After the Southern Rain Clears

My next novel, Skin to Skin, is coming soon Cool and slow to warm up × cunning and calculating He’s secretly in love | A long-laid plan | A guiding, supportive partner “Show me a crack in your armor, so I’ll know you like me too.” Under the blazing sun, Nan Shuyao stood at the entrance to the gym, watching with cool detachment. The people inside laughed and horsed around, their voices grating in her ears. A perfect match, she thought. If only one of them weren’t her boyfriend. As she turned to leave, she accidentally bumped into someone. She looked up and met a pair of deep-set eyes. Chong Xiao. A University’s famous men’s basketball captain, with countless awards and honors and a family wealth beyond compare. They said he was ice-cold and never let strangers get close. She hardly knew him. After apologizing, she tried to leave, but he stopped her. “Not planning to break up?” She was baffled. “What does it have to do with you whether I break up with him?” “It does.” He gazed at her calmly, but his tall figure loomed over her, his stare burning into her. “Want to get back at him and be with me?” - One night, Ying Jia got drunk and called Nan Shuyao to come pick him up. The room was in an uproar. He opened the balcony door and ran straight into his team captain, who, for once, had his arms around a girl. His eyes flew wide. Nan Shuyao heard the noise and tried to turn around, but a hand cupped the back of her head, and he kissed her harder and deeper. Watching them embrace as if no one else existed, Ying Jia’s face flushed red and pale by turns. His nails dug deep into his palms, but he never had the nerve to take a single step onto the balcony. Chong Xiao half-lidded his eyes as he took in that miserable expression, then casually closed the balcony door. - “Here to get back together?” At the question, Nan Shuyao instinctively shook her head. “Then what are you here for?” His breath pressed relentlessly against her slender, pale neck, his presence oppressive. “Answer me.” Nan Shuyao had never seen Chong Xiao like this. He seemed like a stranger, as if he had torn away every shred of restraint he had kept hidden, letting his aggression crash over her until she could barely breathe. She clutched the front of his shirt and answered in a trembling voice, “...I never thought about getting back together.” “I came to find you.” His breath caught beside her ear. Chong Xiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The tension left his body as he gathered her into his arms. “I’ve been chasing you for so long,” he sighed with pleasure. “...You finally said yes.” - Chong Xiao had always had an easy life. He had never done anything truly reckless. The most reckless thing he’d ever done was fall for someone else’s girlfriend and wait for them to break up like a demon lurking in the shadows. Reading Guide 1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads are inexperienced. 2. The male lead is chaste. The female lead has an ex, but they only ever held hands and hugged. 3. The female lead is genuinely innocent and slow to warm up. The male lead is a guiding, supportive partner, and she’ll heal with his help. 4. The ex is only there to bring the leads closer. If that bothers you, don’t read! If you only like stories about a badass female lead, this isn’t for you! I’ll delete hostile comments. Please save my upcoming novel, Skin to Skin~ Gentle, devoted wife × celibate professor Marriage before love | Love at first sight | Touch starvation Chen Suizhao is getting married. It’s a marriage arranged between their families, and she has no choice. She’s heard her intended is naturally aloof and proper, nearing thirty and still single, and hates being forced into anything. She prepares herself for a cold reception. On the day they meet, Shen Fangzhuo wears silver-rimmed glasses and an immaculate suit. His striking looks draw plenty of attention, but the look he gives her is cold as ice, as if he can barely stand to look at her. Chen Suizhao thinks he must resent this sudden marriage. So on their first night as newlyweds, she considers his feelings and asks to sleep in separate rooms. The next day, she discusses it with him, explaining that she has a cleanliness obsession and would like them to keep their belongings separate to avoid unnecessary contact. If her husband dislikes her, there’s no reason for her to throw herself at him. - Their polite, distant life together is uneventful. Chen Suizhao is busy with work, leaving early and coming home late, so she rarely sees Shen Fangzhuo. At home, she is careful to keep her distance from him. She leaves her shoes far from his at the entrance, never leaves personal belongings in the living room, stays out of his space, and avoids him whenever he’s around. Shen Fangzhuo, meanwhile, always watches her expressionlessly, then turns and goes back to his room without a word. Chen Suizhao thinks he really must hate her. His eyes even turn red whenever he sees her. - One day, Chen Suizhao returns home early from a business trip. The house is pitch-black. A faint light shines from beneath the door of her bedroom, and strange sounds drift out. She follows the sound, sees what’s inside, and freezes. Shen Fangzhuo is leaning against her headboard, his face flushed as he pants with barely contained need. He clutches her silk pajamas in his hand, holding them to his face to breathe in their scent. He rubs his nose against the hair tie on his wrist as if trying to quench a thirst. It’s the hair tie she lost a long time ago. Hearing him murmur “Zhaozhao” again and again, Chen Suizhao is stunned. In her panic, she accidentally makes a noise. “...” Shen Fangzhuo steps closer, moving through the light. He easily pins her in the narrow space. Then he keeps brushing his lips over her wrist bone before lowering his head to breathe in the scent of her neck, as if on the verge of losing control. Chen Suizhao is frightened and tries to push him away with a trembling hand, but he grows even more agitated, moving toward her uncontrollably. He lowers his guard and begs in a hoarse voice. “I’m sorry, Zhaozhao. I just... I just couldn’t help myself...” He buries his face against her neck, eyes red-rimmed, his voice thick with wounded longing. “I’m not dirty...” “Please don’t hate me...” Reading Guide 1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads are inexperienced. 2. She’s throwing her affection at someone who can’t see it. 3. They both think the other one hates them. Theme: Love means seeing someone