Journey to Summer

“A secret crush is like a sudden downpour.” Yu Xia first met Chi Zhou on the day she learned her father was getting remarried. Her father introduced him: “This is Chi Zhou. He’ll be your brother from now on.” Rain poured down. She hid beneath a pavilion and cried for a long time, until he found her. Amid the noisy rain, he gave her two ume candies. “Maybe dopamine will cheer you up.” The next time she saw him was at the opening ceremony of her first day at an international school. He was speaking at the podium as the student representative. Only then did she learn that seventeen-year-old Chi Zhou shone like the sun, the most dazzling person in the entire school. So she worked as hard as she could, hoping to get a little closer to him. But the distance between them only grew, from the podium to the stage, from an unknown girl to a famous singer. - Years later, Chi Zhou ran into Yu Xia again, only to learn that she had secretly loved a boy for many years. He spent ages feeling jealous in secret. After hearing him describe the boy, his friend looked puzzled. “He likes ume candy and soda, and he gets great grades. Why do I feel like you’re describing yourself?” He thought his friend was just imagining things. Until one day, he found a cardboard box with a school uniform inside. His name was sewn onto the school crest. Beneath the uniform were several tickets to the seated section of his concert, along with a blurry photograph of them together. Only then did he learn that he had been her entire youth. Reading guide: * Gentle and reserved heroine × the school’s golden boy * Secret crush comes true / school to city / each other’s first love / HE * The main characters are not related by blood and are not registered in the same household. There is no romance while they are considered family. Coming soon: What Do You Mean, My Crush Has Had a Crush on Me for Three Years? Please add it to your reading list! After Zhu Ran was injured and lost a competition, she came close to breaking down emotionally. By chance, she came across a post from the guy she’d had a crush on for a year, advertising himself as a gaming companion. 【Broke and hungry, taking orders online. Available all day, ready whenever you call!】 Deciding to give it a try, Zhu Ran sent him a friend request. Half an hour later, Duan Yuan’an accepted. Duan Yuan’an: Want to place an order, boss? I’m online 24 hours a day and can play any game ^_^ Trying to contain her excitement, Zhu Ran asked, “How much?” Duan Yuan’an: 5.2 yuan an hour. Zhu Ran: ? Duan Yuan’an: Any questions, boss? I’m open to negotiation~ 【Zhu Ran places an order for 720 hours】 Zhu Ran: Do you offer monthly plans? Duan Yuan’an: Of course ^ ^ After gaming with Duan Yuan’an for a month, Zhu Ran realized she liked him even more. Encouraged by her friends, she decided to confess. But the day before she could, she learned he had been secretly in love with someone for three years. Duan Yuan’an: Boss, what kind of confession do you like? Heartbroken, Zhu Ran wanted to ruin his confession, so she made something up. “I like it when someone wears a suit, holds red roses, and shouts through a megaphone.” The next day, Duan Yuan’an appeared in front of her in a suit, holding a huge bouquet of red roses and carrying a megaphone. Zhu Ran: “???” - When Duan Yuan’an learned Zhu Ran had been injured, he was frantic with worry. He deliberately spread the word that he was available as a gaming companion, then had their mutual friends post dozens of ads so she wouldn’t miss them. The message spread so far that, after turning down more than a thousand orders, he finally spotted her username. - Even after they got together, Zhu Ran still couldn’t believe it was real. Duan Yuan’an gently tapped her forehead and sighed. “I had a crush on you for three years and pursued you for a month, and you still thought I liked someone else?” Zhu Ran finally understood. “So you really were pursuing me this whole month.” Theme: Strive toward a better future