Plum Picking [Planned for 2026]

Su Yaoning is the most cherished granddaughter in the Grand Preceptor's household. At the Imperial College, she is also adored and pursued by her male classmates.

She is devoted to getting ahead and only wants to study and come in first. Their attentions leave her utterly troubled, but she can't refuse them without worrying about hurting their feelings.

When she told her childhood friend, the young emperor took her on a stroll around the Imperial College the very next day. At last, the boys stopped bothering her.

Su Yaoning didn't understand why, but she was relieved.

It wasn't until her childhood friend, the emperor, went from holding her hand to kissing her that the romantically clueless Su Yaoning asked, "Why do we kiss?"

He squeezed her hand and asked, "A Ning, don't you like it?"

"I do." Su Yaoning nodded without hesitation. Boys' lips were so soft.

"Isn't that all that matters?"

Su Yaoning thought for a while, then said seriously, "But this isn't right. Only parents kiss like this."

Rong Yu smiled and coaxed her, "What's wrong with it? We grew up together. We're not strangers."

Su Yaoning nodded to herself. Her mother had only warned her not to get too close to other boys, but Rong Yu wasn't a stranger.

Later, his eyes red, he took her hand and asked her to "cure his illness," pleading hoarsely, "Ningning, a little harder, okay?"

Blushing, Su Yaoning asked, "Does being childhood friends mean I have to cure your illness, too?"

"Of course." Rong Yu was in so much pain he could barely bear it. "You're my childhood sweetheart. If you won't help me, who will?"

"You're right. Leave it to me." Su Yaoning patted her chest and promised to help.

She put some strength into it, but her childhood friend only seemed to hurt more. Could this illness really be cured?

Only after she finally caught on did Su Yaoning remember all the outrageous things she'd done with Rong Yu. She was so angry that she wouldn't speak to him for ages. All he ever did was trick and deceive her!

After they married, Su Yaoning found the emperor's notebook in the Imperial Study. Her name was written all over it.

Ningning is my childhood sweetheart. A wife should be raised from childhood. - Rong Yu

Reader's note: The heroine is romantically clueless and only wants to study hard and come in first. The hero is a lovesick fool whose heart belongs entirely to his childhood sweetheart and wife. A cheerful, sweet childhood-friends romance! The heroine is alluring without realizing it, and is of legal marriageable age in ancient times. The hero's secret crush comes true; there's no coercion, just a gradual courtship.

December 15, 2025. Screenshot saved.

Theme: Study hard