[The story is locked only for revisions. It'll be updated again once they're done.]
[Updates whenever I can. Please be polite when reading.]
In high school, Chi Yue was sensitive and reserved. She rarely expressed her feelings, curling up like a hedgehog in a safe corner to protect herself.
It wasn't until she met Pei Yi that she realized someone could express themselves without caring what others thought, stand up for what's right, and reach out to help the vulnerable.
Their personalities were worlds apart, and so Chi Yue did the boldest thing she could at the time: she fell in love with him in secret.
The more she learned about him, the more she understood that Pei Yi was an outstanding person, and that she, too, ought to become better.
From following in his footsteps to standing on equal ground,
Pei Yi always seemed to be a little faster than her, so fast that even a whole high school career wasn't enough for her to catch up.
So after the college entrance exams, she decided to let herself move on and stop clinging to him.
Years later, while tidying up old things at home, Pei Yi found a love letter that had fallen out of his schoolbag:
"A secret crush seems to be just one person's unrequited wish. It's like me, doing everything I can to climb above the clouds and brush away the gloom, only to see roses that have stopped blooming and you, who will never love me."
"What I mean is: once summer ends and the cicadas stop singing, I suppose I'll stop loving you."
Only then did Pei Yi realize that what he'd left behind was Chi Yue's passionate youth.
At sixteen, Pei Yi had only wanted to get into Qingping. At twenty-six, all he wanted was to love Chi Yue. So this time, he answered:
"The roses are in full bloom, but I choose the Chinese rose."
"What I mean is, you're not a rose. You're a Chinese rose."
* Sensitive girl × popular boy
* Secret crush / happy ending / school days first, then city life / first love for both
Note: The leads do not have an intimate relationship before they turn eighteen.
Pei Yi's first reply is from the internet. Please contact me if you own the rights.
Theme: May every secret crush find the happiness it longs for.
