Name: The Temperature of Our Relationship
Author: Bei Mingchuan

Synopsis

Please add my next book, Lost Stars, to your reading list! The blurb is below.

[Blurb]

A cool on the outside, warm on the inside rich boy who's really not that rich x a sweet girl who's naturally beautiful, fair-skinned, sensitive, and insecure

[1] The day Yan Yun was taken back to her father's home, her mother held her hand and told her, "You have to be good."

Yan Yun remembered. She thought it was a simple request, because all her life, being "good" had been what she did best.

Then one day, someone suddenly told her that she didn't have to be good.

Yan Yun would never forget that smoky private room. Under the dim lights, everyone laughed and egged them on, while Qi Wu held her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

The reason for that kiss was that Qi Wu had lost a game.

"Yan Yun, why don't you think it over? From now on, just stay with me."

"Okay."

Two young people who had grown up in the shadows collided like this. Each was steadfast, and they became the one and only splash of color in each other's barren years.

[2] But things unfolded in a way no one expected. A sharp slap landed hard across Yan Yun's face.

"Do you even know who he is?"

Yan Yun couldn't feel any pain. Her gaze grew unfocused as she kept thinking: How could she not know who he was?

He was Qi Wu... Was that not allowed?

They said it wasn't.

So one parting turned into years apart.

Unlike the bitter winter when they first met, when spring came and the flowers bloomed, Yan Yun embraced once more the person she'd longed for day and night.

"Qi Wu, does what you said to me still count?"

"It does."

"But you haven't even asked which thing I mean."

"Whatever it is, it counts."

The boy of yesterday had grown into a man who could command the business world and shift its tides. Yet the moment he saw Yan Yun, Qi Wu's eyes reddened and he broke down in tears.

"We won't be apart again this time."

"Okay."

We'll never be apart again.

Yan Yun used to search for an answer: how much of the boy's love had been real?

She always wondered if she could ever love him.

Only later did she understand that time would eventually give her an answer.

Content warnings: Both leads have flaws, so please don't take things too seriously. Nobody's perfect.

The plot is melodramatic and a little slow to start, but the romance and storyline are both developed with care.

There are lots of author-created details, so don't take things too seriously. This is the author's usual style: sweet moments and plenty of heartbreak! Read at your own discretion.

[Upcoming Book Blurb]

Lost Stars

"For someone, you are the center of the universe. Like the Small Magellanic Cloud, you shine with the light of the whole universe and help them find their way, even if you may not realize it." - NASA

Before she met Zheng Xunuo, Wen Xingruan struggled through a life that was bleak and endless.

After meeting Zheng Xunuo, Wen Xingruan was like a traveler wandering through the night who had glimpsed an illusory light.

She saw Zheng Xunuo surrounded by admirers. Even the people around him seemed to sparkle. He felt as if an entire universe separated them, too far away to reach.

Maybe she could get a little closer to him...

The pen in her hand kept moving across the exam paper.

That was what Wen Xingruan thought.

When the results came out that day, Zheng Xunuo was first and Wen Xingruan second. Their names were less than two centimeters apart. It was the closest they had ever been.

Wen Xingruan suddenly heard someone say her name. She turned around and saw Zheng Xunuo with his back to her, his hair looking languid in the sunlight.

He gave a soft laugh and casually said to the person in front of him, "Anyone but her."

*

Wen Xingruan thought back countless times to that winter night. The snow was heavy, and the wind cut into her like a knife.

She was frozen to the bone.

Through the howling wind, she faintly heard footsteps. When she looked up, she saw a familiar figure running toward her.

The boy's shoulders weren't broad yet, but he blocked all the wind and snow, leaving her a warm place to shelter.

After that, no winter was ever as cold as that one.

And the person from that winter never appeared again.

Time passed. Wen Xingruan never thought she would meet him again.

By then, neither of them was the same as before.

Only this time, Wen Xingruan deliberately avoided him at every turn, while Zheng Xunuo pursued her relentlessly.

After one night of drinking, Wen Xingruan boldly lifted Zheng Xunuo's chin and told him, "If you're lonely, go find someone else."