Never Falling from the Gods [Redemption]

Quirky and spirited x gentle and gloomy (a reunion years in the making + healing childhood wounds + fairytale comfort + secret crush and romantic tension / Please add to your collection)

After an accident, Gu Li suffers severe psychological trauma. Once the darling of the heavens, he now spends his days in despair, to everyone's dismay. It takes all his courage just to venture outside, and he ends up falling straight into the sea. Gloomy Gu Li thinks, There's no saving me. Maybe this is fate.

Just as all hope fades, a "mermaid" swims toward him against the light, like a deity descending from the heavens.

Once ashore, the mermaid's style takes a sudden turn. With heavy makeup, green hair in a jellyfish cut, and a thoroughly unconventional outfit, she says, "Um, how are you going to repay me for saving your life?"

The person before him has bright, clear eyes. This is obviously all part of a plan.

Gu Li gives a wary sneer. "What are you after?"

Amid the salty, damp sea breeze, he hears her laugh triumphantly. "You."

You stand at the edge of an abyss, trapped in a dark, swirling sea, with no one to turn to. Among millions, you reach for someone you cannot have, alone and in despair.

Don't be afraid. I'll become a deity on the shore, cross mountains and seas to bring you starlight, and piece every fragment back into a song. Until the cold turns to warmth, the light drives away the darkness, love never fades, and you are never alone.

Only later do they realize.

All that supposedly unconventional behavior was the last unrestrained expression of life.

Only later do they realize.

The deity would eventually sleep beneath a tombstone, and remain forever by the side of the one they loved.

[Reading Guide]

*Quirky and spirited x gentle and gloomy. Imperfect characters. Both protagonists are over eighteen. The story has twists and foreshadowing, with the ending revealed at the end. A story of mutual healing and fated, pure love, with the warmth of a secret crush and the healing charm of a small town. Around 100,000-plus words. The female lead's hairstyle is inspired by a green jellyfish cut with dyed tips.

Please add the upcoming novel Next Stop, the Shore to your collection

Zhao Jinlai never expected to see Xu Anli again at a class reunion, just after she'd gotten divorced and become single again.

At the time, Xu Anli was handsome and refined, tall and graceful, leaning against the railing of a corridor, surrounded by the splendor of a world both bright and dim. Blurred lights fell across his striking face, his collar hung open to reveal his collarbone, and a cigarette smoldered between his fingers. His eyes were hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, and as he exhaled clouds of smoke, he seemed solitary and forlorn.

Zhao Jinlai had stepped out to clear her head, but only stirred up old memories. The alcohol made her bolder, and, spurred by a strange desire to prove herself, she went up to Xu Anli and snatched the cigarette from his fingertips. The moment he looked at her, she casually blew a cloud of white smoke into his face.

"Xu Anli, "

She softly called his name with her red lips, every word a tease, a brazen seduction. Her misty eyes were both provocative and alluring.

", Want to kiss me and see what it's like?"

From the corner of her eye, she saw the person who had been hiding nearby to watch, already pale with anger, fleeing in disarray.

Her red lips curled in mockery, and she was just about to get up and leave when, the next moment, a large hand forcefully locked around her waist.

The man's Adam's apple moved almost imperceptibly. His hand was scorching hot, yet gentle, and through his gold-rimmed glasses, he fixed her with a deep, dangerous gaze.

"Even your seduction is so clumsy. You use me and then want to toss me aside, hmm?"

His warm breath brushed her face. She suddenly sobered up from her drunken recklessness, and fear welled up inside her.

*

Xu Anli is the famous heartthrob of their social circle. Everyone says he's devoted to his career, cold and restrained. Countless admirers chase after him, yet in all these years, not one has managed to get close. They say a man without desire can conquer the world.

Until someone accidentally sees Xu Anli pin Zhao Jinlai firmly against the doorway, his eyes red, years of desire and surging love igniting in the hot, humid corridor. Again and again, he kisses the woman in his arms, with fierce, unrestrained passion.

Only Xu Anli knows how many years this kiss has been overdue

*Beautiful and clearheaded x scheming and calculating

*Imperfect characters, happy ending

*Reunion after years apart + groveling redemption + melodramatic elements + a male love rival

(Blurb screenshot saved November 15, 2023)

Theme: Believe that there is someone in this world who loves you.