Name: Kindling Desire
Author: Nan Zhi

Synopsis

[My next stories will be "Hurry Up and Hide Me" and "Falling for You Without Permission." Please add them to your reading list!]

The first time Shen Xingxing saw Xu Ran singing in a bar, she started having impure thoughts about him.

She'd heard that he used to be involved with a woman much older than him and had loved her deeply. Even after the woman died, he kept helping to care for her intellectually disabled son.

Besides singing, he worked several jobs during the day and seemed to be short on money.

That night, Shen Xingxing counted up all her assets. The next day, she tossed a bank card in front of him. "Here's five hundred thousand. Think of it as your big sister lending you the money."

Xu Ran looked up from his guitar, his eyes full of knowing, mocking laughter. "You're awfully kind to me, big sister!"

Shen Xingxing spent ages coaxing and cajoling him, trying to secure her identity as his "creditor."

But this little brother wouldn't give in, no matter what she tried!

*

It wasn't until later, when Shen Xingxing's unattainable crush came looking for her, that she stopped bothering Xu Ran for several days.

One night, she was having a delightful conversation with her crush and was seeing him out when she suddenly spotted Xu Ran leaning against the entrance to her home.

The man's tall, slender figure was enveloped by the night. Moonlight filled his eyes, and his faintly amused smile was irresistibly alluring!

"It's the end of the year. I'm here to settle your debt, big sister."

Shen Xingxing: ?

He glanced at the crush beside her and leaned in even more suggestively. "Didn't you say that a debt of gratitude can be repaid any way I like?"

Shen Xingxing: ...

The male lead has never liked anyone else. The female lead is his first love.

Blurb screenshot dated November 3, 2020

1. A bratty troublemaker and loyal puppy VS a queen who keeps messing up

2. The male lead sings at a bar; the female lead is a down-on-her-luck comic artist

3. Both virgins, older woman-younger man romance, she's three years older, a sweet urban romance

[Coming soon: "Falling for You Without Permission"]

1. On the first day Ji Yao was brought to the Jiang family, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang took turns warning her: she could offend anyone she liked, but she absolutely must not mess with their family's little devil.

Ji Yao could only nod in confusion. She instinctively assumed this person had to be terrifying.

Later, the terrifying boy came home for the weekend. On a lazy afternoon, he cornered Ji Yao beneath the stairs.

"You're my dad's friend's daughter?"

The boy's exquisite features were half-hidden in the backlight. His deep, bright eyes seemed naturally tender, and when he smiled, he looked like two whirlpools that could drown you.

Ji Yao glanced at him, immediately lowered her head, and nodded softly.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Ji Yao denied it. "...No."

The boy smiled. "Then why won't you look at me?"

2. Ji Yao secretly loved Jiang Wanyang. Her entire youth was spent trying to hide the secret, and she always thought she'd done a great job.

Until one day, she accidentally overheard him chatting with his childhood friend.

"Your little sister seems to have ulterior motives toward you."

He answered, "I figured that out ages ago."

His friend was puzzled. "If you know, why do you ignore it and show no reaction?"

He casually smoked his cigarette, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. "She fell for me without permission. What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm not interested in obedient little white rabbits!"

3. From that day on, Ji Yao forcibly put an end to all her "ulterior motives" toward him.

When one of her suitors won the approval of the Jiang family, she decided to try accepting a new relationship.

One night, her suitor walked her home and, unable to help himself, kissed the back of her hand goodnight before leaving.

Jiang Wanyang watched everything from the second floor. A tide of fury swept over him, and he instantly wanted to tear the man apart.

When Ji Yao returned inside, he cornered her on the stairs once again.

"Are you getting back at me?"

Ji Yao didn't even lift her head. "No."

Her indifference finally made Jiang Wanyang lose control completely.

"Then why won't you look at me?"

He pressed Ji Yao into the corner, gripping her chin and forcing her to look up. His eyes were full of restrained resentment and unwillingness. "Ji Yao, look at me..."

1. A roguishly handsome, cold-hearted, smiling fox VS a decisive, resilient little white rabbit

2. An unconventional groveling romance, forced love, a sweet little story

3. Both virgins

[Coming soon: "Hurry Up and Hide Me"]

One stormy night, Lu Zhixia found a man and brought him home.

The man had a head injury and had lost his memory. His intelligence also seemed to have dropped to that of a five- or six-year-old.

He was timid and especially afraid of the dark. Whenever it thundered or rained, or when night fell without the lights on, he would always fearfully burrow into Lu Zhixia's arms.

Lu Zhixia thought he was so pretty, and couldn't resist teasing him. "Baby, call me Mommy."

The obedient baby raised his hand. "Mommy, hug me."

And so Lu Zhixia happily became a mother, raising the man with great care for several months.

*

Until one day, the man suddenly regained his memory and intelligence. Only then did Lu Zhixia learn that he was the top boss at the headquarters of her corporate group.

She'd long heard that the boss was cold and ruthless, decisive and merciless, and could make you pack your things and leave on the spot if he was displeased.

That night, Lu Zhixia came home and saw the man leaning against the doorway, smoking.

Through the thin haze of smoke, the man turned his head and smiled at her, his expression sinister with mockery and bloodlust. "Mommy, you're home?"

Lu Zhixia, whose legs had gone weak as she leaned against the wall: "..."

Later, Lu Zhixia would cry out "Daddy" every night as she paid off her debt. "I regret it so much. I really, really regret it..."

#The silly little guy I raised for months turned out to be the iron-fisted boss of headquarters?#

Reading guide:

1. A scheming, black-hearted big bad wolf VS a sharp-tongued, timid little fairy

2. The male lead has amnesia and impaired intelligence at first, and is genuinely silly. Later, he really is "bad."

3. Both virgins and each other's first love, a sweet urban romance

Completed stories by the author:

1. Gentle, beautiful, and tragic: "The Hook"

1. Cool and possessive: "Little Tsundere"