Tidal Locking

From the first day of school, Xu Linlu couldn't shake the label of "troubled girl." Covered in scars, she was quiet and kept to herself.

Then a girl named Shen Xiao became her deskmate. There was no fancy introduction. She simply walked straight into Xu Linlu's dull, dreary life.

"Whatever you want to eat, I'll bring it for you."

At first, Xu Linlu thought it was just a passing bout of pity, or a bored top student's little "charity project."

One rainy night, Shen Xiao found Xu Linlu shivering at a wet bus stop outside a convenience store.

"Xu Linlu, come home with me."

That rain brought two parallel lines together by chance. And so Xu Linlu, the girl everyone avoided, became Shen Xiao's deskmate and, for a brief time, an "unexpected guest" at the Shen family home on that rainy night.

Shen Xiao's world was filled with sunshine, and she tried to shine some of it into the barren corner of Xu Linlu's life. She brought her breakfast, explained homework, shared snacks, and shielded her from rumors.

"Isn't that what friends are supposed to do?" Shen Xiao said with an easy smile.

She didn't know that, to Shen Xiao, reaching out first was something special, even if she herself hadn't realized it.

She didn't know that the still "dead water" of her heart had already begun to ripple endlessly after they met that rainy night.

Reader's Guide:

· Cool, solitary bottom x sunny, healing top. Everyday life, slow-burn and delicate, with some angsty moments.

· The top makes the first move and is straightforward, while the bottom says one thing and means another. At heart, this is about two kind people growing closer.

· Includes family conflicts and the growing pains of coming of age, but has a happy ending.

Theme: Have the courage to love