Listen Closely

[Physical book preorders begin November 26. Limited-time author-signed copies available across all platforms. For details, follow Weibo @Mu Tianw]

There are two things in this world that Lin Sui Sui has always wanted but never been able to have.

The first is her hearing, damaged when she was fifteen, which meant she could never play the violin again.

The second is Lu Cheng.

On her first day after transferring to Jiangcheng No. 8 High School, she happened to see Lu Cheng on the sports field, acting intimately and unabashedly with a long-haired girl.

Annoyed at being watched by a stranger, the boy frowned and snapped, "What are you looking at?"

Lin Sui Sui ran off, blushing.

A secret crush is a little monster. It devours every page of a girl's diary, yet can never be spoken aloud.

She was a boring deaf girl.

Lu Cheng looked down on her.

Until much later, when Lin Sui Sui took off her hearing aids and Lu Cheng's kiss fell on the curve of her ear, tracing it gently. His lips seemed to be calling her name, one word at a time, overflowing with tenderness.

"Little Ears, I could never like you."

-A few words of right and wrong / still can't cool my passion / you appear on every page of my poems.

Tips:

1. High school and urban settings. A deaf violinist girl x an unruly devil of a deskmate. They save each other.

2. The heroine has a secret crush early on; later, the hero pursues his wife. The blurb isn't mistaken; the story will explain later.

3. The last line is from Jay Chou's "Qilixiang."

4. [Highlight] Happy ending!

Here's a new project, Strange Summer. Please add it to your collections in advance!

Blurb:

On a damp, sweltering summer night in the rain, Shen Jiashe cornered Zhong Ting in a deserted alley.

"You can't speak, and you can't call for help, right?" Shen Jiashe curled his lips, wearing the careless, insolent air of a teenage boy. "I want to kiss you right now. You can't call anyone to save you. What are you going to do?"

Zhong Ting stared at him, dazed, her cheeks flushed. She gestured with both hands, signing a sentence.

Shen Jiashe scratched his head. "I can't understand that. Forget it. You can go."

-

Zhong Ting's secret was hidden in every summer downpour.

She was a lonely, ridiculous onlooker. From the first time Shen Jiashe pulled her away from a gang of bullies, she could no longer bring herself to stop.

Shen Jiashe was a bastard too. She knew that.

Still, years later, when that bastard signed the same sentence to her, she couldn't stop her eyes from reddening.

The sign meant, "I like you."

Theme: Youth is precious, and time does not let us down.