An unexpected dream links Bo Shuyu to herself fifteen years in the future...
The "me" in the dream smiles happily. "Today is my hubby and my tenth wedding anniversary!"
The future "me" rambles on in words I can't understand.
"We're practically an old married couple, but I still get shy when he kisses me!"
My hair stands on end. Bo Shuyu, how did you get even more lovestruck with age?
I may judge her, but I still quietly listen to the "me" in the dream share stories about married life.
That is, until a deep, lingering voice calls out.
"Babe~"
I turn toward the sound.
Deep in the garden, my husband stands in the warm orange glow of the sunset, leaning forward slightly with his arms spread wide.
My feet carry me toward him against my will.
A groundhog shrieks inside my head: I've never even touched a man's pecs. Don't hug him, don't!
But I charge at him like a little cannonball, launching myself straight into his chest.
"Target down~" He gives a wicked laugh, catches me, and lets himself fall with me.
The world turns upside down. The sunset streaks past, and I get a mouthful of grass.
We roll a few times, until he pins me beneath him and I can't move.
A necklace dangles from his neck, its pendant a diamond chess piece.
I recognize it instinctively: the king in chess.
"Honey?" He rubs his chin against my forehead. "Did you get a concussion?"
Two knocks, and Bo Shuyu jolts awake from her dream.
Someone picks up a chess piece between two fingers and taps it impatiently against the board.
The hand has skin so pale it makes the faint pink of his lips stand out.
"Th... what is this?" His Chinese is a complete mess.
"Chess," Bo Shuyu says awkwardly.
Beneath his dark chestnut hair, emotion nearly spills from his gray-blue eyes. "I ask, chess, it called, what?"
The piece I knew even if it turned to ash in my dream is suddenly impossible to name. All I can manage is, "General, marshal, cannon... uh..."
Cen Jiayue tosses the piece aside, knocking half the chess pieces over with a clatter.
He stands and says something in English to the butler.
Bo Shuyu hears him clearly.
"Fire this fraud. Right now. Immediately."
● First love is a raging fever, and you are the only cure.
■ A goofy, down-on-his-luck comic artist vs. a wandering mixed-blood playboy heir
Blurb written on May 19, 2026. Screenshot saved.
Theme: Study hard and keep striving every day.
