Heartbeat Gambit

- The story is complete. My new novel, Falling for You Late, is now available next door. Please add it to your library! 1. Nan City University has plenty of well-known figures, but the most talked-about are Bo Yi and Xu Li. The former comes from a poor family, is handsome and cool-tempered, and is known as Nan University's untouchable campus heartthrob. The latter comes from a wealthy family, is gorgeous and spoiled, and has countless admirers at her beck and call. They are worlds apart, and everyone agrees they are the least likely couple to ever get together. No one knows that, one summer evening many years ago, Xu Li became unforgettable to Bo Yi. Later, Xu Li suddenly announced that she would win Bo Yi over within a month, and even made a big show of moving into his home. Faced with the girl he liked deliberately drawing closer, Bo Yi coolly warned her, "Xu Li, don't tempt me." But on the day Xu Li played hard to get and tried to move out, Bo Yi, who had always been calm and restrained, held the slyly smiling girl in his trembling arms. His voice was utterly humble as he said, "Stay. Be with me." Just when everyone thought the story had ended perfectly, Xu Li dumped Bo Yi and boarded a plane to Tokyo to study abroad. 2. When they met again, the boy who had once been poor had become a rising star in finance, pursued by countless socialites and actresses. A reporter asked Bo Yi, standing at the top of the world yet still alone, whether there was someone he couldn't forget. Bo Yi looked into the camera, his expression indifferent. "No." Later, the two met at a gathering of friends, where someone deliberately brought up the subject. Xu Li smiled brightly. "It was just a fling. Who would take it seriously?" Just as everyone was about to laugh at Bo Yi for having loved in vain, Xu Li stood up and walked over to him. In front of everyone, she boldly kissed him, gazed into his dark eyes, and said earnestly, "I took it seriously." "So I ended up falling into your hands." 3. One day after they got back together, Xu Li found a notebook in Bo Yi's study that she had thrown away in high school. On its yellowed first page was a passage: "I don't know how I fell in love with you, or when, or where. I love you. Because I don't know what other choice I have besides loving you." - "Your heartbeat is the bugle that sounds the beginning of this battle of love." * A mischievous flirt who treats life as a game × an aloof heartthrob on his pedestal * From university to city life, with high school memories woven in; he falls for her first * Note: The heroine is not a virgin, but the hero is. Readers who mind should proceed with caution. * Note: The quoted lines are from Pablo Neruda's Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. 1. Ming Yao would always remember that spring evening when she was sixteen. The clouds over the athletic field looked as if they were burning. She glanced up without thinking and saw a boy beneath an apricot tree, his head lowered as he toyed with a basketball, a carefree, roguish smile on his face. That one breathtaking glance stayed with Ming Yao for years. Years later, they met again. Ming Yao had blossomed from an ugly duckling into a swan. The once brilliant young man had fallen from his pedestal, his face downcast, with none of his youthful confidence left. Ming Yao helped Chen Fang emerge from the shadows of his past. As they grew closer, she could no longer suppress the feelings she had hidden in her heart. After a gathering, Ming Yao borrowed courage from the alcohol and confessed to Chen Fang. Chen Fang deliberately avoided her adoring gaze. His expression was casual, but his words were earnest. "Ming Yao, you deserve someone better." 2. When they met again, Ming Yao was the lead screenwriter on a production team visiting Chen Fang's fire station to observe and learn. This time, Ming Yao kept a proper distance from Chen Fang, aside from the work they had to do together. Later, the station held a matchmaking event, and Ming Yao reluctantly joined in after everyone urged her to. After the event, Chen Fang cornered her in a hallway. The warm yellow light softened the man's deep-set features. He stared intently into her eyes, waiting for her to speak. Ming Yao stubbornly turned her face away and spoke in a trembling voice. "Chen Fang, I don't want to like you anymore." Chen Fang gripped her chin and bent down to kiss her, his voice rough with emotion. "Who else do you think you're allowed to like besides me?" - "I fell for you late, but I will love you for a lifetime." * Gentle and steadfast × roguish and unruly * From campus to city life; a secret crush comes true * Blurb first written on June 22, 2021, revised on August 6, 2022 * Notes: 1. They are each other's first love, and both are virgins. Readers who care about this are welcome. 2. The story is set first on campus, then in the city, with the two parts making up roughly 40% and 60% of the novel. Theme: Run forward and chase your dreams.