The Night Shines Bright

"The sunlight sinks into a night that stretches on without end."

When you look at me again, the streetlights glitter and the evening glow sways.

*

Shu Yun had once hoped she and Huo Jingsi could last.

They first met in a small southern town.

That day, the weather had been clear when she went out, but suddenly the wind began to howl, whipping her delicate Suzhou-style qipao into disarray.

In an instant, a coat, cool yet still warm, wrapped around her. A man's pleasant voice fell by her ear. "The wind is strong. Put this on."

She was captivated by his impeccably courteous manner and gentle warmth.

One day after they got together, Shu Yun smiled and said, "Actually, my qipao was perfectly safe that day. It had a low slit, and the wind couldn't have blown it open at all."

Huo Jingsi lowered his eyes, playing with her pale, clean knuckles. A hint of mischief touched his lips. "When will you wear a Beijing-style qipao for me?"

Shu Yun blushed. Beijing-style qipaos have high slits.

*

In Beicheng's business world, Huo Jingsi is known for easily putting an end to turmoil within the Huo Corporation with a flick of his wrist. He is ruthless and cold-hearted, and everyone knows it.

When they meet again, he is the famed head of the Huo family, a powerful figure in Beicheng.

She is just an ordinary university student.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the university library, Shu Yun serves as an usher and hands scissors to Huo Jingsi, who stands prominently among the officials.

Amid a hall full of honored guests, he exchanges a cryptic message with her: "Wait for me when it's over?"

The powerful heir's gentleness goes no further than that.

It has nothing to do with promises, only romance and moonlit nights.

She no longer wants them to last, and they never could have lasted anyway.

On the day Shu Yun leaves, Huo Jingsi presses his fingertips to his brow, his expression weary. "This is the second time. A Yun, I really don't have much patience left."

*

Shu Yun never expected there would be a third time for her and Huo Jingsi.

They meet again at the opening ceremony for the master's program at Jing University. Invited as an important guest, he is still elegant and refined, every gesture radiating nobility.

His brief speech draws cheers from the crowd below.

Yet when he looks at her without seeming to notice, his gaze holds less of the tenderness and affection it once did, and more lazy, chilly indifference.

Shu Yun smiles as though it has nothing to do with her and prepares to leave. Behind her, she hears the steady but slightly disordered sound of footsteps. Huo Jingsi grabs her hand. "A Yun, I'm still here."

"I've always been here."

In his life of cold-hearted indulgence, he has turned back for only one woman, and only twice.

Cool, beautiful qipao-clad woman * Noble, refined, roguish CEO

Gentle female student * Young master of the capital's elite circle

Blurb written on 2022-10-21, revised on 2022-12-27, and its first line finalized on 2023-02-14.

Blurb for the upcoming novel Snowy Intentions:

*Cool, alluring female student * Handsome, roguish young master of the capital's elite circle / Bold and gentle * Rebellious to the core

Have you heard of the butterfly effect? The first meeting between Li Zhi and Song Sihan was like the first flap of a butterfly's wings.

The Li and Song families live at opposite ends of the northern capital. They never cross paths, and no one knows the real reason why.

She first meets Song Sihan at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong.

The wind stirs the curtains. Beneath the dappled light, a handsome, elegant, and distinguished man flashes past Li Zhi's eyes.

With a face like jade, he is free-spirited and carefree, spending a fortune just to make the beauty beside him smile.

He is a fearsome presence among the wealthy in Northern Europe.

He is the sole honored guest at the celebrated private estate of Leonte, renowned across Europe and Asia.

He is also a master of flirtation, skilled at setting hearts ablaze.

On a night in a foreign land, he watches her through the curtain of rain. His carefree eyes hold a hint of tenderness, and it's easy to lose yourself in them.

The most charming are also the most dangerous.

Li Zhi doesn't know that he is the young master of the Song family, soon to return home and take over its vast empire.

She falls for him completely.

Later, everything becomes clear on a snowy night.

Hidden in the heavy frost, Song Sihan speaks with a mocking laugh. "It was just for fun. You actually took it seriously?"

In that moment, Li Zhi knows Song Sihan has no heart.

-

That year, snow blankets Wangjing. The old master of the Li family passes away suddenly. Li Zhi walks alone to a temple in the eastern suburbs to pray for her grandfather, kneeling every three steps and bowing every five.

Her father threatens her with his life. "Swear you'll never see him again."

"Otherwise, your grandfather will never rest in peace."

The cold cuts to the bone, and the snow makes the road desolate. Li Zhi collapses halfway there.

People later say that Song Sihan carried Li Zhi in his arms, stopping to bow every few steps, then spent the entire night at the temple chanting sutras for her grandfather.

Years pass.

Li Zhi takes a ship that never docks, drifting with no return date in sight.

They meet again at a grand celebration in Zurich.

Amid the elegant clothes and glittering jewels, he comes toward her in stark black, holding an umbrella in his pale, clean hand to shield her from the rain and snow blowing in from the sea.

For a moment, it feels as though they have gone back to the day they first met, many years ago.

She sees him lower his eyes. His voice is hoarse in the silence. "A Li, will you give me another chance?"

It was never the feud between their families that held him captive.

From beginning to end, it was her, and only her.

Theme: Love means growing together.