Green Plum Soft Candy

1

A secret crush is like a box of assorted candies. You never know what flavor you'll get: sometimes sour, sometimes sweet. Some are strawberry, and some are lemon.

When Jin Muzi was fourteen, she fell for the older boy who had watched her grow up. But she couldn't tell him how she felt. She watched him smile, watched other girls stand by his side, watched him fall in love, and could only offer her silent blessing.

At last, one day, she worked up the courage to tell him, "A secret crush is a kind of love, too. It's just that the ending hurts too much."

After the college entrance exams, Jin Muzi stood alone on the sports field. She watched the sunset on the horizon, its golden afterglow, and smiled as she let go.

A secret crush was like a book she'd hurriedly flipped through. She'd read it in passing, but left no trace behind.

2

When they met again at university, Jin Muzi had grown up and put away the feelings she'd once had for Jiang Muze. But things between them took an unexpected turn. Jiang Muze kept teasing her until she could retreat no farther. At last, unable to bear it, she asked, "Why haven't you found a girlfriend yet, big brother?"

Jiang Muze smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you introduce me to someone?"

Jin Muzi: "What kind of girl do you like?"

Jiang Muze sized her up. "Someone younger, at least 170 centimeters tall, who'll call me big brother. Know anyone who fits?"

Jin Muzi: "..." I think the person right in front of you fits perfectly.

3

For various reasons, Jin Muzi decides to leave the man she's loved for ten years, setting both him and herself free. This one-sided pursuit must finally come to an end.

In the pouring rain, Jin Muzi stands on the second-floor balcony, looking at the man below, soaked through. His deep, charming eyes are fixed on her, and he holds a box of strawberries glistening with rain.

When Jin Muzi comes outside with an umbrella, her expression calm, Jiang Muze takes her hand and says, "An'an, from now on, you can have the pointy ends of the strawberries, and I'll only eat the bottoms of yours, okay?"

May every secret crush in the world come true.

Proud girl × gentle, thoughtful big brother

Secret-crush story / neither lead's first love / both are sexually inexperienced / pretend upbringing / coming of age