Staying under one roof | Secret identity exposed | Mild coercion | Older man
Brooding mixed-race man x sweet, gentle girl
In the early autumn when she was nineteen, Jian Yixu arrived in a new land and moved in with her mother's best friend.
The person who came to pick her up at the airport was her friend's son, Wen Zhaoqun.
He was only a year older than her, but much taller.
Mixed-race, with striking features and a pair of sea-blue eyes.
When they first met, he simply nodded and called Jian Yixu by name.
“Come over. Let's go home.”
She never expected that before long, the home Wen Zhaoqun spoke of would become the place she most wanted to escape.
The bedroom door shut. The young man held her chin and leaned down toward her.
Jian Yixu backed away in alarm. Hearing footsteps outside the door, she opened her mouth to call for help.
His long index finger sealed her lips.
“Hush.”
“Don't hide.”
“Just a kiss.”
-
In every aspect of her life, including her social life, Wen Zhaoqun took control of everything under the guise of looking after Jian Yixu.
Until one day, she acquired a secret of her own.
An online friend named Noah.
He always listened patiently to Jian Yixu's troubles, speaking gently to her in imperfect Chinese:
“Xu, I'll stay with you.”
“Xu, I don't want to see you cry.”
Even though she'd never seen his face, Jian Yixu couldn't help falling for him.
“Noah, can I meet you?”
At last, one day, she asked him tentatively.
There was no reply for a long while.
Just when Jian Yixu thought he wouldn't answer, an address came through.
A seaside hotel in the city where Noah lived.
-
Meeting an online boyfriend at a hotel in another city might be just as crazy as running away from Wen Zhaoqun.
But Jian Yixu packed a few things, secretly bought a plane ticket without Wen Zhaoqun knowing, and worked up the courage to go to the airport alone.
Noah lived in a seaside city in the same Bay Area.
It was dusk when she landed. Jian Yixu took a taxi and arrived at sunset.
She found the room. The moment she opened the door, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
The room was dark, and kisses fell over her from all sides.
Noah wasn't as gentle as he was online. He pressed her against the door, held her by the waist, and kissed her until she could barely breathe.
Unable to take it, she called to him in a soft voice: “Noah...”
The man's voice came low and husky.
“Noah?”
The familiar voice made Jian Yixu freeze.
Before she could react, a click sounded, and blinding light flooded the room.
Wen Zhaoqun stared at Jian Yixu's pale face and slowly curved his lips.
“It's only been a few hours, babe.”
His smile never reached his eyes. He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him.
“Tell me, who am I?”
-
You and I drown here.
In this sea, or in your eyes.
-
/Title inspired by a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
/One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads sexually and emotionally inexperienced
/Still a bittersweet romance
/More details to come
Theme: I love you, but I have my own self.
