Seven Years, Close at Hand

Wish for It: Wishes, ongoing

Yuan Wei x Xu Qi

[Wary, rational, spirited woman x flirtatious, championship-level green tea guy]

Yuan Wei is too rational to believe in the passionate romances people talk about. Then Xu Qi enters her life, laying all his affection and tenderness at her feet, treating her so well that she can't help but be suspicious.

She accepts everything he gives her and returns his kindness, but keeps repeating to herself that she mustn't fall for him.

How could a man who perfectly matches her ideal type possibly exist?

It has to be a trap.

And it is a trap, laid long ago.

At thirteen, the boy has no interest in romance, until he sees Yuan Wei at a friend's party and falls in love at first sight.

For five years, he studies her tastes and changes himself to suit them, rehearsing countless times how to pursue her and what to say. He waits patiently and hones every detail, all just to get by her side.

Xu Qi has all the patience he needs to melt her suspicion and defenses, until she willingly falls into his "trap."

They were made for each other.

[A purely sweet romance. The heroine goes from lacking a sense of security to learning how to love. Their relationship is the main focus, alongside the heroine's growth. Happy ending.]

--

The night Lin He wins Best Actress, the room is filled with elegant finery and the clink of glasses.

Someone can't help asking, "What's really going on between you and President Zuo?"

"Me and President Zuo?" She smiles. "We're just business partners."

A champagne glass shatters behind her.

--

At nineteen, she barges into the CEO's office and braces herself against his desk. "I have no way back. I can only move forward."

Zuo Shun is twenty-six then, newly in charge of the group. He should keep his distance from a "madwoman" like her. But as she turns to leave, he stares at the closed door, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

Only later does he understand: it was love at first sight.

He gives her opportunities, protects her, and hides all his feelings, never daring to take a single step closer.

The seven-year age gap is a chasm between them. He has no right to talk to her about love.

Everyone says Zuo Shun bought her Best Actress award for her.

But only Zuo Shun knows that he can't live without her.

He is the deep sea called Zuo Shun. Reason tells her to break free, but her body has already surrendered to its depths.

Lin He fights her way upward, believing that will bring her closer to him. But no matter how high she climbs, whenever she sees him, all she dares say in her heart is: Don't think about him. Don't hope for anything. They can't be together.

Until one day, a line of male models walks into a VIP room.

Zuo Shun stands at the very end of the line, nervously waiting for her to choose.

"If I hadn't come back," he asks hoarsely, "would you have chosen someone else?"

Only then does she understand:

That man who seemed so high above everyone else had been gazing at her for years, alone in the night.

Reading notes: Dual perspectives | Unrequited love becomes mutual | Powerful man humbled by love | Both leads have only ever loved each other | Happy ending | Not a power fantasy, but very sweet

Theme: If you love someone, say it out loud!