A Glimmer Stirring the Dust

Column: Xiaonan's Home. Weibo: @NanjiaTaky

(Glow is a companion story to Crossing the Bridge. Jiang Fan's past is mentioned in Crossing the Bridge.)

He once fell into the gutter, his reputation in tatters. He thought he would never see the light of day again, never knowing that one day, a ray of light would dazzle him.

Jiang Fan returned from his morning run and ran into Lin Weiguang at the entrance to the residential compound. She was hurrying along, her hair a little messy, as if she'd just rushed back from somewhere.

He gave her a polite nod and started to walk past, but Lin Weiguang suddenly grabbed him by the forearm.

"Wait, wait, wait." She held on to him, not letting him leave, and looked up at him. "Did you bring your household register?"

Jiang Fan had no idea why she was asking. He could clearly feel the weight of her leaning on his arm and pulling him down. Looking at her pale, breathless face, he thought for a moment and decided not to shake her off.

"No. What do you need it for?"

"To get our marriage certificate, obviously." Lin Weiguang lowered her head, rummaged through her bag, and proudly held up her household register before his eyes as if showing off a treasure. "Look, I'm all ready."

This was the fifth day after their blind date.

Important: This is not an unrequited-love story! It isn't! It really isn't!

Coming next: Under a Sky Full of Stars. Please add it to your favorites!

Male version:

Jiang Xu thought there was a reason Liang Shan had spent two years trying to make her debut, still stuck in the ranks of minor celebrities without ever becoming popular. She was a rare oddball. Anyone who liked or followed her had to be blind.

Later, he realized that he was the blindest person in the world.

Female version:

In Liang Shan's eyes, Jiang Xu was stingy, sharp-tongued, and lacking in gentlemanly manners. His only good point was probably that he owned a house he would be paying off for thirty years. She repeatedly declared that a worthless doctor like him was destined to be single for life. No woman with decent eyesight would jump into his pit.

Later, she jumped in and stayed there for the rest of her life.

In short, this is the story of a minor celebrity who can take a fall, get back up, and shamelessly wheedle, as she battles wits with her landlord, gets exploited at every turn, grows poorer by the day, and is ultimately taken in by her landlord, a secretly wealthy heir from a long line of rich people.

Scene One:

Liang Shan fell off her little electric scooter and injured her forehead. Afraid she'd be disfigured, she turned pale with alarm and hurried to the nearest hospital where Jiang Xu worked, teetering along in her high heels to get her wound treated.

After examining her, the doctor said she needed stitches. She was instantly filled with dread and anxiously reminded him to make the stitches look good, since she made her living with her face.

Jiang Xu watched coolly from the side. Hearing this, he calmly instructed, "Dr. Feng, stitch a flower into her wound."

Scene Two:

Liang Shan asked Jiang Xu to take her to see a newly built housing development that was about to go on sale. Proudly pointing to one of the buildings, she said, "That one is better than your place, right? See? I'm going to buy one like that. I'm saving up."

Jiang Xu replied indifferently, "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Liang Shan grinned. "I've saved almost twenty thousand already. Soon I'll be able to put my name on its property deed."

"A down payment of one or two hundred thousand?"

"No." Liang Shan shook her head. "Seven hundred thousand."

Jiang Xu: "..."

(A little showbiz, but the heroine is just an extra in the industry at first. Becoming an award-winning actress is about as likely as us being related eight hundred generations back. Later, she's no longer in showbiz.)

Completed novels:

The Safest Place Is Home (rough-and-tumble hero, male lead is a punk)

To You, My Noble One (doctor romance, heroine pursues hero)

Crossing the Bridge (pregnancy before love)

How Could Clouds Not Bring Joy (marriage before love, male lead is a walking vinegar jar)

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