Listening to the Tide

After breaking up with her boyfriend of three years, Lin Siyi quit her job as his assistant, sold her house, and impulsively returned to her hometown.

Her hometown was a small island on the coast.

Lin Siyi didn't remember much about the place. She only remembered the salty sea breeze, the swaying of the fishing raft she slept on as a child, and the hazy moonlight on the water, spreading into ripples that glimmered with a cold light.

She hadn't been back in so long that her family's fishing raft was long gone, so she stayed with her former neighbors.

-

Xiao Cheng was their only son. He'd dropped out of high school and worked as a fisherman, while also helping out at his family's seafood stall.

He'd just turned eighteen. The sun and sea wind had bronzed his skin a healthy wheat color. He was tall, and his muscles stretched his old undershirt taut. His chest was as solid as a wall.

...The boy called him "Brother Lin."

Lin Siyi: "..."

Maybe I should call you brother instead.

-

Xiao Cheng looked a little terrifying because of his build, but he was actually a pretty nice guy.

The taciturn boy didn't have many friends his age. He'd taken in a few stray cats, and every day when he went out to sea, he brought them along.

Lin Siyi thought it was cute, so he casually filmed a few short videos and posted them online.

The videos went viral, and Lin Siyi's ex-boyfriend found him.

The big-shot executive from the city showed up in a suit and tie, sporting a luxury watch and an expensive car, looking every inch the part as he tugged at Lin Siyi's arm.

Lin Siyi wouldn't let Xiao Cheng approach. Xiao Cheng stood guard nearby like a wolf cub, his deep black eyes as cold and dark as the sea at midnight.

...Only after Lin Siyi slapped the man and sent him packing did the little wolf cub relax his tense, guarded stance.

After the man left, Xiao Cheng moved to Lin Siyi's side.

"Brother," Xiao Cheng called him.

Lin Siyi gave a quiet hum.

"Your ex?" Xiao Cheng asked.

Lin Siyi hummed again.

"He's kind of old." After holding it in for a while, Xiao Cheng finally came up with an insult for the guy.

Lin Siyi: "?"

Lin Siyi found it a little funny. "He was my senior at school, two years ahead of me."

Xiao Cheng: "Oh."

Xiao Cheng thought it over, then added, "Once a man turns twenty-five, he's basically sixty-five. Don't date older guys."

Lin Siyi, already twenty-six, raised an eyebrow at that.

He figured Xiao Cheng was trying to provoke him. After all, the night before, by the deserted reefs, the two of them...

"I'm young."

Xiao Cheng leaned closer. "I've got stamina, and I know what I'm doing."

The shou doesn't pursue multiple partners.

Thesis: .