The Lamp at Dusk

[Updates are somewhat irregular. This is a short novel with no bonus chapters, around 150,000 to 180,000 characters.] Divorced woman x stray dog with nowhere to go A carefree, passionate woman and a pure, loyal puppy 35 x 18 Ling Yu went to the mountains outside Chongcheng to clear her head during her divorce and found a down-and-out puppy. Ling Yu's life looked glamorous: young and already successful in her career, she had married a wealthy man more than twenty years her senior and lived a life of comfort. But she alone knew the truth: she merely looked like his deceased wife. Ling Yu was caught up in the storm of divorce proceedings, yet she maintained her composure and tried to secure whatever benefits she could. She didn't believe that love existed in this world, or that she would ever meet a partner who accepted her wholeheartedly. That is, until she saw a weed growing wild in a tiny mountain village. The young man wore shabby clothes and hunched over as he carefully trimmed the flowers and plants. When a drunken guest smashed beer bottles all over him, he silently bent down and cleaned up the mess. His quiet silhouette disappeared into the darkness. She tried to get to know him, only to discover that his young body bore scars so shocking they were impossible to ignore. She gave him hope, and in him glimpsed a break of daylight through the clouds. Years later, on a dark night, he drifted to her city and regarded her as if she were his faith. For the first time, Ling Yu saw him weep. His scalding tears fell on her shoulder. "Ling Yu, I don't care about anything else. I only want you." [A lamp lit late can still change the world.] Reader's guide: 1. The female lead really has been in a marriage. The male lead remains pure and virtuous, with no exes, unrequited loves, or ambiguous relationships, emotionally or physically. 2. The female lead is not a naive sweetheart. I want to write a carefree woman who always puts herself and her own interests first. She may come across as a little selfish. 3. The plot is driven by the female lead's choices. Whether she gets married, gets divorced, or becomes a mother is entirely up to her. The female lead always comes first. 4. The male lead is something of a puppy the female lead raises. He has slight hearing loss. 5. Overall, it's a story about a bookish, innocent young man suddenly figuring things out, discovering that his older sweetheart is so captivating that he works hard to win her over, then realizing that she's graceful and composed no matter what, and falling for her even more. 6. The male lead is a pitiful little puppy who sees the female lead as his one and only, an unreachable dream. He's self-effacing, sensitive, pure, hardworking, and eager to improve, and puts pleasing her above all else. Theme: Always believe in yourself.