Chaos and Upheaval

[Pei Changlü, your fiancée is about to start dating someone] [Life abroad] [Other man] [Bittersweet, slightly angsty romantic comedy] [A story where bug x bug somehow makes love run smoothly] The entire novel has been revised, with some plot changes. It differs from pirated copies. Thank you, lovely readers, for supporting the official version~ The print edition is titled South Wind Before Nightfall. Find the link on Weibo: @Nine-Grid-Fantasy, the writer. Please add my new book, Mohorovicic Discontinuity [Marriage Before Love], to your reading list. When Xu Zhiyi moves into the century-old house at 33 Tree-Lined Road, she has no idea that waiting for her are a backyard full of thieving white parrots, a strange man, and his bizarre list of rules for sharing a home. Break a rule and you'll be fined, with no mercy: [One hair found in a shared area: $10 fine] [Looking into someone else's room: $10 fine] [Roommate starts dating: $2,000 fine] Xu Zhiyi can't help wondering: What kind of weirdo is this? Then one day, she sees the familiar, handsome face concealed beneath his hood. The proud, gifted, and free-spirited boy from years ago has grown up. He's taller than before, with broader shoulders, and there's something new about him that Xu Zhiyi doesn't recognize: the aggressive, threatening presence of a mature man. - Han Shang never thought that he would run into Xu Zhiyi again after all these years, in a foreign land in the Southern Hemisphere. He had assumed she'd gone to America long ago and gotten together with someone else. He calls his longtime friend Pei Changlü. Pei Changlü: “That's right. Zhiyi and I are getting engaged. Our parents are putting a lot of pressure on us, and I was thinking the same thing. It'll happen at the end of the year.” Han Shang hangs up. Back then, he had thought too much and done too little. Now, fate has given him another chance. Pei Changlü, your fiancée is about to start dating someone. Mutual crushes, reunited after years apart, one-on-one romance, happy ending A story about ideals and reality, escape and growth, and whether to slide down a sand dune or struggle to climb over it. Reading Guide: 1. Each lead has only ever loved the other. They both had secret crushes. The hero may seem like he's trying to steal another man's girl, but Pei Changlü is really just a minor character. 2. The story alternates between the past and the present. 3. The author's peculiar sense of humor means these two keep misunderstanding each other through one coincidence after another, yet somehow manage to fall in love quite smoothly. They start dating before confessing. Readers who prefer characters to say exactly what they mean may not enjoy this. 4. No lavish, decadent lifestyle. The story depicts the real poverty of life as an international student. Coming soon: Mohorovicic Discontinuity [Marriage Before Love] Rain falls in fine threads outside the window. It's not yet dawn when Song Changli gets up and walks around the foot of the bed to pick up his shirt, accidentally brushing Chi Ran's foot. He immediately apologizes. “Sorry.” Chi Ran draws up her leg. “It's fine.” He picks up Chi Ran's clothes and sets them beside her. Chi Ran: “Thanks.” Song Changli: “It was nothing.” He straightens his shirt buttons one by one, then adjusts his cuff links. “I'm leaving on a business trip this afternoon and won't be back until Saturday. Could I ask you to contact the property manager about getting the streetlight by the entrance fixed?” Chi Ran: “Sure.” Song Changli: “Thanks for taking care of it.” Chi Ran: “No need to thank me.” Song Changli walks to the door. His hand rests on the doorknob. He pauses, then lets go and comes back. His breathing is unsteady, but his tone remains polite. “I won't be back until Saturday, so could we skip once this week? Could we do it now in advance?” A sweet Marriage Before Love story One-on-one romance, happy ending. Title and character names are provisional. Weibo: @Nine-Grid-Fantasy, the writer Theme: Ideals and reality, escape and growth, sliding down the sand or climbing over the dune