I've Liked You Since the Beginning

The upcoming stories "Admiration" and "Can't Help Flirting with You" are in my column. Please add them to your collection! Their blurbs are at the bottom.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Yan Qing learns that her family has arranged a childhood betrothal for her. The other party is a notorious hooligan who was sent by his family to the countryside to reflect on his actions after getting into a fight.

One day, she accompanies her mother back to the countryside to care for her grandmother.

Outside a pharmacy, she runs into a boy with a face full of bruises. He sits on the steps, a scowl full of menace between his brows and impatience written all over his face. Despite the injury, he's so handsome it's impossible to ignore him.

Their eyes meet. He looks at her with a roguish grin. "What are you looking at? Got a bandage?"

He points at the bruises on his face. "It hurts."

Yan Qing squeezes her sweaty palm and, feeling dizzy, hands over every bandage in her pocket.

The boy's lips curl into a faint smile as he stares straight at her.

The moment she turns away, she hears him say to his buddies, "She's pretty cute."

Later, Chang Jian relentlessly pursues her and claims he'll win her over.

When the admission letters arrive, Yan Qing goes to another city far from home. For various reasons, she sends Chang Jian a message breaking up with him.

But Chang Jian never replies.

On her birthday, her roommates drag her out to celebrate. At a bar, she runs into Chang Jian, whom she hasn't seen in months. He lounges casually on the sofa, looking relaxed and languid.

Their eyes meet, then quickly part.

As Yan Qing walks past him in a daze, she hears him say, "It's only been a few months. Don't you recognize me?"

She freezes for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

Chang Jian curls his lips into a playful smile and says frivolously, "I heard someone wants to dump me."

He holds his glass and slowly says, "You can forget about that for the rest of your life."

#Love at First Sight#

Reader's Guide: 1. HE, both sexually inexperienced

2. A sweet little story

Blurb for "Admiration":

The next time Nan Zheng meets He Jiuzhen is five years later, outside the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department. Their eyes meet and then part, neither of them saying a word. An unsettling atmosphere that has lingered for years fills the air.

After a long while, He Jiuzhen finally speaks, his voice as warm and cool as ever. "Let's talk."

Nan Zheng's tongue tangles. "Talk... talk about what?"

He Jiuzhen's expression is calm. "Let's talk about why you suddenly left five years ago."

Their conversation ends badly, and he becomes even colder than before. His gaze toward her changes, too. Before leaving, he tosses out a harsh remark: "Then I'll give you what you want."

*

That night, a coworker next door calls for help. Nan Zheng grits her teeth and heads to the door in a thin lace nightdress. She runs straight into He Jiuzhen, who's just come home from work. Startled, she drops the sanitary pads in her arms, and they scatter across the floor, one rolling right to his feet.

He pauses, lowers his eyes to look at her, and lets his indifferent gaze travel from head to toe.

His face darkens instantly. He approaches her step by step, tugging at his tie with one hand as he looks down at her. His gaze turns shadowy. "You're dressed like that and still dare to wander around? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because there are no men on this floor?"

*

Later, at a big company dinner, He Jiuzhen shows up, and Nan Zheng finally learns that he's her direct supervisor, the head of the company, and the founder of Shengshi.

A drunk employee jokes with him, saying they'll introduce him to someone: a cute young woman three years younger than him.

He rubs his fingertips together and politely declines. When someone asks why, he laughs and says, "Younger girls run away too easily. They never stay tamed."

Nan Zheng is stunned. She can't shake the feeling that he was looking at her when he said it.

As soon as she gets home, he blocks her path, lowers his head, and kisses her. A faint scent of alcohol lingers between their lips.

He gazes at her with unfocused eyes, his voice hoarse and dark, yet enticingly soft. "Do you like me?"

*

#At Thirteen, Nan Zheng Was Abandoned by Everyone. At Twenty, He Jiuzhen Defied Everyone and Took Her Home. From Then On, He Became the One She Admired for the Rest of Her Life#

Reader's Guide:

1. Both are sexually inexperienced, HE. The male lead is seven years older than the female lead.

2. No angst, a sweet story, a sweet story, a sweet story.

3. The male lead likes to say harsh things, but he never stays harsh for more than three seconds.

Theme: How will you know you can't do it if you don't try?