◆ A story about secret crushes, redemption, you and me
◆ Mutual pining | Second chances | Living under one roof
[The calculating young heir * the sweet, resilient little rabbit]
[The occasionally scheming architect * the sometimes sharp-fanged, soft-hearted translator]
[Zhou family’s Yu, an obvious secret admirer * Lu family’s Chu, a secret admirer prone to obsession]
“She was the most special rib in his chest, both fragile and tenacious.”
1.
From the day Lu Mingchu moved into the Zhou family home to live with her late father's old friend, she had always believed that Zhou Ruoyu felt nothing for her but pity.
Especially after she accidentally heard him joke with Mr. Zhou: “If you want to repay a debt of gratitude, then do it. Why drag me into it?”
One look at him was all it took. The boy was gentle and dashing, surrounded by admirers, a North Star she could never follow.
All she could do was clutch the hem of her whitened sleeve and tread carefully through life under someone else's roof, afraid that one wrong step would make them dislike her.
Even though Zhou Ruoyu had helped her so much, she never dared let the admiration quietly growing inside her show.
Then a ridiculous misunderstanding brought the possessiveness he could no longer suppress to the surface. He asked, almost accusingly, “Are you dating someone?”
Lu Mingchu replied aggrievedly, “Am I not allowed to date?”
For a full half minute, they stared at each other in silence, stubbornly refusing to give in.
Seeing her lower her eyes, tears gathering, Zhou Ruoyu could only relent and mock himself: “So all these years of treating you well were for nothing.”
Only then did Lu Mingchu realize this wasn't a beautiful dream that belonged to her alone.
Their one-person act turned into a duet, and he had never made her envy anyone else's partner.
2.
She awoke from the dream. A few short years after their breakup and separation, they met again at work, and the usually composed and perceptive Zhou Ruoyu acted completely out of character.
A colleague seemed to sense something and asked during a break in the meeting, “Did you know Translator Lu before?”
Zhou Ruoyu considered his answer. His eyes inadvertently caught the hem of a skirt fluttering behind the glass door. After a moment, he murmured, “No.”
Her back pressed against the wall shuddered. Lu Mingchu's nose stung.
She knew the man who had once soothed her with a laugh against her ear on a night when helplessness surged through her, sometimes calling her “Luchu,” was gone for good.
That night, when Zhou Ruoyu got home, he instinctively entered the door code he hadn't changed in years. Standing by the door, he thought:
That sensible, obedient little girl from back then doesn't even know to come home anymore.
[Bonus Scene]
One day, Zhou Ruoyu was using Lu Mingchu's phone to browse a popular question on Zhihu:
“What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?”
On a whim, Zhou Ruoyu typed out:
“Probably spending more than half a year tirelessly helping my rival in love send love letters to my own husband, then pretending to be calm as I asked why he didn't like those pretty upperclassmen.”
The next day, Lu Mingchu was thoroughly humiliated at work.
Zhou Ruoyu, that jerk, had forgotten to turn on anonymous posting.
[Reading Guide]
◆ Second chances | Mutual pining | School days to city life
The blurb was saved as a screenshot on January 28, 2022, and revised on December 18, 2022. It will be revised again before the story officially begins.
Theme: Someone is waiting for you to find your way home
