Longing

*Stage-by-stage one-on-one romance / stealing someone's partner / the second male lead wins (including male rivals competing for the heroine) / all the men are sexually pure* (The story went on hiatus for over two years and was heavily revised several times. Even the free opening chapters on pirated sites differ from the original. I take no responsibility for pirated content.)

1.

Childhood sweethearts, with families who have been friends for generations. It was only natural that Ye Dixiu would fall for Lin Youwen.

Especially since Lin Youwen stayed by her side through the most depressing and difficult times of her life.

For six years, Ye Dixiu never let up in her efforts to catch up with Lin Youwen:

He came from a musical family and was extraordinarily talented, so she started learning the violin from scratch.

He worked as a war correspondent, one of the most dangerous jobs around, so she kept watch on the CGTN channel at the same time every day, hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of him.

He would cancel their plans without warning, and she'd wait for hours in the freezing cold in an open plaza without a single complaint...

But Lin Youwen always put his ideals and ambitions before Ye Dixiu.

After he left her behind once again,

Ye Dixiu finally understood with perfect clarity that she had never been what he cared about most.

This relationship was nothing but her one-sided love, and her own willing surrender.

2.

As the only young master of the Gu Group, Gu Zelin had always believed there were only two kinds of things in the world:

Things he owned, and things he couldn't be bothered to own.

That's what young master Gu thought before he met Ye Dixiu.

That summer, the cicadas sang without pause.

The Gu family living room was bright and spotless. On the sofa by the round rose-patterned window sat a friend his older sister had recently made.

The girl's pretty face held a trace of detachment. Her reserved, understated presence made him unable to look away from her at first sight.

Like a lofty, unreachable moon,

who would never lower herself for anyone.

The next time Gu Zelin met Ye Dixiu, it was a chance encounter.

In the bitterly cold wind, he watched two people kissing intimately inside a car in the distance.

Standing in the shadow of a deserted street corner, he witnessed the girl he admired shed her cool composure and reveal a softness and liveliness he'd never seen before, willingly throwing herself into another man's arms.

A thought called resentment churned through his mind for the first time,

growing stronger and stronger.

3.

Jealousy burned at him day and night,

until the light in her eyes went out.

Gu Zelin knew his chance had come.

That night, she ran away from home and, by a twist of fate, ended up staying at his seaside villa.

Late at night, he knocked on her door and walked over to the bed. His dark, bright eyes gleamed in the gloom, almost burning her.

Flustered, she began making excuses. "I have a boyfriend."

"But you've already broken up."

"I can't move on that quickly."

"That's no surprise."

His intentions couldn't have been clearer. She took a step back, and he took a step forward, until her back met the headboard and she had nowhere left to retreat.

"The best way to leave the past behind," he said, pinning her wrist to the bedclothes and leaning close, their foreheads barely touching and their breaths mingling. His low voice left no room for refusal. "Is to welcome a new relationship."

"Don't you want to know what it feels like to come first?"

"Try being loved without limits by someone like me."

[Reading Guide]

- A clear-headed, rational heroine x a younger hero who plans his moves step by step

- 1) The first male lead is her unattainable ideal, an idealist. 2) The second male lead, Gu Zelin, loves only the heroine from beginning to end. His secret crush comes true.

- The second male lead wins. The core themes are "replacement" and "healing." The romance starts slow, then picks up speed, with intense emotions.

- The title was inspired by: You are my fantasy, and the thought I hold dearest.

- All the men are sexually pure. Happy ending.

The next book in the same series, Ambiguous Until the End, is now open for follows in my column!

[Fake good girl, real seductive and scheming beauty x sees through her but says nothing, carefree young master]

◎ Wealthy families and schools | International high school | High-stakes mind games | Intense push and pull ◎

Jinxi International High School is a battlefield of fame and fortune without gunfire.

Fang Yaocen is the most harmless person there.

She always wears a well-fitted, pale white shirt, her rose-red uniform bow neatly tied, and her untouched black hair in a high ponytail. Cool and composed, she's the model student who never tries to stand out.

But no one knows

that Yaocen's real talent is setting the most elaborate traps with the most obedient-looking face.

*

A family upheaval forced her to take half a year off school. Her family fell into poverty, and her mother remarried, but her stepfather revealed his callous nature and began pressuring her in private.

To protect herself, Fang Yaocen returns to school and turns herself into the most exquisite bait,

setting her sights on the most unattainable person at Jinxi: Ying Xuan.

Ying Xuan is the quintessential young master from a prominent family.

His family is powerful, he does whatever he likes, and he always handles everything with ease.

He's used to watching coldly as everyone schemes over a single word from him.

Fang Yaocen thinks she's done a perfect job of hiding her true self.

She plans each step carefully, plays hard to get, and puts on a flawless act as a seductive beauty.

Little does she know that Ying Xuan saw through her intentions long ago.

This ambiguous game, with their identities a mystery from the start, is really a high-stakes battle of wits.

She deliberately flirts with him, and he turns every move back on her.

Whoever falls in love first loses everything.

*

One day, a thin fog clouds the washroom mirror with warm water vapor.

Yaocen lowers her eyes and complains with a sigh, "Because of you, they all say I'm fake, always putting on an act."

"What else?"

"They say I'm one person to your face and another behind your back, and that I'm too scheming."

"Are they wrong?" Ying Xuan refuses to let her off the hook. He turns her flushed face with his thumb, wipes the condensation off the mirror, revealing their intertwined reflections, and says lazily, "Like when you approached me with an ulterior motive."

The title was inspired by: [More captivating than pure love is the tension of extreme restraint and suppression.]

- Deliberately getting close on the surface / having seen it coming all along

- High-IQ push and pull / double disguises / hunter and prey / evenly matched

- You willingly take the bait, and I willingly fall into your trap

Theme: Be someone with a bright spirit.