The Optimal Solution

[Pre-release: "Come Join the Olympics If You Dare". Add it to your collection if you like it!] [Complete: Campus life / coming of age / mutual pining / top student x academic prodigy] The day Xi Zhiran decided to put an end to her secret crush, she did something huge. One afternoon when she was nineteen, during a group nap break. She stole a kiss on Sheng Zhao's cheek... Then he had an anemic episode and was rushed to the ICU by ambulance that very afternoon. Xi Zhiran anxiously waited outside his hospital room all afternoon. At last, she clutched Sheng Zhao's hand, tears in her eyes, and said: "I'm really sorry. I'll take responsibility for you." ★ Many years later, Xi Zhiran thought back to the first time she met Sheng Zhao. In the office, the cool, aloof young man spoke with a hint of frustration: "I spent a lot of time on that problem, but I still couldn't find the optimal solution." Back then, Xi Zhiran secretly watched him using the mirror on the desk. The early morning sunlight was golden and distant. The young man's figure was straight and poised, and the bright sunlight seemed to dance in his black hair. At that moment, the wind lifted the pale hem of his shirt. Now, Sheng Zhao was attending the launch of a new theory, and Xi Zhiran was directing the event. Onstage, Sheng Zhao stood beneath the spotlight. "My job is to find the optimal solution in data theory, and to give everything I have to that process." Backstage, Xi Zhiran reached for his hand in the darkness and asked with mock seriousness, "Mr. Sheng Zhao, may I ask if I'm your optimal solution?" Sheng Zhao didn't answer. Instead, he took off his mask and lowered his head to kiss his wife's forehead. He took her hand in his, their rings overlapping. "I'll strive to become the optimal solution that matches yours, and you will always be the one and only choice I spend my whole life searching for." Tips: 1. Main story: high school to university. Bonus chapters: careers to married life. 2. Soft hamster-like top student x iceberg ragdoll-cat academic prodigy, then documentary director x physicist. 3. Able-bodied ordinary person x disabled genius. [There is a place in my soul that waits for a divine revelation. Of all people, you are the only one I want to love.] --Narcissus and Goldmund #Pre-release: "Come Join the Olympics If You Dare!" Blurb: [Stuttering, sunny athlete x world-weary, retired champion turned commentator] [Four-year age gap + secret crush comes true + mutual devotion] In 2020, twenty-one-year-old Wei Jiayi wore the Chinese flag over her shoulders. Her coach ushered her in front of the media. Reporters, each holding a microphone, looked at her eagerly. "Jiayi, you've been in the sport for exactly ten years, and now you've won a gold medal. What do you think was the most important thing that got you this far?" Wei Jiayi was socially anxious, and her little face flushed red. She thought of her parents, who expected her to become a phoenix; her iron-fisted, merciless coach; the perpetually broken air conditioner at the training ground; and her first love, which had come to nothing... She grabbed the nearest microphone and said, trembling, "A long, long, long time ago, someone told me, 'If you're so capable, then j-join the Olympics!'" The whole room burst into laughter. An inquisitive reporter asked, "Who said that to you? Was it a competitor?" "No." Wei Jiayi shook her head bitterly. "It was my boyfriend. My current one." She thought for a moment, then added, "He's next door, covering rhythmic gymnastics. Do y-you want to interview him too?" ※ In 2016, twenty-one-year-old Fu Yuyin retired due to an injury. He returned to his alma mater. Row upon row of youthful faces looked at him with regret and nervousness. He felt like a vine untouched by sunlight, gloomy and without hope. Seeing those people approach him so cautiously only irritated him. Then a young girl grabbed his wrist and stammered out her feelings. "Athlete Fu, Fu Yuyin! You're so, so amazing. You're my favorite archery athlete. Please don't have any regrets. From now on, I'll carry on, moving forward for both of us!" Fu Yuyin had heard plenty of words of encouragement, but this was the first time he'd heard something so shameless. He looked up coldly and gave a mocking smile, his voice melodious. "If you're so capable, then go compete in the Olympics." Thesis: A distant resemblance.