Love's Endless Ice Cream

My next novel will be Bait. The blurb is at the bottom. Add it to your collection if you're interested~

Jiang Wanyi takes her four-year-old nephew to a little shop at the end of the alley to buy shaved ice. Ji Ang pedals toward them on his bicycle from far away. Jiang Wanyi's eyes curve into crescents. "Ji Ang, you're back."

Ji Ang doesn't slow down at all. His "Mm" only reaches her ears three minutes later, carried against the summer breeze. Her little nephew gazes up at her with innocent wide eyes and asks, "Auntie, when you and Brother Ji act like that, does it mean you're dating?"

Jiang Wanyi always answers her nephew's questions. "If Brother Ji likes me and I like him, then we're dating. But if Brother Ji likes me and I don't like him, then it's just unrequited love."

The next day, everyone from one end of the alley to the other knows, even Uncle Li's dog and Auntie Huang's cat: the eldest son of the Ji family has a crush on the youngest daughter of the Jiang family.

That afternoon, Jiang Wanyi is returning from school when Ji Ang blocks her at the mouth of the alley. He looks down at her. The glow of the summer sunset filters through the lush leaves and falls across his face, exactly like a scene from her dreams, except that in her dreams he never says a word.

"You told people I have a crush on you?"

Jiang Wanyi hurriedly waves her hands. "Of course not. If anyone has a crush on you, it should be me."

On the third day, everyone from one end of the alley to the other knows, even Auntie Liu's rabbit and Uncle Wang's parrot: the youngest daughter of the Jiang family has a crush on the eldest son of the Ji family.

So who has a crush on whom? Even when all the neighborhood aunties and uncles are seated at Ji Ang and Jiang Wanyi's wedding, they still haven't reached a verdict.

Maybe only the summer breeze, the green leaves in it, the cicadas among the leaves, the sunlight in their song, and the two people sharing sweet, lovestruck shaved ice beneath that sunlight know the answer.

Reader's Note:

The leads both have happy, loving families and are the apple of their families' eyes. Their parents and in-laws love each other deeply. No cheating, no mistresses.

Everyday domestic life, with a whole neighborhood of spectators. A slice-of-life story.

The leads are the same age. Both are each other's first love, and they've been childhood friends.

Bait: Blurb

Su Nian tosses out a line, and Xu Qingyu knows it's bait she's offering him. He still takes it.

Then the person who cast the bait runs off halfway through.

Long ago

Xu Qingyu asks Su Nian, "Do you love me?"

Su Nian looks into his eyes and answers, "I do."

Xu Qingyu gives a quiet scoff, then bends down and bites her lip.

Much later

Su Nian asks Xu Qingyu, "Do you love me?"

Xu Qingyu kisses her eyes and answers, "I do."

Su Nian gives a quiet scoff and kicks him out of bed.

Theme: Growing and improving together