A Rose-Stirred Heart [Secret Crush]

My upcoming novels Moonlight's Deep Hues and Wild Love have happy endings. My current novel, The Bookshop by the Sea, has a tragic ending, is free to read, and won't be serialized exclusively. I hope you'll add them all to your reading list!

"Even she has someone she secretly likes? Someone as ugly as her?"

Whenever a cold breeze swept across her forehead and revealed the unsightly birthmark there, Cen Ning's insecurity would rise. She was afraid she couldn't stand by his side.

Then one day, at the city's basketball tournament, the young man finished playing on the court. Looking languid, the corners of his eyes lifted. As if he had spotted someone, he curved his lips into a roguish, lazy smile.

Cen Ning held a bottle of mineral water and stole a careful glance at him from the crowd, not daring to approach. But Su Qin walked straight over to her in front of everyone.

Standing beside the girl, Su Qin raised an eyebrow. His voice was tender and teasing. "Aren't you going to let your big brother have a drink?"

--

When she started university, the birthmark on Cen Ning's face disappeared. She followed in his footsteps once more, getting into A University and becoming a rising star in Central China.

She'd loved drawing since childhood and had taken on plenty of commissions online. During university, she also serialized a coming-of-age campus comic. Its story was about the two of them.

The comic author's note:

[Maybe he'll never know I exist, but I'm willing to cheer him on from behind the scenes and clear every obstacle in his path. Now that this comic has ended, my secret crush should end, too.]

--

Extra scene:

Later, Su Qin somehow found out that he was the inspiration for the comic's male lead, and that the heroine had secretly loved him for six whole years!

After reading the entire comic, Su Qin seemed lost in thought. When he saw Cen Ning again, he leaned close, his warm voice brushing against her ear, and asked in a bewitching tone, "You like me?"

His soft, tingling voice surrounded Cen Ning's ear. Her heart raced, and she blushed. "I'm the only one who likes you."

"What a coincidence. I like you, too. I've been plotting this for a long, long time." His voice was low, as though he were declaring his claim on her.

--

Here are the blurbs for my upcoming novels Moonlight's Deep Hues, Wild Love, and The Bookshop by the Sea:

[Marriage of convenience / Gentle male lead / Age gap / Playing dumb to catch the tiger / Sweet romance]

Gentle, reserved Professor Zhou x adorable designer with a surprising side

Rumor had it that Professor Zhou of Jiang University's law school hated women and men alike. With his cool, noble face and half-rimmed glasses, he was ascetic and distinguished, with countless admirers relentlessly pursuing him.

Lin Xingyun, from the design school, was fair-skinned, beautiful, sweet, and adorable. After finally making it from her county town to a big city, she focused wholeheartedly on her studies and always kept romance off-limits.

Her roommate worried she'd end up alone forever and introduced her to one potential match after another, but Lin Xingyun turned them all down.

She always said, "As the flowers of our nation's future, we should study for the rejuvenation of China!"

--

One day, at a blind date, Lin Xingyun dressed up as a glamorous, provocative woman to scare off her match. Wearing a strapless pomegranate-red dress and heavy makeup, she was the complete opposite of her usual timid, sweet persona.

Little did she know that the man who arrived was Zhou Junyi, the supposedly woman-hating professor her roommate was always talking about.

Dressed in a fitted black suit, Zhou Junyi walked toward her with elegant poise. When he reached Lin Xingyun, he took off his jacket in front of everyone and draped it over her bare shoulders.

"It's cold. Don't wear so little."

His voice was low and clear, and his gentle gesture left Lin Xingyun staring in shock.

--

Extra scene:

Even after marrying Lin Xingyun in a marriage of convenience, she kept up her timid, sweet persona at school. As graduation approached, her roommate was still worried she'd spend her whole life alone. Then, after Lin Xingyun had a few drinks, her roommate saw her take out a marriage certificate with her own eyes.

Wife: Lin Xingyun. Husband: Zhou Junyi.

Roommate: "???"

As her roommate stared at the marriage certificate in a daze, the refined and elegant Zhou Junyi walked over and gently scooped Lin Xingyun into his arms. "Excuse me, could you give me my wife's marriage certificate back?"

The Bookshop by the Sea:

"Ten years of life and death, boundless and vast. I think not, yet never forget." -- Su Shi

Jiang Weiqing, there's a bookshop by the sea. It holds the memories you and I shared.

-- Shen Rufeng

That year, the snow fell heavily. Shen Rufeng never forgot Jiang Weiqing, not once. Then one day, in a dream late at night, she finally saw him again.

"Go back, Rufeng. I've been to your bookshop. It's beautiful, but you can't see it anymore."

"Forget me. Don't wait for me anymore..."

Jiang Weiqing's figure was blurry in the dream. No matter how hard Shen Rufeng tried, she couldn't reach him. She could only watch him slowly disappear, leaving them forever divided by life and death.

When she woke, snow drifted for miles beyond the window, but it couldn't blow away the longing in her heart.

A long, free-to-read work with a tragic ending. It won't be serialized exclusively.

Theme: Find beauty in being alone.