Cooling Down

(Still writing this slowly. I'm out of ideas for now, so it won't be going premium~)

A man secretly loves a woman / married first, fall in love later

"Roguish, wild tech upstart x gentle, well-behaved medical student"

The year Zhu Yining graduated, she registered her marriage. Her husband was Chen Ye, her senior from high school.

Back in high school, Chen Ye had been an unreachable prodigy.

Flashy and unruly, he was a top student, ranked first in his year, and exactly the kind of brilliant boy in this world Zhu Yining was most afraid to approach.

Zhu Yining had never imagined she would accept Chen Ye's proposal one day.

-

As an adult, Chen Ye was a tech upstart known throughout the industry. Just standing there was enough to make countless people fall for him. Cold and distant, he still had no shortage of admirers.

His colleagues wondered who would manage to win Chen Ye over. A few months later, they received an invitation to his wedding with their junior colleague.

One evening later on,

Zhu Yining got drunk and wriggled out of Chen Ye's embrace. "You... don't have to be so nice to me. You don't even like me."

In the shifting light and shadows, the man's jaw was sharply defined, his expression cool. He gave a soft scoff. "You still can't tell?"

Suddenly, a scorching kiss fell upon her.

Lingering. Again and again. Stealing every last breath.

Chen Ye let her go, his dark eyes fixed on her as he asked gently, "What about now?"

"Mrs. Chen."

"Can you tell I've had a crush on you for a long time?"

-

The day seventeen-year-old Zhu Yining first met Chen Ye.

Cicadas sang in the summer heat. The boy stood not far away, his black hair gilded with gold, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead as he raised a hand to smooth the loose hair at his nape.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned around and asked with a carefree, teasing air, "Who are you?"

Zhu Yining didn't dare look again and fled in a panic.

Only after growing up did Zhu Yining learn the truth.

After she ran away, the boy had stared at her back for a long time, unable to come to his senses.

*

"The temperature is dropping, the world is sinking, and every flutter of the heart echoes."

*Man secretly loves woman / married first, fall in love later / slow burn

*One-on-one, both leads are sexually inexperienced

Theme: Learning to love as you grow.