A Blessing from Thirteen Years Ago

[Second Chance Romance] [Only Have Eyes for Each Other] [Industry Elites] [Sweet Romance]

Xu Xinghui's secret crush began at three in the afternoon on September 17, 2008.

Sunlight fell across Jiang Lin's profile, his eyelashes casting a shadow on the bridge of his nose. He bent over his work, his long fingers wrapped around a pen.

Xu Xinghui made the first stroke in his sketchbook.

After that, he drew Jiang Lin for three years.

He drew his focused profile as he solved problems, the moment he leapt on the basketball court, his back as he waited for Xu Xinghui in the rain.

Every time, he told himself, He won't find out.

Every time, Jiang Lin did.

The day Jiang Lin left, Xu Xinghui stuffed their yearbook into his backpack and ran off.

On the title page, he had written just one sentence:

"May the road ahead be bright. I'll always be behind you."

He thought it was a secret crush that would come to nothing.

For thirteen years, he painted countless pictures, from Beijing to Paris, from the Central Academy of Fine Arts to international art exhibitions.

In every painting, the shadow of the same boy was hidden: a silhouette blurred by light, a backlit figure, or simply a hand holding a brush.

He didn't know that Jiang Lin, across the ocean, was responding to him in his own way.

In an MIT lab, Jiang Lin wrote his first AR program to recreate the starry sky in Xu Xinghui's studio.

In the Stanford library, he built the "Xu Xinghui Brushstroke Database," analyzing the tremors and hesitations in every one of his paintings.

In the dead of night while building a startup in Silicon Valley, he wrote Xu Xinghui's name into the system's code, hiding it in the deepest comments.

Each was loving someone who had no idea that the love was returned, in their own way.

A secret crush is one person's chaos and turmoil.

Love is two people crossing mountains and rivers together.

Thankfully, they both made it across.

[Reader's Guide]

Second chance romance + secret crush comes true, mutual pining, no angst throughout

Dual timelines: school days from 2008 to 2010 (sweet) + careers from 2023 to 2024 (even sweeter)

Both leads are accomplished: artist x tech mogul, an evenly matched romance

Professional details: artistic creation x AR technology, packed with information

Exciting extras: third-person POV + parallel universe + technical notes

My next book will be Dong Qing: childhood friends growing up together, relying on each other. Please add it to your library. Here's the blurb:

They had no way back, but became each other's only light.

When Xiyang was eight, he was sent to an orphanage.

That was the first time in his life he understood that the world really could abandon you and leave you to fend for yourself.

That was also the year he met Gu Pengfei.

Gu Pengfei was six years older, a notorious troublemaker at the orphanage: always fighting, fiercely protective of his own, and unwilling to bow to anyone. Yet at night, he would break the only piece of bread in half and put the cleaner half in Xiyang's hand.

From that day on, Gu Pengfei became his protector.

And his whole world.

Life at the orphanage was cold and harsh, but somehow they managed to squeeze a little warmth out of it.

They took punishments together, slacked off together, and watched the stars from the rundown rooftop together. Gu Pengfei stood in front, and Xiyang stayed behind him.

It seemed as if they were born to be that way.

When they were eighteen, they were separated without warning.

Gu Pengfei had terrible grades, and once compulsory education ended, reality forced him to go out and work. He didn't say, "I don't want you to go." He simply said, "Study hard. Don't end up like me."

Then he turned and walked into a world full of dust and toil.

He hauled goods by day and worked overtime at night. His pay was low, but every month he sent it to Xiyang's account on time.

On the phone, he always said, "I'm doing just fine."

But only Xiyang knew what that money meant.

It meant one person giving up every fallback, just to support another person's future.

"The world was tilted a long time ago," Gu Pengfei once said softly, "but I chose to stand on your side."

The lights of high school, college, and the city gradually came on. Xiyang moved forward through his studies, while Gu Pengfei ran desperately through the real world. They were separated by time and distance, but always stood on the same side.

One climbed up, while the other held him steady.

One was protected as he grew up, while the other matured for the sake of protecting him.

Until one day, Xiyang finally stood before him and said, "This time, let me stay by your side."

Dominant, devoted protector x loving, adorable sweetheart

Childhood friends growing up together | Relying on each other | Mutual healing | One-on-one | Happy ending

They had no family and no way back, but in each other they found a reason to keep living.

This is the story of two boys growing up side by side in the wilderness.

Children who grew up in darkness head toward the light, giving their whole lives to it.

Theme: Time can separate those who love each other, but it can also bring them together again, better than before.