Rose's Secret Thoughts

[Main story complete] [The author's upcoming story next door, My Sister Only Loves You, is now open for reservations] Story blurb: Retired race car driver x rebellious girl #Eight-year age gap When Jiang Yao takes her car in for modifications, she hits the first major setback of her life. The man glances at her leg in a cast and brusquely refuses: "I won't fix it." Her rebellious streak kicks in, and she starts picking fights with him, turning up at his repair shop every few days. Cheng Lie remains unmoved. Wearing a white tank top, his exposed muscles are firm and powerful. As he works on a race car engine, a cigarette between his lips, he advises her, "You should focus on your studies, young lady." After they get to know each other, Jiang Yao successfully tricks him into fixing her car. She smugly boasts about it to him. Cheng Lie raises an eyebrow without a word, then gives her a complete set of practice exam books for the holiday. * The year Jiang Yao turns eighteen, her parents, who have been at odds for years, finally make their divorce official. Everyone indulges her self-destructive behavior. Only Cheng Lie pulls her back from the wrong path, telling her with a solemn look, "Jiang Yao, you have to take responsibility for yourself." He does his best to set her straight and put her on the right path. Unable to resist her feelings, Jiang Yao pursues him openly and secretly for half a year. After finally working up the courage to confess, she gets a glance from Cheng Lie and hears him say, "I don't like kids." Jiang Yao flees in embarrassment and applies to a university more than a thousand kilometers away from him. Later, a replay of a race plays on the screen in her university cafeteria. As Jiang Yao passes by, she happens to see Cheng Lie, the champion. A reporter asks him, "What made you return to the racetrack three years after retiring?" The man's expression is cool, and his gaze seems to pass through the screen and look straight at Jiang Yao. He suddenly chuckles and slips his medal inside his shirt. "For a girl." My Sister Only Loves You: #Older woman, younger man; three-year age gap When news breaks that the Qin and Huo families are joining forces through marriage, everyone in their circle says Qin Zhaoning has hit the jackpot. After years of secretly loving Huo Xiuyu, she has finally gotten her wish. But they also know Huo Xiuyu has a first love, his idealized white moonlight, living abroad. Since she left, he's indulged in wine and women, but has never taken any woman seriously. When people tease him about his engagement to Qin Zhaoning, Huo Xiuyu leans back in a bar booth and scoffs dismissively. "She's just a woman with no sense of fun." He's met her a few times. She's wooden and dull, as plain and forgettable as a weed by the roadside. Later, Huo Xiuyu receives a video. In it, Qin Zhaoning, wearing a red dress, pins a young man against a sports car. Her gaze is tender and alluring as she asks, "Tell me, what would it take for you to say yes to your big sister?" The young man presses a hand to her shoulder. "Doesn't Big Sister have a fiance?" Huo Xiuyu narrows his eyes, then hears his mild-mannered, boring fiancee sneer without a care: "What the hell is he to me?" Later, he understands that Qin Zhaoning isn't a weed. She's a rose with thorns. * Huo Xiuyu thinks Qin Zhaoning must be blind. She could have him, a powerful man with wealth and influence, but instead she goes after some kid who hasn't even grown his first whiskers. After having Song Zhuo investigated, he's even more convinced that Song Zhuo can't compare to him in any way. Until the three of them meet face-to-face. While Qin Zhaoning steps away, the fair-skinned, innocent-looking young man casually opens his collar, revealing a red mark on his neck. Without a hint of malice, he asks, "So you're the piece of trash Big Sister mentioned?" Theme: Love life, and look forward to the future