Long Summer

[The print edition rights have been returned. @Jinjiang Tao Zhiying]

[This story has been revised and proofread multiple times during serialization. I accept no responsibility for pirated copies.]

In high school, Ji Qingyu was exceptionally talented and stood out from his peers. He was the object of secret crushes for most girls his age, and Yu Xia was no exception.

To her, Ji Qingyu was snow on a mountain, the moon among the clouds, and someone she could admire but never reach.

By chance, she became Ji Qingyu's deskmate when the classes were reshuffled in their second year. She carefully hid her feelings from everyone, writing every thought in her heart in her diary.

Just before the college entrance exams, disaster struck her family.

Her father was arrested for a hit-and-run, causing an uproar throughout the city. The diary filled with her private thoughts was also put on display on the school bulletin board. Overnight, Yu Xia became a laughingstock at school.

After Yu Xia dropped out,

Ji Qingyu found a line in one of her old books: "Some people live in the gutter, yet still yearn for the moon."

-

Years later, the two unexpectedly met again.

The once-quiet girl had become a beautiful, well-known journalist in her field, with no shortage of admirers.

One day, her coworkers chatted about their secret crushes from their school days. Someone asked Yu Xia if she'd ever had a crush on anyone.

With a gaze only one person away from her, Yu Xia's cheeks burned. She left in a hurry, saying only, "I can't remember."

-

Long after they got together, Ji Qingyu asked her, "Why didn't you confess to me in high school?"

Yu Xia only smiled and said nothing.

Later, Ji Qingyu happened to find a diary in a drawer at home. The girl's handwriting was graceful, and every thought she'd kept to herself was written inside.

The latest entry was dated the day he asked her why she hadn't confessed. There was only one line:

"I won't try to pluck the moon. I'll make the moon come to me."

-Aloof academic heartthrob x beautiful journalist

-Secret crush / reunited after years apart / school days to city life / happy ending / each other's first love

-No romance or intimate scenes while the characters are minors

-"I won't try to pluck the moon. I'll make the moon come to me." - Audrey Hepburn. Please delete if this infringes copyright.

-The line in the book was adapted from "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde. Please delete if this infringes copyright.

-The blurb has been saved as an image. If you don't like it, please click x. No trolling or baseless accusations of plagiarism.

-Weibo: @Jinjiang Ye Jianxing

[Please add my next story, Running Toward You, to your collection]

1. They reunite at a friend's wedding. As a prominent figure back in college, Wen Si is teased by a friend about how she'd once boasted that she could win Sheng Jiayi over in three months.

Wen Si avoids the subject. After she leaves, someone curiously asks Sheng Jiayi:

"Did you ever manage to win her over?"

Another person chimes in: "Of course not. Brother Yi is so hard to pursue. No way she got him."

After several drinks, the man, who had been silently fiddling with a lighter, lets a trace of mockery cross his lips and answers in a low voice:

"I did."

"Then she dumped me."

-

After they get back together, Wen Si happens to come across a forum post one day.

It says Sheng Jiayi is a famous heartthrob in their circle, handsome and roguish, with countless admirers, yet never a woman by his side.

Just then, Sheng Jiayi walks out of the bathroom, his hair still damp. Wen Si looks up and asks him, "Why?"

The man stares at her for a moment, then pulls her into his arms and kisses her. "Because I love you."

-Reunited after years apart / the hero secretly loves the heroine

-Roguishly handsome race car driver x glamorous orthopedic surgeon

[Please add my upcoming story, Who Fell First, to your collection]

When Lin Xingwan was sixteen, she was sent to live with the Thin family, old friends of her family.

That was also the year she fell for a man. He was the Thin family's only son, rebellious, handsome, and roguish. His phoenix eyes were captivating, and whenever he stood before her in a black shirt, her heart would race even if he did nothing at all.

-

At a gathering, Lin Xingwan stared absently at a figure in the distance.

Under the dim lights, Bo Yan looked over, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and said in a husky voice tinged with amusement, "Wanwan, your big brother isn't a good man. Whatever you do..."

"Don't fall for your big brother."

-

Bo Yan always seemed carefree and untethered, rebellious, unpredictable, and capable of making someone's life hell in all sorts of ways whenever he was in a bad mood. Eventually, Lin Xingwan gave up on him.

After the high school graduation dinner, Lin Xingwan had just turned down a male classmate's confession when someone pulled her into his arms.

The man leaned against the wall with a nonchalant expression, all laid-back swagger. "Dating? Did I say you could?"

Before Lin Xingwan could protest, he turned his head, his voice tender and affectionate:

"I've been waiting in line all these years, after all. Don't I at least deserve priority admission?"

*Five-year age gap. The heroine is sixteen and the hero is twenty-one. They get together after she becomes an adult.

Theme: Become a better person.