After a Blind Date with My Secret Crush

Mutual crushes, reuniting after years apart, marriage before love.

Gentle Chinese teacher x aloof heart surgeon

1. Xin Yuan was forced by her grandmother to go on this blind date. Her grandmother was getting old, and Xin Yuan's marriage had become her last lingering concern.

Her match was a doctor who had returned from overseas, the youngest director of cardiothoracic surgery at the city hospital, a prodigy and a legend in his field. Most importantly, he had the same name as the man she'd had a crush on for ten years.

2. At the cafe, the man was tall and handsome in a white shirt and black pants, with refined, composed features and an aloof air that kept strangers at a distance.

Xin Yuan never expected that he wouldn't just share the same name as her old crush. He was the very man she'd secretly loved for ten years: Shen Zenian.

But how had the boy who once dreamed of soaring through the blue sky, a beloved prodigy of his generation, ended up back in this small city as a surgeon?

The blind date went no differently from the dozen or so before it, with an awkward start and a cool ending. As she left, Xin Yuan said politely, "I'll tell the matchmaker we're not a good fit. Goodbye."

"Wait." Shen Zenian stopped her.

"I think we're quite a good fit. When are you free to go to the civil affairs bureau?"

3. Married life was much the same as before. Xin Yuan hid her girlish feelings and did her best to play the role of a considerate wife. Shen Zenian was busy with work, but when he did have free time, he would patiently and gently keep her company. Still, Xin Yuan knew he didn't love her.

One rainy night, the man who was always so composed came home drunk, his eyes red-rimmed as he clung to Xin Yuan's hand and refused to let go. "Xin Yuan, you have no heart. Please, look at me, will you?"

A little scene:

Before moving, Xin Yuan found a box of old books in the study, along with a locked diary. Its pages had yellowed, and it lay open before her.

The secret they'd hidden on the rooftop in their senior year of high school appeared before her once more.

"Xin Yuan, cry if you need to. Tears are just as powerful as perseverance. I hope the next time you cry, it will be tears of joy."

The handwriting was bold and strong, signed with three flamboyant characters: Shen Zenian.

It turned out she had never been alone in her humble, unrequited love.

Blurb written on 2026.4.29, screenshot saved

Theme: Follow your heart