Blushing Syndrome

[This book isn’t very well written. I may revise it later if I get the chance.]

#What do I do when my little sister falls for my rival?

#A shy, easily embarrassed girl x a calculating, scheming big bad wolf

When Shi Yue stepped into the rehearsal room of Shi Huai’s band, she heard her brother swearing up a storm. Before she could react, a pair of warm hands covered her ears. Then a gentle, clear voice reached her through the gaps between his fingers. “Watch your language in front of the kid.”

Once he let go and the boy left, Shi Huai shouted after him, hopping around in frustration. “Lin Jiachen, you son of a bitch, stay away from my sister!”

He didn’t even notice that his little sister’s face had turned beet red.

Shi Yue was shy, timid, and always cautious. Worse, whenever she spoke to an unfamiliar guy, she blushed without meaning to.

This time, she blushed even harder.

-

Lin Jiachen, the band’s drummer, was pretending to sleep. He had an outrageously handsome face. A wild playboy onstage, he was proud and distant offstage, and his impenetrable defenses kept fans at arm’s length. People were convinced he had sealed his heart shut.

That is, until he was photographed walking intimately close to a masked girl after a live show.

At the signing event after that show, Lin Jiachen propped his chin on his hand, his peach-blossom eyes smiling intoxicatingly as he asked the next person in line, “Why do you wear a mask every time you see me?”

Shi Yue stood before him and instinctively tugged at her mask. Her voice came out muffled. “Because I blush.”

She lowered her voice shyly. “It’s embarrassing.”

That night, Lin Jiachen held Shi Yue in his arms as if she were a little rabbit. Her face was red enough to drip blood. He gently kissed her cheek, coaxing her as he spoke. “Next time, only blush for me, okay?”

After a moment, he added, “There’s nothing embarrassing about it.”

-

The day Lin Jiachen’s relationship was exposed, Shi Huai, his rival, was so delighted that his grin nearly split his face.

Then he saw the little girl blushing in Lin Jiachen’s arms, and his smile froze.

Wait, why does she look so much like my sister?!

[Reading guide]

1. A reunion after years apart, from school uniforms to wedding dresses. The first third is set at school, and the last two-thirds in the city.

2. #A tone-deaf music variety show director x a gifted band drummer with perfect pitch

3. The entertainment-industry setting draws on Japan, Korea, and the rock scene, not the Chinese entertainment industry.

4. Details about entertainment-industry work are based on interviews with friends. Please point out any errors.

Please follow my upcoming novel, The Unreliable Guide to Finding Love

You Ning is a relationship blogger who’s been single her whole life, with plenty of talk and theory but no real experience.

When viewers in her livestream challenged her, You Ning, emboldened by alcohol, pulled a photo from her phone and showed it to them, declaring confidently, “I’ll win over the man in this photo within three months. If I don’t, I’ll wash my hair while doing a handstand!”

Viewers: What the hell, take a good look at that photo! Do you even know who that is? Have you lost your mind?

When she sobered up, You Ning saw Shi Huai’s handsome, roguish face on her phone and wanted to cry. How was she supposed to know that drunk, she’d show off a photo of the guy she’d had a crush on for five years? This was Shi Huai!

You Ning: Is there still time to learn how to wash my hair upside down?

-

Shi Huai, lead singer of the Peninsula Iron Box band, had a handsome face with a roguish charm. He was uninhibited and flamboyant, yet lived a very low-key life offstage. He never interacted with fans, and even the paparazzi could barely get a photo of him.

At a press event for his new song, an entertainment reporter asked what he thought about an obscure relationship blogger claiming she’d win him over in three months.

Shi Huai smiled nonchalantly, his voice lazy. “Let her try.”

-

She tried, and nearly died.

Following her own guide to finding love, You Ning pursued him awkwardly and stiffly for three whole months before nervously calling to confess.

Shi Huai’s deep voice came through the phone.

“Cheng Youning, could you open the door? I think it’s more proper to accept a confession face-to-face.”

“And one more thing: throw away all those lousy guides of yours.”

#A crush comes true

#The whole internet is waiting to laugh at me, but I think I actually won him over on livestream

Theme: May you be passionate, free, and brave.