I Became My Archrival's Pacesetter

Preorder now open: The Devilish Beauty Conquers the Bad Boy at Her American High School. Blurb below.

[Blurb]

Flamboyant drama queen, blind sprinter gong VS sensitive, stubborn, cool-guy guide runner shou

A sweet, mutually healing story. No sweetness, no payment!

From the age of six, Yuan Xin’s lifelong rival in the 400-meter sprint was Ding Fan.

On the provincial team, they were “king against king when apart, and someone always got upset when they teamed up.”

But two years ago, Ding Fan suffered an accidental injury to both eyes and had to leave the team. He vanished without a trace.

Without a rival, Yuan Xin was unbeatable for a while. After a period of glory, however, he hit a wall.

With his senior year of high school approaching, his family insisted he focus on his studies and give up his dream of becoming a professional athlete.

Team leader: Here’s a little suggestion for an indirect route to success. Ding Fan has decided to return to the men’s 400-meter track as a para-athlete. You could apply to be his guide runner.

Yuan Xin: Not a chance!

How could I be a crutch for my former rival?

The first time they met again, Ding Fan pointed his white cane at him. “You there, thief! Give me my Baosheng back!”

Yuan Xin: “...Has that condition of yours really not improved at all?”

After a little small talk, they got around to the guide runner position.

Ding Fan: “If you can’t run it in under 49 seconds, I definitely won’t take you. I’m a man who’s going to the Paralympics. I can’t let my guide runner hold me back.”

Yuan Xin: ...

Damn it. He knew it was a provocation, but he still couldn’t help taking the bait!

In height, build, and running habits, the two were a perfect match, practically destined partners. Things still went down a path Yuan Xin had never imagined.

He thought partnering with his nemesis would mean a painful adjustment period. Who knew they were so familiar with each other that they even remembered which leg the other started running with?

As expected, your archenemy is the person who understands you best in the world.

To build their rapport, they moved into the same double dorm room and became roommates, together day and night, at close quarters.

Ding Fan’s poor eyesight made it hard for him to keep a proper social distance. He was always getting right in Yuan Xin’s face or holding his hand. His dirty talk grew more and more practiced, and he was always saying things like “Baby,” “We have the best chemistry,” and “We’re made for each other.”

What made it worse was that the coach he’d brought over from Britain kept adding fuel to the fire: “You should act like newlyweds on their honeymoon. That’s the fastest way to build rapport.”

Ding Fan flashed a grin, showing off his pearly white teeth. “Wifey!”

Yuan Xin: Life had never been this much of a trial.

At first, life really was a trial. But things gradually got better, and the two took the track side by side, breaking their records again and again. Yuan Xin even managed to overcome his plateau.

Once bitter rivals, now they were “each a king apart, and unbeatable together”!

And they even became...

Ding Fan: (plaintively) Yuan Xin, I was wrong about you. You’re not a dog thief, you’re a heart thief.

Yuan Xin: (coldly) Yeah. I stole it, and now I’m stuck with it.

Ding Fan: (grinning) Then why are you holding my hand so tightly? Afraid I’ll run away?

Yuan Xin: (seriously) I’m afraid you’ll go and bother someone else.

Reader’s guide:

1. Some aspects are artistically embellished, so please don’t read too much into the real world.

2. There are no real-life inspirations. This story is entirely fictional.

Preorder: The Devilish Beauty Conquers the Bad Boy at Her American High School

A 180-cm self-proclaimed straight, pampered devilish beauty VS a 196-cm ruthless mixed-race swimming champion

Build difference / height difference / instinctive attraction

Ling Siyuan, the devilish young master of a wealthy family, gets stranded in San Francisco by accident, only to be maliciously targeted by a “bad dog” in his host family.

Ian Fisher, 19, is of Chinese, American, and Italian heritage. Standing 196 cm tall, he is a 200-meter butterfly swimmer and one of the stars of San Francisco’s Franklin High School. Cold-faced and fierce, he’s extremely difficult for people his age to approach.

And because he despises the rich, he treats a delicate young master like Ling Siyuan especially badly.

The moment they meet, he calls the police and has this “trespasser” arrested. After that, he tries everything he can to drive him away, refuses to give him a ride to school, and leaves him by the roadside.

When he sees Ling Siyuan making a splash at school and becoming the most talked-about person on campus, his disgust is barely concealed.

“A mysterious Eastern beauty who can sing and dance”?

Hah. He’s just a silly little rich kid who’s been spoiled rotten!

But a beautiful silly little rich kid.

Such exquisite, lovely features, and a graceful, slender body honed by ballet, like an elegant swan.

Fluttering all over the place, making a nuisance of himself.

*

Ling Siyuan has never been afraid of being targeted. Putting on a show is what he does best.

When it comes to taming a dog, a head-on clash is no fun. You have to play to your strengths and use strategy:

Overcome strength with softness, like wrapping your legs around his neck in Brazilian jiu-jitsu;

Show a little weakness, like during that terrifying night at the motel;

Wait for your moment while conserving your strength, like the feverish sleep-kiss after standing up to bullies;

And of course, use the beauty trap, leading to “the prince’s loyal dog turning the tables.”

Before long, the dog changed. He turned perverted.

The look in his eyes began to lose its innocence, and his inner struggle grew so fierce it practically leaped off the screen.

Watching Ian’s left and right brains battle it out, Ling Siyuan was delighted.

He loved seeing Ian hate him, yet fall for him a little more each day!

*

The once-arrogant shark of the pool finally set aside his pride and prejudice, chasing after this little swan who flew wherever he pleased.

The bird and the fish turned out to be a perfect match.

Like a fish in water, like a bird returning to its nest.

They soared among the clouds day and night.

But Ian still wasn’t satisfied.

The little swan had only stopped in his world for a moment, and now he was going back to China.

In the shimmering, empty pool, Ian cornered Ling Siyuan and, for once, tried to make him stay. “Stay.”

“Or...” Ling Siyuan tilted his head, gazed at Ian’s handsome face, and beckoned with a finger, speaking slyly. “Why don’t you come with me?”

#BeautyTamesTheDog,LifeOnlyGetsBetter

Theme: Overcome difficulties and become a strong person in life