Knocking on the Narrow Door [GB]

A seemingly universally adored, secretly gravity-powered woman x a gentle, timid, low-energy office worker

Sex first, love later | She has experience, he doesn't

*

Lin Zheng is bright and confident, a genius adored by everyone, radiant as the sun. Whenever people hear her name, they always ask, "Is Zheng the one in guzheng?"

Lin Zheng simply shakes her head and replies, "It's the Zheng in 'unyielding integrity.'"

Everyone loves Lin Zheng just the way she is.

And yet Lin Zheng is dating an utterly ordinary office worker.

His name is Shen Yu. Gentle and timid, he's like a bashful mimosa drooping quietly in a corner. The most outrageous thing he's ever done was getting drunk and somehow sleeping with Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng simply said, "I'll take responsibility."

Others always looked at him enviously and asked, "How did Lin Zheng ever fall for you?"

Shen Yu wanted to know too.

How could Lin Zheng fall for someone like him?

*

At first, everything was wonderful.

Lin Zheng would pick him up after work on her way home after working overtime, cut his steak into small pieces and push them toward him on dates, and kiss his trembling eyelashes late at night, murmuring gently, "Don't be scared. I'll be gentle."

On Valentine's Day, Shen Yu took a day off for the first time in ages, only to find Lin Zheng wasn't home. After asking around, he learned she'd gone out to meet friends.

Before he even opened the door, he heard someone ask, "So what's so great about Shen Yu, anyway?"

Lin Zheng's laughter came from inside, lazy and laced with casual amusement.

"Well, he..."

She drew out the words, as if weighing her answer or savoring some amusing memory.

"Have you ever seen a butterfly with its wings pinched? If you had, you wouldn't be asking me that."

*

"Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many; but the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Everyone was wrong.

Others thought it was condescending charity. Shen Yu thought it was a moment of weakness, an act of pity.

Only Lin Zheng knew the truth: she wasn't giving him love. She was searching for a door.

A narrow door.

Reader's guide:

1. This is the product of an unusual kink. Normal anatomy, no pregnancy, and no role reversal.

2. The heroine has an ex (also a GB relationship). The hero is physically and emotionally inexperienced, and the story focuses heavily on the two of them.

Theme: Do your job well