A Gentle Reminder

Childhood friends × mutual pining

School setting / both leads' first love / testing each other / cocky king of swagger × chuunibyou girl

Liang Jinyu and her childhood-friend big brother grew up together and knew all each other's secrets.

They were so clingy it was like they had a skin-hunger disorder; they couldn't survive being apart. They'd bickered for years, but he was always the first to give in.

In middle school, when she nearly got lured away by a punk with dyed blond hair, he slapped that bad romance out of the picture.

“Your taste is so awful. What do you even see in him?”

Liang Jinyu wrapped her arms around her childhood friend's waist and wailed, “He's so handsome. I really, really like him.”

He called her blind and told her to get her eyes checked. What did that guy have that he didn't?

Pinned post on the affiliated high school's forum: #WhenWillTheCampusHottieAndHisChildhoodFriendStartDating

The post stayed at the top of the trending list, making headlines at the school.

One day, the two people in question finally got fed up and responded:

Liang Jinyu: “I would never like a dog.”

Lin Yichen: “Don't drag me into this. We're not close.”

-

With the college entrance exams approaching, Liang Jinyu's parents packed her off to stay with the Lin family.

Her childhood friend was devastatingly handsome: over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a model's build. His peach-blossom eyes made even a dog feel cherished.

She kept getting distracted by his face, staring at his features.

When he caught her, she reacted quickly. “You have an eyelash on your face. Let me get it for you.” She took the chance to run her hand over his handsome face, stealing a touch.

Liang Jinyu thought he had the makings of a playboy. He clearly liked someone else, yet he still acted ambiguously with her.

Lin Yichen thought she was blind for liking someone else and failing to notice him. He was so outstanding, after all. How could she not see it?

After the college entrance exams, their group of friends went on a graduation trip.

As the trip was about to end, Liang Jinyu got carried away by her lust and slept with her aloof, high-and-mighty childhood friend. Then she took off, not wanting to take responsibility.

The next day, Lin Yichen was left staring at the mess in the room.

A familiar hair tie lay on the bed. Liang Jinyu had left it behind.

After that, they were in touch less and less. One went north and the other south to pursue their studies.

After losing a bet with her friends, Liang Jinyu posted a photo of him on her social media. At his request, she captioned it: “My crush.”

On her way back to the dorm that night, she got a call from Lin Yichen. “I'm outside your school.”

The man stood beneath a streetlight dressed in black, his face cool and striking.

She had no idea why he'd suddenly shown up, and cautiously walked over to him.

Lin Yichen's first words were, “Xiao Yuer's all grown up. She's learned to like someone else.”

“What am I to you?”

A suite in a five-star hotel.

Lin Yichen staked his claim. The moment they entered, he kissed her until she could barely breathe.

“You slept with me and still dare to like someone else? I like you. How can you not tell?”

Liang Jinyu's eyes reddened as she shook her head, looking aggrieved and pitiful. “You obviously have a secret crush on someone else.”

He choked up as he said, “When have I ever had a crush on anyone else? It's been you from the start.”

“I've liked you for over ten years. Can't Xiao Yuer tell?”

“Will you date me? The lifelong kind.”

Bonus scene:

One day after they got together, Liang Jinyu was in her boyfriend's room when she discovered the evidence of his almost pathological crush on her.

The three-inch photo of her that had disappeared years ago, worn and faded around the edges.

Hundreds of photos of her, from childhood to the present, carefully and lovingly stored away. A boxful of love letters he had never sent. A crumpled piece of paper had fallen to the floor.

She opened it, and black writing filled her eyes:

I really, really like Xiao Yuer. Why don't you like me? Please, just look at me, okay?

Two people in love, secretly testing each other at every turn, each playing a hundred different mind games × flirting with someone too blind to notice

A short story, around a hundred thousand words

A childhood friend who knows how to tame her childhood sweetheart; the heroine is extremely possessive

Additional details:

Both leads are each other's first and only love, in body and heart

Science whiz × arts student

Theme: Study hard and keep striving every day