. Like throwing a flirtatious glance at someone who can't see.

3. They both think the other one hates them.

Theme: Love is being seen.