She Shines Like a Diamond

[Currently updating: "He Wants Her", an arrogant favorite who willingly becomes a stand-in for love]

[My friend's new novel: "The Cicada Knows Not the Snow", a scheming little ray of sunshine x a sensible person with no common sense. Plenty of updates!]

-

[Blurb]

One:

In her seven years since debuting, Qin Yao has won countless awards, leaving her peers far behind. She keeps such a low profile that she might as well have retired, except when promoting a new production. She never appears on variety shows or reality programs, and doesn't even give interviews.

Rumor has it she's secretly involved with the president of her agency. People in the industry speculate about which mogul is keeping her as a canary in a gilded cage, but she never responds or explains.

When asked what she's looking for in a partner, she only says, "Someone who can play the harmonica."

She climbed steadily to the heights, while those who built the stage beneath her raised her ever higher. Others waited for her to fall from grace.

The world adored her beauty, praised her talent, envied her family background, and looked upon her as a bright, solitary moon in a parched desert.

Only Jiang Mi had seen her covered in wounds, brushed the dust and mud from her path, and stayed there waiting for her, never moving on.

Two:

At 12:10 a.m., Qin Yao made an unusual post: a short video, just over ten seconds long.

The camera faced the floor-to-ceiling window. Reflected in the glass, lit by neon on a rainy night, were two indistinct figures.

She sat at the piano. An unknown man stood beside it, playing the harmonica. They exchanged knowing glances now and then. Their features were impossible to make out, but their silhouettes left plenty to the imagination.

The caption read: Us.

After posting it, Jiang Mi bent down and kissed the back of her hand, then tenderly kissed his way upward, little by little. Qin Yao laughed softly twice. Their reflections overlapped in the window, entwined in tender intimacy.

Her phone fell onto the carpet, its screen glowing faintly as the comments beneath the video multiplied at an astonishing rate.

In the morning, Jiang Mi reposted it with the caption: "Salut d'Amour."

-

The moon has pushed me away hundreds of times, yet I have drawn near to it tens of thousands more.

[Before You Read]

* A little old-fashioned

* Both are each other's first and only; happy ending, with a bittersweet romance and a touch of angst

* A fictional entertainment industry setting (all names, places, and events in this story are made up; none are based on real people or events)

* Mutual salvation (they are uniquely special to each other, but not dependent on each other)

* Not without flaws, just for entertainment

Theme: Break free from the sins of others and embrace your true, free self