1.
Ying Li had a crush on Chen Jin for seven years. During that time, she watched him win three shooting championships, rank first in his grade many times, and date one girlfriend after another.
Chen Jin, however, had no impression of her at all. They went to the same schools from middle school through college, and even lived in the same apartment building, yet he still didn’t know who she was.
One winter night, during a shooting game, Ying Li got lucky and beat three people in a row. Someone started heckling: “Whoever can beat her gets to kiss her!”
When Chen Jin emerged from the corner, Ying Li’s heart gave a little jump. She couldn’t deny that she’d been hoping he would try. Her whole body felt hot.
Chen Jin never missed. Every shot hit its mark.
Just as Ying Li closed her eyes amid the jeering, she heard him toss the gun aside and say with a lazy laugh, “Sorry, I just wanted to see how this gun felt. Think of it as a joke.”
2.
After the party, Ying Li hid on the rooftop, drowning her sorrows in alcohol and crying, only for Chen Jin to find her. He crouched in front of her on one knee, grinning roguishly. “You’re this upset because I didn’t kiss you?”
Ying Li’s voice was hoarse. “Wouldn’t you be upset if the person you’d had a crush on for seven years played a joke on you that wasn’t even funny?”
Chen Jin was stunned. She’d had a crush on him for seven years? He didn’t even know who she was, let alone her name.
Yet in the next moment, she listed all his preferences, every last one of them right.
The roguish smile never left Chen Jin’s face. He reached out and ruffled her hair, then offered what he thought was comforting advice. “Sorry. You’re not really my type. You’ll find someone better.”
3.
When they met again, Chen Jin had won that year’s Olympic shooting championship, basking in glory before the eyes of the world.
She still watched him from the corner and applauded, sincerely happy that he could bring honor to his country, but she no longer loved him.
After several chance encounters, Chen Jin, for the first time in his life, became intensely interested in her. He did everything he could to engineer run-ins, even waiting outside her home until midnight, all to make good on the joke from that shooting game and kiss her.
Ying Li’s expression was distant as she said softly, “Don’t forget, you said I deserved someone better.”
Chen Jin leaned toward her, his warm breath brushing her ear as he murmured, like he was whispering sweet nothings at night, “I haven’t forgotten. But I’m the best there is.”
“What he took aim at was never just a target.”
“Whenever he looks at me, my ears get so hot.”
Ying Li’s Diary of a Secret Crush
The inspiration and blurb both date back to November 23, 2021.
Theme: A prodigal who turns over a new leaf is worth more than gold.
