[Sharp-Tongued, Cool, and Arrogant Young Master Who Just Gets Things Done] x [Cold-Faced, Cute, Low-Defense Mom-Friend and Free-Spirited Traveling Writer]
Estimated length: 300,000 characters.
A road-trip food story following the route south through Lingnan, eating and wandering all the way to the southernmost tip of the world. A healing, sweet story with an absolutely happy ending.
"Even if I did go gay, I still wouldn't marry just because you told me to!"
After making that bold declaration, Huo Jingyao, the eldest young master of the Huo family, was drenched to the skin by a torrential downpour on the very first day he ran away from home.
He had a bowl of sour rice noodles from a shady vendor to thank for giving him gastroenteritis and leaving him faint with hunger by the roadside.
When he came to, he discovered that the owner of a camper van had picked him up.
The owner was called Wu Yue. He was handsome, and he knew magic.
Because he could always find century-old restaurants tucked away in deep alleyways, and tell the story of every star in the night sky.
His voice was like a nursery rhyme, light and soft, just like him.
Except he carried an old suitcase everywhere and treasured it like his own life. He wouldn't let anyone touch it. Otherwise, he would fly into a rage and throw them off the van with a series of bangs. If they didn't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, they had no choice but to run after it.
For the nth time, Huo Jingyao was dumped by the roadside and forced to perform a one-man chase scene.
A handsome guy chasing a camper van under the blazing sun was quite a spectacle. Maybe not enough to draw everyone's attention, but it certainly turned a lot of heads.
Thankfully, Young Master Huo was in the habit of working out at the gym, so this was nothing he couldn't handle. As for his pride, no one in these remote backwaters knew who he was anyway.
He could just eat his way along the route and get some exercise at the same time.
He pursed his lips.
After all, everyone has a secret or two.
They watched the morning light over the Kaiping Diaolou, tasted steaming late-night congee at Zhanjiang Port, and huddled together to listen to the rain during a typhoon.
The stubborn edges of Huo Jingyao's rebellious nature were gradually smoothed away by the warmth of everyday life and the mountains and seas along the way.
And at last, Wu Yue's tightly locked suitcase opened for him at sunrise over the South China Sea.
Huo Jingyao looked at the treasure inside, and his eyes suddenly reddened.
"These are my mother's belongings."
"She spent her whole life drawing her own journey."
"Now that the journey is over, you should go home and get married, too."
Huo Jingyao flared up and pulled him fiercely into his arms.
"What marriage? I'm not getting married!"
"I'll sing you lullabies for the rest of my life. Let me stay, okay?"
Later, Young Master Huo, a staunch opponent of marriage, found something even cooler than running away from home to protest marriage:
Traveling beside his beloved, eating his way from north to south, and painting for the rest of their lives.
Maybe I should write this like a restaurant review site instead (just kidding).
Eat well, drink well, have fun, and sleep well. A cozy, everyday story about appreciating life in peaceful times.
One-on-one romance, both pure, with the point of view split evenly. No particular preference. They're both my boys, and I love them all (serious face).
I'm working on the outline now. Come join me for the whole pregnancy and delivery!
Cover art thanks: Qinyuanchun
Theme: May we return to the warmth of the Southern Sea.
