He's Not Romantic

[My current novel, My Useless Fake Young Master Is My Childhood Friend, updates daily. Next up: After I Lay Down My Armor, I Married the Frail Heir. Weibo: @Li Yao]

[A sweet academic couple's everyday life: aloof, secretly passionate professor x goofy, adorable postdoctoral researcher]

While doing fieldwork in the countryside, Xie Li's advisor recommended a reference book. It was as thick as a brick, obscure, and difficult to understand.

Xie Li found it overwhelming and casually tossed it aside. Then she hopped on Second Brother Ji's little motorbike and headed to the next interview location.

Later, Xie Li returned to campus for her thesis defense and saw Second Brother Ji, impeccably dressed in a suit, among the committee of experts. He was also the author of that reference book: Ji Chenhe, a young anthropologist who had just transferred to her university.

The man had cool, refined features and never cracked a smile. His gaze from behind his glasses was as sharp as his questions, leaving a roomful of PhD candidates sweating bullets.

Xie Li kept a confident smile on her face, though inside she was a nervous wreck. She had a bad feeling that her academic future at Ping University was looking bleak.

Ji Chenhe traveled widely for research, devoted to academia and focused on a niche, painstaking field. He never expected others to understand or praise him.

Then one day, a beautiful young woman puffed out her cheeks and complained that his book was no good.

Professor Ji went home and reread his book over and over, falling into a crisis of self-doubt unlike any he'd experienced before.

Xie Li came from a good family and had an impressive education. Her many admirers felt so inferior that they only dared admire her from afar.

Ji Chenhe was cold and sharp-tongued, and still single in his thirties.

The teachers and students at Ping University all lamented that these two wasted their good looks.

Then one day, everyone discovered that they'd become neighbors. Professor Ji bought milk tea for Teacher Xie, Teacher Xie walked Professor Ji's dog, and they even sat side by side to publish their papers.

Reader's guide:

No angst, just a lighthearted everyday story. Don't take the anthropology details too seriously.

Both leads are sexually inexperienced, one-on-one romance, happy ending.

Next up: After I Lay Down My Armor, I Married the Frail Heir. Here's the blurb:

After her father and elder brother died in battle, Xie Fenglin led an army to guard the border for five years, earning great honors.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, he summoned her back to the capital. Everyone believed he meant to make his cousin, his childhood sweetheart, his empress. Even Xie Fenglin thought so.

But when she arrived in the capital, another woman was already standing by the emperor's side. He simply bestowed on Xie Fenglin the title of consort.

Kneeling in the palace hall, Xie Fenglin raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Your Majesty, I have long since given my heart to someone else. Forgive me, but I cannot accept..."

The emperor's expression changed drastically, but the empress spoke first. "Who does the general love? Just ask His Majesty to arrange the marriage."

Xie Fenglin looked across the assembled court officials. Her gaze landed on a man in the crowd, covering his mouth with his sleeve as he coughed. She pointed at him. "Him."

The man froze, coughed up blood, and fainted.

Jiang Shu, heir to the Marquis of Anle, was handsome, but gravely ill. Then he married Xie Fenglin, a woman believed to bring death to her father and brothers.

They say the two can't stand each other and have no affection between them.

The emperor knew his cousin was just sulking at him. After making her spend some time alone in the marital bed, he disguised himself and left the palace to visit her. Jiang Shu didn't have long to live. As long as she was willing to lower her head, there would always be a place for her in the harem.

But when he arrived at the marquis's residence, he found his cousin nestled in the arms of a man who looked like an immortal, eyes closed as she listened to him read.

Hearing the commotion, she frowned slightly. "Dear, is that Big Yellow back? Hurry and let it out. It's so annoying."

One-on-one romance, the second male lead becomes the main love interest, happy ending.

Theme: Devote yourself to scholarship and live rationally.