Folded Paper Stars

Blurb: In her first year of high school, folding paper stars became a trend. Fold your feelings into stars one by one, make 1,314 of them, and give them to the boy you like. Your wish will come true. Jiang Mo did what everyone else did, hiding under her quilt every night after finishing her homework to fold them. At last, she had folded all 1,314, only to see the neighbor boy she liked accept someone else's stars. The paper stars that held her young girl's feelings, along with her decade-long secret crush, were hidden away in an unseen corner of her heart. Years later, after returning to the country, Jiang Mo is a fresh-faced university teacher, while He Xingchen has become a sought-after cardiac surgeon at the First Affiliated Hospital. He's still just as far out of reach. She never thought they'd meet again, much less that they'd get married. He Xingchen proposed when she had just come out of anesthesia after having her appendix removed, alone. He said, "Jiang Mo, will you marry me?" -- In the years since he joined the First Affiliated Hospital, He has never had a woman by his side. He's aloof and ascetic. He's a god in the operating room, and a god outside it too. Everyone is curious about who will win the heart of this untouchable beauty. One day, after several surgeries in a row, a pretty, sweet young woman comes to bring Dr. He food. She says she's family. When she smiles, a pair of shallow dimples appears in her cheeks. She's absolutely adorable. His colleagues assume she's another girl pursuing Dr. He and stop her at the door. When the real deal arrives, one colleague awkwardly tries to make excuses. "Dr. He, you have a little sister?" He Xingchen takes the hand of the woman looking at him with wounded eyes, interlaces their fingers, and carefully draws her into his arms. The proud man's face darkens. He gives them a cool look and says in a low voice, "She's not my sister. She's my wife." Everyone is dumbstruck. -- He Xingchen has known since he was old enough to remember that Jiang Mo would become his wife. In this lifetime, from her first unsteady steps to their gray-haired old age, from childhood sweethearts to a lifetime together, it can only be you. #Key point: Childhood sweethearts at school in the first third, followed by a city romance that starts with marriage in the second two-thirds. #Gentle, quiet university teacher x cold, ascetic cardiac surgeon. #No romance before adulthood. There are misunderstandings, but they're not worth mentioning. [Coming soon: Start of Winter. If you're interested, please add it to your list~] Qin Nanshan is one of the types of men Wen Yi likes least: rigid and stern, with no hobbies and no passion, like a stagnant pool deep in a forest. Throw in a stone, and not a ripple appears. After one chaotic night at a class reunion, Wen Yi revises her opinion. He's not entirely without redeeming qualities. A month later, Wen Yi stares at the two vivid red lines on a pregnancy test and falls into deep thought. Ever since she was old enough to understand, her rule for life has been not to marry or have children. -- At twenty-eight, Qin Nanshan is an associate professor in the mathematics department at A University. He's a perfectionist who hates surprises, whether in mathematical formulas or in life. When Wen Yi comes to see him, he hasn't slept all night, forcing himself to accept this unexpected turn of events. They register their marriage, hold a wedding, and move in together. They hate each other, but have no choice but to put up with it. One winter night, Wen Yi suddenly wants something sour. She changes her clothes and gets ready to go out. Qin Nanshan, dressed neatly and working overtime in the living room, looks at the shoes she's kicked into disarray by the entrance. His brows knit as he patiently asks, "Where are you going?" "I want something sour." "Do you have to have it?" "Yes." The man lowers his eyes to check his watch. It's 1:07 a.m. He lets out a helpless sigh and stands up. "I'll go get you some." A story of two adults who fall in love after a pregnancy. Theme: You are the only one.