Above the Attic

Shen Bihe x Zhao Qian'ge

A well-behaved girl on the outside, a twisted and wicked girl within x a gentle older man who lives by propriety and self-restraint

At the age when first love begins to bloom, her roommates would chatter about the campus heartthrob's name, giggling as they fell into each other's arms.

But not Shen Bihe. She didn't remember a single one of the heartthrob's games. In her notebook, the same name appeared over and over: "Zhao Qian'ge."

When she drew, she drew buildings, and pavilions and towers were always what she drew best. At the old family home, she would prick up her ears and could always pick Zhao Qian'ge's footsteps out of the many sounds of people walking.

As an adopted daughter taken in by the Zhao family, she called him "Uncle" just like her older siblings did.

But she was glad he was her uncle, and hated that he was her uncle, too.

She hated the ten-year age gap, the uncle-niece relationship, the insurmountable divide between them. She hated that whenever he looked at her, it was always as if he were looking at a child.

Another New Year's Eve arrived. The Zhao family was gathered in the warmth of a happy, harmonious reunion.

Zhao Qian'ge brought home a girlfriend. The girl had a sweet smile. When snow landed in her hand, she slipped it into Zhao Qian'ge's palm.

Shen Bihe selfishly thought, But that gesture belongs to me.

Every year, her hands got chilblains. Zhao Qian'ge would pick her up from the figure skating rink, scold her for not wearing her gloves properly, then cup her hands between his own.

He would never know that before he came to pick her up, Shen Bihe had pressed her hands against the ice until it stuck to her thin layer of flesh.

Shen Bihe was devastated at losing what had been hers alone.

But when she ran barefoot into the snow in a white dress, her black hair flying, and a car raced toward her, she nearly thought she was about to die. Zhao Qian'ge shouted her name and held her as they rolled into the snow.

They came within a hair's breadth of death.

Tears streamed down Shen Bihe's face. Taking the chance to cling to him, she bit his Adam's apple with desperate, unrelenting force.

Zhao Qian'ge held her chin. His eyes were dark, so very dark.

He let out a long sigh and called her by her childhood nickname.

"You'll never know how far I've willingly fallen for you."

#The charm of an older man lies in that one day, for a moment, he looks at you helplessly. Only later do you realize that was the mark of how willingly he had fallen and lost himself in you.

Theme: Love sets people free