[Main story complete]
1
Xia Shou took a side job looking after a high school boy. It would last three months, until he came of age and she could leave.
Then the boy's homeroom teacher called to ask her to keep an eye on Lin Chengxu, a good student who might go astray. After giving it some thought, Xia Shou asked Lin Chengxu, “Is there someone you like?”
Lin Chengxu didn't mind that Xia Shou herself respected boundaries, but having her around all the time felt like a real constraint.
Knowing the things that were forbidden as part of her job, he seized the opportunity and openly admitted it, hinting at what he meant. He hoped Xia Shou would drop him like a hot potato as soon as possible. “Yeah.”
“She's really hard to pursue. She always sees me as a kid.”
“But there's no way I'd switch to someone else.”
“I'll keep at it no matter what.”
2
After Xia Shou started thinking about leaving, she and Lin Chengxu found a cat beneath a big banyan tree just before she was due to go. She considered taking it with her, but he asked if she wanted to raise it together.
It was June. The boy crouched down to scratch the cat, squinting in the sunlight as he looked up at her.
Dazed by the sight, she didn't know how to refuse. She agreed, but a few days later, while Lin Chengxu was out traveling with friends after finishing his college entrance exams, she moved out of the neighborhood.
3
They met again on a rainy night when no cars would come. Xia Shou was carrying the cat carrier and, by chance, got into his car. His clothes were soaked, but he tossed her a paper bag. “Go change.”
“What did you name the cat?” After she changed and came out, before Xia Shou could say anything, Lin Chengxu spoke as if to himself. “Never mind. You don't need to report back to me. Just like when you said we'd raise a cat together, then turned around and disappeared without a word. You're the one who's good at making a clean break.”
“Liar.”
[Reader's guide]
1. Older woman/younger man romance | Rekindled love | 1v1, both virgins, happy ending
2. Brooding, scheming bad dog of a man x detached, wooden female lead
3. No romance before he comes of age
Theme: Love yourself
