Cradling the Golden Moon

(Opening in winter. Gathering readers for now ☺️)

Gentle, beagle-like crybaby girl x aloof on the outside, warm and tender husband material (one-on-one, both sexually inexperienced, each other's first love, happy ending)

Childhood friends growing up together | Age gap | Reunion after years apart | Cozy everyday life | A touch of healing

*

Cong Jinyue was obsessed with Calabash Brothers as a child, especially admiring the Iron Gourd Brother's iron head and arms. She even adopted his classic catchphrase: "My head isn't made of dough!"

From then on, she honed her iron-head technique more and more.

-

After her parents divorced, Cong Jinyue moved with her mother to live at her maternal grandmother's home. Her grandmother gave her all the snacks and toys she wanted, so life was wonderful. The only downside was that she had yet to make any new friends.

One day, while she was sharing snacks and toys with the neighborhood kids, a tall, slender teenage boy walked straight toward her from a distance.

He glared at the children across from him without changing expression, and they scattered like startled birds.

Cong Jinyue looked up at the handsome boy, who stared back at her expressionlessly.

She held her breath and stepped closer, then gave him a fierce iron-head butting attack under his cold gaze, before sitting down and wailing.

She blamed him for scaring away her new friends. He wondered what her head was made of to be so hard.

The boy clutched the spot that hurt and crouched down to offer her an ice cream cone. In an awkward but matter-of-fact tone, he said, "Stop crying. I'll play with you."

Today's little harvest for the moon:

1. One chocolate ice cream cone

2. One handsome big brother who is willing to play with her

*

Xu Xingyan had only been standing up for what's right, "just happening" to chase away the naughty kids who were tricking a little girl out of her snacks and toys. He never expected to end up with a little crybaby, bouncing around every day and finding new ways to get into mischief.

He'd brought it on himself, so he had to comfort her.

And so his fingertips were painted with colorful nail polish;

Countless sprout-like pigtails appeared on his head;

Whenever he met those round, glossy grape-like eyes, his hard-to-describe expression turned into a helpless smile, and his polite refusal melted away.

One day, the little girl excitedly pulled him over to the fish tank and pointed at a few tiny black specks. "Big Brother, do you like little frogs? Our teacher said frogs are helpful insects. When they grow up, I'll give you one!"

Xu Xingyan looked at the pitch-black tadpoles in the tank. Under the girl's expectant gaze, he tried and failed several times to find the words.

After school the next day, a friend asked him to play ball, but he refused.

His friend was confused. "What have you got to do?"

Xu Xingyan answered with a perfectly straight face. "Catch tadpoles that will turn into frogs."

His friend: ?

*

She called him "Big Brother Xingxing" again and again for ten years. He stayed by her through the most innocent, rain-soaked years of her youth, clearing the thorns from her path before her, then turning back to take her hand and walk by her side...

In time, just as he had hoped, she grew into a bright, cheerful girl with countless friends. She was no longer the little girl who had once worried because she could not make friends.

By then, he had returned from across the ocean, carrying a body full of old wounds. From a distance, he watched her smiling and chatting with everyone.

He remembered the day they parted, when she had thrown herself against his chest with tears in her eyes, called him a liar, and swore she would never speak to him again.

After all these years, had she forgiven him?

So he hid his wounds, put on the familiar guise of the neighborly big brother from her memories, and walked toward her one step at a time.

The moon crashed into his arms, then looked up at him in pain.

He smiled gently. "Has your iron-head technique gotten rusty?"

[Bonus Scene]

Late at night, Xu Xingyan went to pick up his drunk girlfriend, only to unexpectedly witness someone confessing their feelings to her. The two of them made a good match, both in looks and age.

The sight made the vinegar jar inside him quietly tip over.

Cong Jinyue slept until morning. When she woke, she suddenly met a pair of eyes tangled with jealousy and desire. She knew she was in trouble, but before she could run, he caught her.

Two hours later.

Cong Jinyue fell from the clouds again and again, sobbing as she cursed him. "Xu Xingyan, you jerk! You weren't like this before!"

The jerk's glistening lips traveled upward before finally kissing the hollow of her neck. His voice was low and muffled, full of uncertainty. "If Big Brother acts like more of a jerk, the moon won't leave me, right?"

* Moon younger sister x Star big brother. At first, an innocent girl x a gentle older boy; later, a popular girl x a gloomy, jealous man.

* A story about growing up and love. At first, he guides her; later, she saves him.

* Though the heroine comes from a broken home, she is surrounded by love. She's just a little timid at first, but gradually grows into an adorable girl.

(The details, such as how long they are apart, may be adjusted slightly before the story officially begins, but the overall framework will remain the same.)

P.S. This blurb was posted on March 20, 2026, and a screenshot has been saved.

Theme: Love is the best medicine