*Putting this on hold for now. The logic fell apart and I can't patch it up. If I continue, I'll have to do a major rewrite. TAT.
-Unrequited love becomes mutual / age gap
Summer is Xia Mu's least favorite season.
Because Meng Zhoudu has so many performances then, his schedule is packed, and she can go ages without seeing him.
But when an interviewer asks her to write her answer on a board, she still writes “summer.”
The host asks why.
Meng Zhoudu is sitting right beside her. She can feel his gaze on her.
She feigns composure and says, “I like the summer breeze.”
That isn't entirely a lie.
The day she met Meng Zhoudu again was a muggy summer night, so hot that it seemed to gather every frustration into one place. She sat curled up on the steps as passersby looked at her as if she were an embarrassing joke, something to gossip about.
That was when Meng Zhoudu appeared.
He crouched in front of her, his eyes so gentle they quieted all her frustration.
So she wanted to hold on even to the summer breeze that had brushed past her ear at that moment.
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“Breaking the Fever”
When Xu Zhichan was fifteen, she had a high fever that wouldn't break. No one looked after her, and she nearly burned herself delirious, alone in the attic.
A torrential rain fell outside. Chen Qing'an carried her to the hospital and stayed by her side all night without closing his eyes.
When she woke, the first thing she saw was Chen Qing'an, usually so immaculate, with bloodshot eyes and stubble. His voice was hoarse, and his smiling eyes looked ready to shed tears.
He asked if she felt better, if she remembered who he was, and if she was thirsty.
She nodded and answered only the second question: “I remember. Chen Qing'an.”
It was the first time she hadn't used the name she always called him by.
Not Brother Qing'an, but Chen Qing'an.
When he was young, Chen Qing'an was visibly poor. All he had were his perpetually straight back and bright eyes, yet they were dazzling enough to make it impossible to look away.
Xu Zhichan knew his dream. She knew he had talent to spare and wanted the world to see it, and that he was willing to endure any hardship to make that happen.
So when a business partner told her to leave and stop getting in his way, Chen Qing'an told her to go, and she didn't object.
When he faced a crowd of interviewers and claimed not to know her to avoid rumors, she understood.
When he shielded his fans and called her a sasaeng who had barged in uninvited, she still thought he was doing it for his career.
He always had plenty of reasons, but not once was it for her.
On the night of Chen Qing'an's award ceremony, she deleted everything connected to him. She only crossed out their names in their shared photo album and changed his back to Brother Qing'an.
She moved out of the apartment Chen Qing'an had arranged for her, leaving everything behind, and tore up the song she'd written for him.
Later, at a film festival, Xu Zhichan came to accept an award after recovering from a fever. Everyone congratulating her couldn't help asking after her health.
She smiled at everyone, but was nothing but polite to Chen Qing'an.
As heavy rain poured outside, Xu Zhichan didn't look at him. She calmly pried his tightly gripping hand off hers.
The rain roared, but her voice was perfectly clear. “Mr. Chen, I don't like the past you speak of very much, and I don't remember much of it either.”
“Thank you for your concern. My fever's gone.”
Theme: A story for summer, and for a love that blooms in the muggy heat.
