Thinking Only of You

[Main story complete. Next up: Marriage Obsession [Marriage Before Love]]

[Gentle, pure, obedient girl x flirtatious, shameless, handsome bad boy]

[Mutual secret crush | Marriage Before Love | Mainly urban romance | Intangible cultural heritage blogger x doctor]

1.

At seventeen, Zhou Yining secretly fell for someone.

One summer afternoon, the boy had casually left a note on her desk, filled with solutions to contest problems. In an instant, it became the one thing she thought about throughout her entire adolescence.

She thought they would never meet again, but in her senior year, she transferred schools and ended up sitting next to Pei Jingwen.

Handsome and wild, the boy was a prominent figure whom girls talked about year after year. Yet he treated her, an unremarkable girl, a little differently.

On the day of the college entrance exam, Zhou Yining summoned all her courage and lightly wrapped her arms around the boy's lean waist, pretending she wanted to borrow some of the top student's luck.

Pei Jingwen hugged her back and encouraged her gently. "Don't worry. You'll get what you wish for."

Neither of them could have imagined that, in the many years they spent apart afterward, he would become the one wish of her youth that she could never have.

2.

When they unexpectedly met again, Pei Jingwen had become an outstanding young doctor, with an illustrious background and countless admirers. Just like when he was a teenager, he was impossible to look away from.

Holding back the sting in her eyes, she looked at the straight, upright silhouette of the man and softly called his name. "Pei Jingwen."

To her surprise, he turned around the next second, his voice colder than she had ever heard it. "Miss Zhou, what is it?"

Only then did Zhou Yining accept the reality that he had long since forgotten her. She was just about to quietly put away all her fantasies when she saw him again at a blind date arranged by her family.

"Will you marry me?"

Knowing that the man was only marrying her to fulfill his elders' wishes, she still couldn't bring herself to say no.

3.

At Nanlin High School's anniversary celebration, Pei Jingwen spoke as an outstanding alumni representative. His every gesture was casual and free, and simply standing in the auditorium drew everyone's admiration.

Zhou Yining thought she had done a good job of hiding her feelings, keeping her distance and never crossing the line, as if she and he were strangers who had only just met.

Only when the conversation turned to the best-matched couple from their school days, and her friend took the opportunity to ask what had happened between her and Pei Jingwen, did she shake her head and say softly, "He doesn't... like me anymore."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she met a pair of deep, burning dark eyes. There was nowhere to look away.

No one knew that after the crowd had dispersed, Pei Jingwen approached her from behind on the field where they had watched countless sunrises and sunsets. His scorching breath carried a hint of punishment.

"Can you feel how much I like you?"

"If you still can't, I can tell you."

I will make sure you get what you wish for.

I've been thinking about you for even longer than you've had your secret crush on me.

This is a nontraditional secret-crush story, mainly a sweet urban romance. All career details are based on online sources. Please kindly point out any errors.

Note from 2021/9/1, revised 2024/7/13

Blurb for Marriage Obsession (Marriage Before Love)

[Marriage Before Love | Seven-year age gap | A chaste daddy gives in for love]

[Beautiful guzheng player x refined, domineering CEO]

A beautiful woman in hanfu named Song Tangshu has arrived at the Magpie Bridge Immortal Chinese-style theme street. They say the sound of her guzheng leaves audiences spellbound.

Unfortunately, she always covers her face with a veil, and no one has seen what she really looks like.

After one performance, Song Tangshu is told that a distinguished guest from the capital has offered a high price to hear her play solo.

She puts on her veil, picks up her guzheng, and agrees without hesitation.

On the other side of a screen, a man stands in a sharp suit, wearing fine gold-rimmed glasses that make him look refined and elegant.

That is the first time she meets Pei Xingzhou.

The next time she sees Pei Xingzhou is at the city hospital.

Her grandmother is sick and most worried about her marriage. Song Tangshu is crouched blankly in the hospital corridor when a pair of elegant, handcrafted leather shoes suddenly appears before her.

She looks up, and all she sees are the man's handsome, clear-cut features. "Miss Song, I need someone to marry."

To put her grandmother's mind at ease so she can focus on her treatment, Song Tangshu nods. "All right."

Only after leaving the marriage registration office does she realize how powerful Pei Xingzhou is.

Born into the Pei family of Jingbei, he took firm control of the family at just twenty-eight with an iron hand.

Song Tangshu knows she isn't good at dealing with people and has always understood her place. She never intended to overstep, and only agreed to take the title of Mrs. Pei, help him fend off admirers, and leave peacefully once their three-year contract was over.

But on their wedding night, the man catches her hands as she tries to take her quilt and sleep separately.

"Now that you're Mrs. Pei, Tangtang, are you still going to hide from me?"

Pei Xingzhou, CEO of the Pei Group, always carries himself like a gentle, refined young master. He is famously chaste and aloof, with a cold heart, and rumors say he'll never fall for an ordinary person in his life.

But lately, this usually reclusive Mr. Pei has not only been appearing in public again and again with the beauty who tops the Chinese-style arts rankings, but has also used his main account to post a comment saying "wife" during her livestream. The media are stunned: Is Mr. Pei actually a fanboy of the guzheng fairy?

That night, the Pei Group's official account posts a picture with a caption:

The wedding ring on the delicate fingers playing Song Tangshu's guzheng is clearly the same design as Pei Xingzhou's wedding ring.

Pei Xingzhou: I'm her fanboy, and also the husband I married properly, @GuzhengSongTangshu

Theme: Beautiful love takes both people making their way toward each other.