For eight years, the scent of osmanthus has lingered over Nancheng. She returns home with her Late Return Gallery, hoping to hold on to her artistic ideals and live out the rest of her life in peace.
But an exclusive sponsorship brings her face to face with Xiang Wan.
He is now the composed, self-possessed CEO of Anmei Group, but eight years ago he was the boy who shielded her from basketballs and took the long way around to buy her osmanthus cakes.
A soundproof meeting room, a custom-made hearing aid, venue permits quietly taken care of: his tenderness is hidden in every detail. He draws closer step by step, but never dares to demand anything from her.
A library eight years ago, and a misunderstanding in a torrential downpour: a gulf that still lies between them.
"Wanmei, I had my reasons for what happened eight years ago."
She avoids him; he waits patiently.
From working together on the gallery to creating an arts support program side by side, from unraveling the old mystery to joining forces against a crisis, their careers and feelings move forward together.
When the fog of the past clears and his secret protection comes to light, she finally understands: her late return has always been the homecoming he has waited eight years for.
The best kind of love is becoming each other's light, journeying forward side by side, and finding their way home together beneath the stars.
Theme: Through a story of returning home to start a business in the city and reuniting after years apart, this novel follows Lin Wanmei, an independent gallery owner with hearing loss, as she makes peace with herself and embraces her past while resolving an eight-year misunderstanding. Together with Xiang Wan, she pursues their artistic dreams. Their story celebrates a love and a life built on equality, mutual growth, and tender protection, where career and affection enrich one another and lead to a happy ending beneath the stars.
