Bird of Passage

[BE! Terminal illness! But it’s a healing, sweet romance!] [It really is sweet. If it isn’t, you get your money back!] “Arctic Tern” When he learned he had less than a year to live, Arctic Tern could only say four words: “Holy crap, that’s badass.” He called his boyfriend of seven years, Ji Nanfeng, and rambled through a whole mess of excuses, trying to find a way to break up with him. But then he heard the gentle question on the other end of the line and remembered the face that could heal all his troubles. He thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “I miss you, wife. Let’s go get barbecue tonight!” * Arctic Tern joked to Ji Nanfeng as he held up his medical report, “It’s all their fault. They said chasing you used up all the luck I’d ever have.” Ji Nanfeng said nothing. He tucked the blanket around him and silently kissed his fever-warmed forehead. Arctic Tern lifted his head and kissed his face again. “But I think they just don’t get it. These past few years with you have been worth more than living to a hundred.” * Arctic Tern’s dream was to travel to the Arctic with Ji Nanfeng and photograph a bird that shared his name: The Arctic tern, the migratory bird that flies farther than any other in the world. Every year, they travel between the North and South Poles, spending their entire lives in flight. “Did you know migratory birds are also called passage birds?” Arctic Tern told Ji Nanfeng. “Like me, they spend their whole lives passing through the world.” “The journey will be very, very long, but with the south wind at their backs, Arctic terns won’t be lonely.” #Rational, loyal, devoted bottom X gentle, melancholy top# Treatment in the early chapters, travel in the middle and later chapters. [Reading Guide] 1. BE!! BE!! The bottom has a terminal illness!! 2. The romance is sweet and doting, not angsty. They’re an old married couple, and their feelings for each other are absolutely mutual. 3. The bottom likes calling the top “wife.” No reason, he just wants to call him wife! 4. No melodrama, no groveling ex, no misunderstandings. Just an ordinary sweet romance. 5. Photographer bottom X painter top. Written for my own enjoyment, with a potentially excessive amount of artsy content! 6. That should be everything. Six is a lucky number. Please add “BUNNY” to your reading list too! [Blurb] 1. A hundred years ago, the “Mechanical Heart” came to the New World. Industry flourished, and the Steam Age began. Along with it came a new gospel: God loves all people, and God will erase every disaster and heresy. Xuerong is a gifted mechanic born into nobility, but after defying God, he is marked for punishment and purification. Just before the “Hounds” take him away, the frail-looking young man resolutely raises the pistol in his hand. One gunshot, and there is no turning back. 2. On the wanted posters, Xuerong goes by the codename “BUNNY.” There’s no clear photo of his face. All anyone knows is that he has a rare pair of snow hare ears, and that despite his sickly, pale appearance, he has made countless Hounds fall flat on their faces. Hound One: I can’t do it. There are stars in his eyes. I can’t bear to make him cry. Hound Two: I don’t believe it. He’s so white and soft. How could he possibly be a wanted criminal? Hound Three: I don’t know. I got there, and he knocked me out almost immediately... 3. After countless failed attempts to bring him in, the ferocious Hound Wen Yubai is personally chosen for the mission. Dragging heavy chains, he steps out of his cage. His only task is to bring Xuerong to justice. He must succeed or die trying. After meeting Xuerong: Wen Yubai: Then I’ll die trying. * To keep ferocious dogs from hurting people, Wen Yubai has to wear a specially made muzzle whenever he’s allowed to move freely. The restraint frustrates him to no end, until the very target he’s supposed to capture, Xuerong, picks the lock on the Queen’s military arsenal right in front of him. Wen Yubai immediately abandons his position. “If you unlock this for me, I promise I’ll never hunt you down again.” Xuerong leans close to his ear and fiddles with the lock for ages before finally laughing. “I replaced it with a new lock. Now I’m the only person in the world who can open it for you.” #Scheming, sickly beauty bottom X naturally unhinged, loyal dog top# Please add my next-next book, “Crossing Songs,” to your reading list too! [Blurb] Fu Sang has never left the riverside town in western Hunan where he grew up. When his older brothers go out to row boats and fish with nets, he stays behind to read in their stilt house. Sometimes he hops aboard to sing and splash in the water, then feeds the cormorants, who are nearly bigger than he is. And just like that, the day is gone. His days are carefree, until one day a stranger carrying a camera arrives on the riverbank. The polite young man smiles and says to him: “You’re beautiful. May I take your picture?” * -Yin Tunan’s diary- A Sang’s skin is like spring snow in March A bell is tied around A Sang’s ankle with a red cord A Sang sits by the boat, singing softly and sweetly A Sang kissed me, and his eyes shimmered like water #Mischievous bottom X honey-tongued top# Theme: Embrace parting with an open heart.