|Reunited after a breakup|Mutual pining|Bittersweet romance|
[Slow-to-react, robotic, cold-faced gong x Cheerful, single-minded ray-of-sunshine shou]
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When Shen Zexu, an old friend and rival, suddenly appears as Wen Ling's new coworker, Wen Ling's first thought is: what a tangled fate.
The memories of his flight from the past are still vivid. Right now, Wen Ling just wants to turn around and leave.
But the familiar figure stops in front of him and asks:
"Do you still hate me?"
Shen Zexu sounds a little sad.
It's strange, compared to the cold-blooded man in Wen Ling's memories, who seemed to feel nothing and went abroad as soon as they ended their friendship.
Wen Ling's alarm bells ring at the old wound being reopened.
He doesn't want to make the same mistake again. So he uses formal forms of address and distant wording, believing that if he draws a clear line with coldness, he can cut off this tangled fate.
But Shen Zexu is like an old program that's malfunctioning.
He accepts Wen Ling's harsh words without protest, and seems not to understand Wen Ling's polite distance.
Everyone has begun to notice how unhappy Wen Ling is with him, but he stubbornly keeps repeating the habits they had in the past.
One rainy night, drunk, Wen Ling can no longer take it. He pins Shen Zexu against the wall and demands furiously:
"Shen Zexu, I told you I hated you and never wanted to be friends again! Do you remember none of it?"
Shen Zexu looks down at him, his expression almost bewildered.
"Friends?"
He repeats the word, then shakes his head.
"Wen Ling, I never knew how to be your friend."
"But I know you said 'a lifetime.' Five years doesn't count, and ten years doesn't count..."
"It only counts as a lifetime once we're both dead."
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This is a story about best friends who must break through the mirror between them to become lovers.
[Reader's Guide]
1. Both leads are devoted only to each other; no switching or breaking up. Readers with strong character preferences, please take note. No unsolicited writing advice.
2. The shou is truly single-minded. At first, he genuinely thinks he hates the gong.
3. The story of their past won't take up a large part of the book, and will be woven in bit by bit.
2025.12.14: Screenshot saved as a reminder.
Theme: Love a real, specific person, not an abstract definition.
