[Coming-of-age romance] [Age gap] [Tension and longing] [Mutual pining]
On a spring day when the air was still caught between warm and cold, Su Xuruo followed Ying Feng north.
Ying Feng had raised her for nine years, and for those nine years, she had followed him like his little shadow.
Gazing at the broad shoulders before her, as straight and strong as pines and bamboo,
the girl's feelings grew wildly, like branches in springtime.
On Su Xuruo's eighteenth birthday, she could no longer hide her love. Taking advantage of Ying Feng's drunkenness, she asked him for a promise.
Sober the next morning, Ying Feng realized what he had agreed to. He rubbed his forehead. "Little Shadow, I was drunk last night. Anything inappropriate I said doesn't count."
Seeing the tears in her eyes made his heart panic.
As it happened, the school had an opportunity for overseas study. He packed his bags, giving her space to reflect.
When he returned, Su Xuruo came to meet him at the airport, smiling sweetly as she linked arms with his good friend, Zhou Ran.
The smile on Ying Feng's face froze. "What's going on with you two?"
Su Xuruo's eyes sparkled as she glanced at Zhou Ran. "He's my boyfriend."
At the welcome-home dinner Zhou Ran threw for Ying Feng, he raised his glass and grinned smugly at him. "Thanks for taking care of my wife for me, buddy. I know it's been hard all these years."
Ying Feng said nothing as he downed his drink. But in a corner of the restaurant, he pulled Su Xuruo into his arms, breathing raggedly.
His voice was slightly hoarse, edged with pleading. "Little Shadow, how about I make good on that promise?"
Su Xuruo was secretly delighted. If she had known he would be this easy to win over, she would have tried this trick long ago.
But after the two families met, as was only natural, Su Xuruo left a note and disappeared.
[I'm sorry, but your promise is overdue for the second time. There's no point in making good on it now.]
Ying Feng's years of self-restraint and propriety finally shattered into pieces, just like the note in his hand.
He searched everywhere like a madman. At last, he found his Little Shadow and held her in his arms again, but Su Xuruo cried as she pushed free of him: "Uncle, please behave yourself!"
*
Reader advisory:
1. Quirky and spirited x calm and gentle; both are virgins; each other's first love; happy ending.
2. Nine-year age gap, size difference, older Daddy.
3. The male and female leads are not blood-related.
The synopsis was screenshotted and uploaded on February 2, 2026.
Theme: With enough effort, there's no predicament you can't escape.
