A Quiet Flutter of the Heart

[Main story complete, bonus chapters updating]

When they first met, the boy had pale skin and perfect bone structure. His cool, aloof, and noble air made him impossibly handsome.

They said he wouldn't even raise an eyelid if the prettiest girl confessed to him.

Shen Li was the only exception. Quiet and timid, she blushed whenever she got nervous. Even after becoming his deskmate, she was too shy to talk to him.

Yet his gaze always landed on her.

On New Year's Eve, he called again and again, urging her to come downstairs. She was too afraid to leave the house, and only sneaked out in the middle of the night. Beneath the dim streetlights, the boy was wrapped in a chill, but his eyes alone shone like stars. He twirled a strand of her hair and leaned toward her. "Could you show a little conscience?"

As her heart raced, he bit her for the first time.

Even though they looked perfect together, no one thought someone like Gu Jingyuan could ever be tamed by her.

But on graduation night, someone saw him holding her chin, smiling with lazy, wicked charm. "We can't get a marriage license, but surely I can at least get a kiss?"

Her lashes fluttered. With her ears burning red, she turned her head away.

The ever-proud boy bent down after her, kissing her eyes and calling her "Your Majesty."

No one knew that when he was seven, he had already taken her home with him. Even he hadn't expected that one day he would fall for her completely.

Mutual secret crushes, a sweet little romance.

Let me recommend my upcoming novel:

Secretly in Love, by Mo Zizhe

1

In high school, he was the handsome heartthrob of the affiliated school, with a privileged family and more medals than he could count. Countless girls liked him.

She was quiet and unremarkable. She tried with all her might but couldn't get into the Olympiad class. Her only connection to him was that she lived with his family. Even when she rode home on his bicycle at night, they barely spoke.

When his friends teased him about her, he merely raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Give it a rest. She's my little sister."

The boldest thing she ever did was steal a kiss from him at his coming-of-age ceremony.

When he opened his eyes, she immediately lost her nerve and could only blame the alcohol as she called him by his friend's name.

He threw her out the door and pointed at Li Yan, laughing scornfully. "Keep her in line."

2

As adults, he was still dazzling, while she was just a nobody of an actress. When other people stole her roles, all she could do was quietly put up with it. What she did most often was sneak to his city just to taste a dish he'd once eaten.

They met again at a banquet. When she was being forced to drink, he finally lost his patience and pulled her into a corner. "Where's Li Yan? Isn't he looking after you?"

He glanced at her, still noble, proud, and utterly conceited.

For the first time, she couldn't hide her feelings. Her eyes red, she rasped, "We broke up ages ago."

After a stunned silence, he swore. "Why are you crying? Your big brother will introduce you to someone better."

He gripped her chin, his smile wickedly charming. "What about me?"

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

Theme: Strive together, and make your youth count.