Name: Lemon Rain
Author: Ruo Shi An Xuan

Synopsis

One-line blurb: [Loving you is my secret. Later, the wind knew, and the snow knew. You were the only one who didn't.]

Su Hanyu was in a terrible mood on the day of her blind date.

She had lost her wallet, had no idea where she'd left her phone, and her hair was still damp with droplets of water when she arrived five minutes before the restaurant closed. The whole place was quiet, with just one person standing by the window.

The light was dim. He had his back to the door, so she couldn't see his face. Su Hanyu walked over and called hesitantly, "Mr. Chen?"

The man turned around and, before she could say anything, said in a low voice, "Su Hanyu, marry me."

The moment their eyes met, Su Hanyu remembered so many things. Years ago, on a cold, clear winter night, in the cramped, dim corner of the hot-water room, Chen Chao had trapped her and said with bloodshot eyes, "Don't ignore me."

The day of her next blind date, Su Hanyu was stopped in her tracks.

Everything around them was a mess. Chen Chao gripped her wrist, and the glaring white light stung her eyes.

His grip hurt. When she tried to push him away, she saw the faded pink hair tie around his wrist.

Chen Chao's eyes were red. His voice was low, forbidden, and dangerously alluring, making her heart race.

"Choose me."

Please.

Chen Chao was a business tycoon, noble and aloof. People online often speculated about his private life, and eventually someone leaked a video.

A woman lifted the hem of her dress and complained playfully that her feet hurt.

The man crouched in front of her, took off her shoes himself, and massaged her feet.

He wore a wedding ring on his ring finger that matched hers. Then he said gently, "Be good. Give me a hug."

Su Hanyu had kept a secret buried in her heart for years: she liked Chen Chao. A secret crush was one person's private chaos. Night after night, she traced the boy's silhouette in her dreams, etching it into her heart again and again.

The day he transferred schools in their second year of high school, Su Hanyu chased his speeding car for a long time. All he left her was swirling dust and the boy's blurry silhouette.

What Su Hanyu didn't know was that the night before he transferred, the boy had stood downstairs from her home all night. Snow turned his hair white, and he only left at dawn.

There was an unsent message on his phone: Su Hanyu, I like you.

A little bonus scene:

At a college alumni reunion, everyone was chatting about old times when Chen Chao's roommate murmured, "Damn, I don't remember anything else, but I do remember that year Chen Chao lost the hair tie on his wrist and went crazy looking for it."

Su Hanyu: "Why?"

The man: "Chen Chao said it was his life."

Su Hanyu: ...

[Turns out, she wasn't the only one who'd been thrown into chaos.]

Mutual pining #ReunionAfterYearsApart #MarriageFirstLoveLater #FromHighSchoolToTheCity

[You don't need to tell me if you're dropping the novel. There are countless great stories on Jinjiang. Don't force yourself to read something you don't like. Just click the X.]

Coming soon: Summer Surrender

Wen Xi and Zhou Heng's first meeting did not go well. The girl was covered in injuries, standing at the mouth of a dim alley as she wiped them clean.

The wind was strong, lifting the hem of her school uniform and revealing her slender waist, marked with several purple bruises.

She struggled to wipe herself down, holding the other side of her uniform hem between her teeth. She turned halfway around and scrubbed a little too hard, but her expression remained completely calm and unruffled.

Zhou Heng walked by carrying a can of beer. His school uniform hung open, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a deep scar on his forearm.

The beer in his hand hissed, white vapor rising from it. Halfway along, he took a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. He put the cigarette between his lips and lit it with his head bowed. Smoke curled around him, and his air of despair was startling.

He was the most untouchable student at No. 1 High School: good grades, handsome, and supposedly a pretty good fighter. Wen Xi usually took a detour whenever she saw him.

But tonight, on a strange impulse, she spoke up first: "Hey, can I borrow your lighter?"

Zhou Heng stopped. His eyes looked as though they'd been washed by rain, hazy and misty. His voice was full of desire. "Do you want me?"

"You?" The girl lowered her uniform hem, her long lashes lifting in a graceful arc. "If it's you, then yes."

When they met again later, a fan turned laboriously in a shabby room. The boy washed the blood from his forehead, pinned her against the wall, and pressed his nose against hers.

"Wen Xi, I'll take you away from here."

Years later, they met again at college. In the cramped restroom, the man held her captive in his arms, his lips brushing against hers as he said in a restrained voice, "Wen Xi, you can't get away from me."

[I want to be your flame, even if I burn myself out.]

Secret crush #SmallTownSalvation #HighSchoolToCollege

No intimate scenes before the characters are adults.

Coming soon: Surrender

#MarriageFirstLoveLater#

Su Xi was a hugely popular movie star, stunningly beautiful and graceful, hailed as the entertainment industry's number-one beauty. She had acted in countless films and won numerous awards.

Shang Mo was a top-tier star in the entertainment industry, noble and aloof. He had once starred in a film that grossed ten billion at the box office and was one of the industry's most sought-after celebrities.

Su Xi and Shang Mo were the entertainment industry's two biggest stars, but they couldn't stand each other. They had never appeared onstage together.

Su Xi had even said on a variety show that Shang Mo was the actor she least wanted to work with. After the video was edited and posted, it shot to the top of the trending searches, and Shang Mo's fans spent a month attacking Su Xi.

Su Xi's fans could fight, too. They dug up all kinds of dirt on Shang Mo, including one highly controversial rumor: that he was married.

At the height of the online attacks, Shang Mo was drying Su Xi's hair. Their wedding photo sat on the bedside table. "Be good. Don't move."

Su Xi looked at his handsome features and played along. "All right, I'll be good."

In her head, she grumbled: Hmph. When it comes to acting, I'm every bit as good as you.

-

Their company wanted them to maintain a public image of mutual dislike. At one red-carpet event, they walked past each other, and Su Xi didn't even glance his way.

Su Xi's fans: Good! Well done!

Shang Mo's fans: Go! Go! Go! Show her who's boss, brother!

That night, the temperature dropped to minus ten degrees. Su Xi shivered in her evening gown in the cold wind until someone pulled her into his arms. Warmth swept over her, and she heard him say, "You want to see me go crazy, don't you?"

-

Later, a luxury jewelry brand invited them to be joint ambassadors. The announcement crashed Weibo, which filled with angry fans.

"Shang Mo isn't worthy of standing beside our Xi Xi!"

"Su Xi, stay away from our brother!"

Amid the abuse, one dissenting voice appeared in a post: #Didn'tSuXiAndShangMoNeverTakeWeddingRingEndorsements?#

Later, people noticed that Shang Mo's gaze seemed different when he looked at Su Xi.

Later still, Shang Mo attended an auction and bought a diamond ring worth nearly a hundred million. A reporter asked who it was for.

Shang Mo adjusted his posture, looked into the camera, and smiled. "Mrs. Shang."

The camera caught the side of his neck, where there was a hickey.

Later, someone spotted the nearly hundred-million-yuan ring on Su Xi's hand.

One day, Shang Mo posted from his verified account and tagged Su Xi: Happy wedding anniversary, Mrs. Shang.

Fans: ??? They're actually together??!!