Surging

[A secret-crush story] For publication updates, see Weibo: @Shu Wan-. Update notices are for typo corrections. This story has been revised multiple times, and many plot details have changed. Please support the official version on Jinjiang. Thank you, and please don't use pirated versions to flag potential issues. Those posts will be deleted. “I will turn my youth into a rising tide for her.” - Chen Yan A star at Qiyuan High, Chen Yan had been rebellious and unconventional for eighteen years. Like a gust of wind, he was impossible to pin down. Song Jingyuan, on the other hand, was gentle and quiet, with a kind disposition. She followed the rules and only dared to watch his back from within the crowd. They seemed like polar opposites. No one ever expected them to end up together. After an accident, she thought he was hurt and couldn't rest easy, so she went to bring him medicine. Instead, she was cornered against a living room wall. Snow fell thickly outside. The black necklace around her neck clinked softly as Chen Yan leaned close to her ear, smiling with careless mischief. “You care about me that much? Do you like me?” - Years later, they met again at a bar. Song Jingyuan entered the wrong private room and saw Chen Yan lounging on the sofa, still looking as carefree and unruly as ever. A half-smoked cigarette rested between his fingers as he casually brushed off the person beside him. When his gaze passed over her, it was calm and indifferent. He looked away a second later, as if they had never known each other. That same night, Song Jingyuan was harassed by some thugs. With nowhere else to turn, she was dragged by an irate Chen Yan into an alley. Song Jingyuan remained perfectly calm. “Chen Yan, we broke up.” Chen Yan's eyes were bloodshot at the corners. He ground out, “Song Jingyuan, what do you take me for? You were the one who came after me first.” You don't get to leave first. - Do you believe in miracles? + Chen Yan is my miracle. Chen Yan x Song Jingyuan Bad-boy playboy x quiet, reserved girl Reader's guide: 1. A playboy-turns-over-a-new-leaf story. The male lead has a romantic past, but never took it seriously. Both leads are each other's first. 2. Neither lead is perfect. They're both awkward in their own ways. 3. This is NOT a groveling-to-win-her-back story! Long-awaited reunion, rekindled romance, mutual healing, melodrama, and complicated relationships. I can't explain everything in the blurb, so please give it a little time. 4. If it's not for you, feel free to move on. I hope you find a novel you love, and please don't conflate the story with the author! 5. There are fictionalized elements, so please don't scrutinize it too closely for realism. Coming soon: Drowned in Rain It was Qi An's first day back in Qiyuan. Rain poured from the gray-white sky. She pushed open the door of an old supermarket and spotted a young man at the corner of an alley. In the dim, hazy light, he wore a black T-shirt. Water ran along the sharp line of his jaw as he pinned someone to the wall with one hand in his pocket. His rolled-up sleeve revealed a sharply defined wrist bone, while a tattoo of a poppy curled up his arm, dangerous and mysterious. The person begged desperately for mercy. He gave a faint smile, soaked through, and lazily lifted his eyelids, menace hidden in his dark eyes. White vapor rose, softening the chill in the air. He bit down on his cigarette and scoffed, giving the man's face a light slap. “I thought you were supposed to be something special.” Qi An froze. She turned to run, only to stumble and fall to the ground. A sharp pain shot through her ankle. A tall figure appeared before her. Qi An raised her eyes and met his deep-set gaze. His cool presence washed over her. The breeze lifted the hem of his clothes as he crouched and reached out. The streak of blood across his brow was stark, and the veins in his arm stood out faintly. His voice was low. “Did you hurt yourself?” That evening, after a crooked rental agent swindled her out of her money, she was left with nowhere to go and her luggage in hand. She ran into him on the street again. The raging wind snapped branches overhead. The young man leaned over by a streetlamp, blending into the old, quiet surroundings. He calmly put out his cigarette, a hint of aggression in his gaze. He pointed at her suitcase. “I've got an empty room. Want to stay there?” - Chen Zeye was the odd one out in town. Wild and defiant, he seemed made of rebellion: a cocky weed and an unpredictable gust of wind. No one knew where he had come from. His coldness and distance toward everyone else were ingrained in him, except when it came to Qi An. On a snowy night, Chen Zeye beat down the people who had bullied her. Like a cold-blooded snake, he warned them with bloodshot eyes, “If you don't want to die, don't touch her.” When he got home, the young man washed the blood off his hands and took a mist-blue scarf from his pocket. He cornered her against the wall and bent down to wrap the scarf around Qi An's neck. His unfathomably deep eyes reflected the girl's image, with a secret light hidden within them. “Still mad?” Qi An shook her head. “No.” Chen Zeye pressed a rough thumb to the corner of her soft lips, then licked his own and chuckled, looking roguishly handsome. “Then do you want to kiss me?” [At seventeen, Chen Zeye was cruel and unrestrained, like a volcano dormant for ages, dangerous and silent. The moment he met her, all things came back to life, and lava burst forth, scorching and dazzling. Longing and heartbeats began to dance together.] * I walked alone through endless thorns, falling into the abyss, bound by fate. Until that rainy, damp night, when I glimpsed my god beneath an old eave. You are my only salvation. Qi An x Chen Zeye Quiet and eccentric x bold, roguish, and uninhibited Theme: Be brave and sincere