We Don't Know Each Other Well

When he was eight, the cool boy Yu Jiang looked around, then lifted his chin toward the little girl at the far end. "Her."

From then on, Chen Ai became his exclusive dance partner, and they danced together for seven years.

Yu Jiang probably knew the lines of Chen Ai's body better than she did herself, but Chen Ai found it harder and harder to understand the grown-up Yu Jiang. In public, they acted like strangers. In private...

In the high school building's corridor, Yu Jiang and Chen Ai walked toward each other.

A classmate nudged Yu Jiang. "Hey, isn't that the girl who brought you your homework this morning? Introduce us later, will you?"

Yu Jiang kept his eyes straight ahead. "We're not that close."

They passed each other without a word.

That evening, Chen Ai got home and opened her phone. A string of messages popped up.

Yu Jiang: Holy crap, good thing you brought my homework in time. Otherwise, you might have had to come collect my corpse!

Yu Jiang: Did you go out to get takeout at noon? Don't eat too much. It's not tasty or nutritious, and it'll make you gain weight.

Yu Jiang: Where are you? Where are you?

Chen Ai: "..."

She rolled her eyes and typed: "Classmate, we aren't close, you know~"

New novel, He Thought He Was a Substitute, now ongoing

Blurb:

Princess Yun Wanhe of Qingyi grew up in the palace, adored by the emperor and indulged by the empress dowager. She and her childhood sweetheart were also in love with each other. But after her coming-of-age ceremony, she learned that he had chosen to marry another girl!

After causing a scene in the capital, she "volunteered" to go to Yongzhou to clear her head. There, she unexpectedly met Xu Jingzhi, an illegitimate son of the Xu family who looked about five parts like her childhood sweetheart.

Hate the house, hate the crow on its roof. When you dislike someone, looking like that person is your fault.

From then on, whenever Xu Jingzhi reached for a dish, she cleared the table.

Whenever Xu Jingzhi tried to speak, she chatted over him.

Whenever Xu Jingzhi went to sleep, she recited poetry!

Seeing the taciturn man grind his teeth in frustration, utterly helpless against her, Yun Wanhe was delighted.

But it seems people really shouldn't celebrate too soon. After an accident, the two fell into the Jialing River. Not only did Yun Wanhe receive air from him mouth to mouth, they also ended up wandering in exile in an enemy kingdom, relying on each other to survive.

As they drifted along, though, she began to feel that something was off. At some point, even without teasing Xu Jingzhi, she found herself happy just being with him.

The second male lead's perspective:

Wang Cunmo was a young nobleman. From childhood, he had been taught to put his family first, so he set aside his feelings for the princess and chose someone else. When he heard she had left the capital to clear her head, he was so distracted he could think only of waiting until she returned.

But the next news he received was that she had disappeared in the Jialing River, her life or death unknown. He had never felt so panicked. For the first time, he defied his family and went to look for her.

He risked his life to see her, only to find another man by her side, a man who looked about five parts like him.

Wang Cunmo: "A-Wan, I was wrong. Come back with me. You don't have to pin your hopes on someone who looks like me anymore. I'll stay by your side from now on."

Yun Wanhe: ...Who are you?

The male lead's perspective:

Xu Jingzhi had a father who didn't care for him and a mother who didn't love him. He dragged through life like a ghost in the Xu household, as unnoticed as air.

Then, out of nowhere, a princess appeared. She seemed unable to see anyone else and spent every day hanging around him.

After relying on each other for more than half a year, he finally let down his guard and acknowledged his feelings. He wanted no one but her. But then a man who looked somewhat like him suddenly appeared. He was her childhood sweetheart, the one she had always wanted to marry.

So it turned out he was nothing but a substitute.

Fine. If he was a substitute, then so be it. He accepted it.

Xu Jingzhi: "If you're living with him, I won't come over. I don't want to get in his way. Find me a place outside. I can support myself. Just remember to visit me every month."

Yun Wanhe rolled her eyes. "He lives at his place, and you live at mine!"

Theme: Study hard and improve together.