The Return Migration

Li Yu's way of solving problems was simple: if she could use her fists, she'd solve it with violence; if she couldn't, she'd use cold violence.

Her methods always worked, until she met the transfer student Chen Xi: fair-skinned, quiet, and looking like he couldn't take a punch. His eyes were as clear and inviting as spring water, and he looked like an easy target.

"Zhou Rui is pursuing you only because he made a bet with his friends."

This boy, who looked like he couldn't take a punch, stood before her with an injury on his forehead. He seemed so easy to bully, yet he was trying to make sure she wouldn't be bullied.

As a school bully who still had a conscience, Li Yu decided to protect the good student who'd been beaten up because of her. Later, she learned through firsthand experience that Chen Xi was every bit as good at bullying people as she was.

If only she'd known better than to toy with his feelings and abandon him.

*

After high school graduation, before Li Yu started pursuing him, Chen Xi had only seen her twice.

When she was twenty, she clutched her secret and coaxed him into bed, like a siren whispering irresponsible promises in his ear and treating his dignity like a plaything.

When she was twenty-four, a criminal held her at knifepoint. With a pair of loving eyes, she looked at him mournfully and let someone else treat his dignity like a plaything.

On the night he saw Li Yu's wedding photos on her social media, Chen Xi realized that dignity might not be so important after all. At least, it wasn't as important as she was.

He said one thing and meant another, hurled cruel words at her, and foolishly hoped they could part ways cleanly. But when he realized he'd been wrong, he changed his ways.

"I admit it."

"Admit you were wrong?"

"I admit that I love you."

[Coming soon in the author's collection: A Journey on the Water. Please bookmark it.]

Zhou Xiang has a secret: she likes Cheng Cen.

Cheng Yanxing knows a secret: the person he likes is in love with his cousin, Cheng Cen.

Everyone knows Zhou Xiang allows Cheng Yanxing to stay by her side for only one reason: he looks eighty percent like Cheng Cen.

"I heard Miss Zhou wanted to marry Mr. Cheng when she was sixteen. I wonder which one it was?" A busybody gave him a sidelong glance and teased him.

"I don't know," Cheng Yanxing replied indifferently. He didn't get angry, embarrassed, or downcast.

He knows the rules of being a substitute.

He also knows how to seduce Zhou Xiang.

*

To Zhou Xiang, Cheng Yanxing is simple: quiet, obedient, and always wagging his tail at her.

On the night Cheng Cen turned her down, Cheng Yanxing appeared downstairs at her place with a bouquet of baby's breath. He earnestly confessed his unrequited love, then quietly accepted her rejection.

"He rejected you, and you rejected me. See? Being rejected isn't so scary."

"Shut up."

"I can shut up, but don't cry. I can't learn how to cry like you."

Zhou Xiang thought that if only Cheng Cen were as simple as him. Then she realized she kept thinking about Cheng Yanxing's scent at the most inappropriate times. Maybe he wasn't so simple after all.

She used to never let Cheng Yanxing into her home. Somehow, later on, she let him into her bed, then let him interrogate her:

"Want to marry Mr. Cheng?"

"I want to marry Cheng Yanxing."

Theme: Love speaks.