Late Arrival

Up next: The Landlady: Ten-year age gap, older woman and puppy-girl romance Blurb: Reserved young woman x gentle teacher Eighteen-year age gap When Yu Chi was seventeen, she saw her mother bring a woman home. The woman was graceful, courteous, gentle, and composed. Her name was Xue Wan. She was her mother's friend, and the tutor her mother had hired for her. She was beautiful. Yu Chi was struck by her at first sight. . She couldn't remember when it started, but one day Yu Chi suddenly began to like a subject she had always hated. She started looking forward to their weekly tutoring sessions. She wanted her grades to improve, and she hoped Xue Wan would look her way more often. She couldn't remember when it happened, either, but one day Yu Chi realized she had changed. She had become greedy, never satisfied. She began to crave the time she spent with Xue Wan, to yearn for Xue Wan's gaze, and even shamelessly wish for more of her touch. She realized it too late, and there was nowhere to hide. She had fallen in love with a woman eighteen years her senior. . At last, one day, Yu Chi's secret feelings accidentally came to light. She saw the disappointment and heartache in Xue Wan's eyes as, right in front of her, she tore the pages covered in heartfelt words to shreds and casually tossed them into the trash. Yu Chi watched it all. The paper was in pieces, and so was her heart. From that day on, she was sure she no longer loved Xue Wan. In fact, she even felt a faint, indescribable resentment toward her. . Later, Yu Chi got a girlfriend in college. Defying convention, she brought her girlfriend home to meet her mother... and Xue Wan happened to be sitting beside her. Xue Wan tried even harder than Yu Chi's mother to talk her out of taking this path. Yu Chi ignored her, but sadly, the relationship still ended in a breakup. On the night they broke up, Yu Chi got drunk. Xue Wan stayed with her and took her home. That night, Yu Chi let the alcohol loosen her tongue and wanted to make Xue Wan explain once and for all what had happened years ago. But before she could say a word, she found a stack of letters in Xue Wan's desk drawer. The pages had been torn into pieces, but every last one had been painstakingly taped back together They were the letters Yu Chi had written to Xue Wan all those years ago. . Later, after they got drunk and tangled up together, Yu Chi looked at the woman beneath her, kissed into a daze and no longer so gentle and composed, and suddenly wanted to ask: “Tell me, how long did it take you to piece those letters back together?” Xue Wan paused, a trace of sadness passing through her eyes. “Not long. A week. But I spent two years reading them.” “Then why didn't you tell me?” “I thought I'd wait until you were grown up.” Not a story where both leads have only ever been with each other (no men involved) No actual sexual relationship with the ex-girlfriend, no falling out of love; this will be explained later The characters aren't perfect. Don't read if that's not your thing Happy ending Theme: Strive to live your life