Alleyway Light

#Secret Crush / Healing / Growth / Campus#

Everyone at Nangguan No. 9 Middle School knew that Shen Yubai of Class A was aloof and gloomy, a cold and desolate presence.

His father was a notorious gambler in the old alley, who had gambled the family into ruin and couldn't even pay his tuition.

Everyone called him a stray pup born in a garbage heap, pitiful and detestable.

A girl moved into the alley. She was nothing like him.

She was strikingly beautiful, especially her eyes, clear and bright like a pool of spring water.

When the debt collectors came to smash things, the neighbors watched coldly. Some even said, "That family is done for. They're all scum."

Everyone avoided him like the plague, but she still smiled at him, treating him even better than before.

One afternoon, she was pinned down in a pitch-black tunnel.

The boy's voice was low, his eyes menacing. "I told you to stay away. Don't get involved with me."

Time passed, and Shen Yubai became the head of the criminal investigation team at the Nangguan Public Security Bureau. He was covered in honors, and no one looked at him coldly anymore.

The people from the old alley rushed to introduce their daughters and acquaintances to him.

When a neighbor brought Gu Zhiyi's photo to him, he looked at it coldly, his expression unreadable.

Until Nangguan was struck by a once-in-a-century flood.

The Nangguan Public Security Bureau formed a disaster relief task force. Shen Yubai led from the front, responding calmly and keeping everything in order.

Then he saw a figure leap into the floodwaters to rescue someone, and his usually cool expression shattered.

Everyone on the team knew Captain Shen as reserved and stern, decisive and efficient in his work.

But now, he panicked and jumped in without a second thought, wrapping an arm around a woman and carrying her to shore with a fierce tenderness.

The woman gazed at him with red eyes and said nothing.

He let her look him over, but finally couldn't hold back and cursed under his breath. "Gu Zhiyi, who the hell told you to come here?"

"There was always light in the old alley, but she was his one and only light."

The Untouchable Captain Shen x Angel in White, Doctor Gu

At four in the morning, I saw the crabapple blossoms still awake.

I can't help thinking you should be by my side at this hour., Flowers Unfallen

Next Book: The Bottom of the Pool

Reunion After Years Apart / Mutual Devotion

Down-on-his-luck winery owner x Brilliant lawyer

Eight years after they parted, Wen Yang never imagined she'd meet Jiang Duo again.

Halfway through a welcome dinner arranged by their fellow students, someone came in to offer a toast.

The man wore a black jacket. His features were cool, but his exhaustion was hard to hide. He looked utterly unfamiliar, nothing like the person she remembered.

He smiled and clinked glasses with everyone at the table, filling every glass to the brim and lowering his own each time.

When it was Wen Yang's turn, she tilted her head back and drained her full glass, just like him, while her fingers gripped the edge of the table so tightly they turned white.

Back in their school days, everyone knew Jiang Duo. He came from a wealthy family, was carefree and spirited, and had countless girls vying for his attention.

Wen Yang was the most ordinary among those who liked him. Her only claim to distinction was becoming Jiang Duo's girlfriend.

Unable to contain her curiosity, her roommate asked, "Why did you choose her?"

Jiang Duo glanced up at his phone screen and smiled. "Why does there have to be a reason? She's just right."

Everyone thought Wen Yang and Jiang Duo would stay together for good, especially since she had been the one to pursue him.

But no one expected her to be the one who ended things, leaving Jiang Duo as the one who'd been dumped.

No one thought Jiang Duo would ever get back together with Wen Yang.

After all, even when the proud young man had set his pride aside and tried to win her back, he couldn't get so much as a backward glance from her.

Until the class reunion.

During a game of Truth or Dare in the karaoke room, a classmate pointed at the two of them and dared them to kiss for ten seconds.

Wen Yang blushed and waved them off.

Everyone teased her, saying she couldn't let go of her ex and would never find a new boyfriend.

Then the man walked through the crowd, pulled her into his arms,

and coaxed her with a smile. "Do me a favor. This time, I didn't let anything slip. They're the ones making a fuss."

Theme: Keep moving forward with optimism.