An Echo Heard My Secret Crush

The print edition is now available at major retailers. The story is complete. Pirated copies are incomplete, so please support the official edition. No inquiries about pirated copies, and no unsolicited writing advice. Blurb 1. It was her second year of high school. Torrential rain had knocked out power across the whole school. Screams and chatter filled the classroom building. One by one, students were picked up by their families, while Xu Nainai walked out alone into the downpour. The city's drainage system was on the verge of collapse, and her feet had gone pale from standing in the water. SPLASH A speeding car suddenly tore through a puddle. Soaked from head to toe, Xu Nainai was caught off guard and drenched by a sheet of water. A little while later, the black SUV came back. A tall, slender boy in white stepped out with an umbrella. “Sorry.” He offered her an expensive coat. Through the heavy curtain of rain, she could make out only the boy's handsome, sharply defined jawline. “Is there anything I can do for you?” Xu Nainai's breath caught. That was the first time she met Lin Tingyun. 2. At the province-wide mock exam before the 2012 college entrance exams, the student who had held the top spot in the grade for years was no longer Lin Tingyun. Xu Nainai saw herself at the top of the honor roll, while her classmates murmured in shock and disbelief. She didn't see Lin Tingyun's name. His friend answered her confused questions. “You didn't know? He's not taking the college entrance exams. He's already gone abroad.” In that instant, the secret, hopeless crush and relentless pursuit of a seventeen-year-old girl were cruelly snuffed out. That was the last time Xu Nainai heard any news of him. 3. Ten years later, at the National Conference on Nanobiology and Medicine. Under dazzling spotlights, Xu Nainai smoothly delivered her presentation entirely in English, then stepped down with composure amid thunderous applause. After the commotion died down, she spotted a handsome man attending as a company president. Xu Nainai glanced over calmly. But this time, he walked toward her. Lin Tingyun looked down at her, his voice low. “Long time no see.” … “Pursuing him was really a fool's errand. Climbing the rankings wouldn't actually bring me closer. No matter how great my acceleration was, I could never catch up to his starting point.” “Even after all these years, I still remember that late-summer downpour, the endless stacks of practice papers and one joint exam after another, the hard-won climb up the grade rankings, the steadily narrowing score gap, and the boy in white who lit up my entire muddled youth.” “Maybe we'll never meet again, but I'm still glad I met you.” PS: Unrequited love / school and city life / happy ending … I Love You, Goodbye [Playboy x sweet, well-behaved girl] Tang Mengmeng was reserved, timid, and quiet. The boldest thing she ever did was secretly crush on Bian Yang for three years. The boy was carefree and uninhibited. She watched him go through girlfriend after girlfriend, feeling both a pang of jealousy and envy for his passionate, unrestrained life. On their senior-year graduation trip, Tang Mengmeng gathered her courage and secretly kissed Bian Yang on the brow. She thought no one had noticed, but she never realized she'd been seen through all along. “You like me.” The boy lazily exhaled a mint-scented ring of smoke, then curled his lips in an invitation through the pale blue haze. “Want to be with me?” Tang Mengmeng gazed blankly into his captivating dark eyes, thinking her luck had finally turned. It took her years to see how fickle and heartless he really was. On an ordinary evening, Tang Mengmeng stood outside his car window and asked to break up. “Are you sure?” The man rested his fingers on the steering wheel and raised an eyebrow, apparently certain she wouldn't leave. “I'm sure.” But this time, the timid, cowardly girl turned around and walked away without hesitation. A playboy never looks back. From then on, his hedonistic world had nothing to do with her. … Years after they parted, Tang Mengmeng returned home after completing her studies abroad. At a banquet held in her honor, she ignored Bian Yang, who had shown up uninvited, but he still cornered her in an empty lounge. “I love you. Don't leave me.” The once-confident man spoke in a hoarse voice that sounded almost like a plea. Tang Mengmeng's expression remained unchanged. “Sir, please show some respect.” … Theme: Where there's a will, there's a way.