Green Tangerine

A sensitive, resilient, chuunibyou girl x a sharp-tongued, scheming orthopedic surgeon

Xia Ju hated her stepsister most of all. Her stepsister was spoiled and vicious: she broke Xia Ju's school supplies, cut up her clothes, and burned her mother's mementos.

But even someone as domineering as her stepsister had someone she both admired and loved.

Whenever her stepsister saw Qin Yueting, she became perfectly well-behaved, sticking close to him and displaying all the signs of a young girl's secret crush.

Xia Ju liked Qin Yueting too.

But Qin Yueting was her stepsister's attending physician, the chief of orthopedics. In his white coat, he was refined and ascetic. He came from a prominent family, and every woman in the hospital considered him a catch. He was a true child of heaven.

Even Xia Ju's beautiful, pampered stepsister, the apple of the Xia family's eye, couldn't catch his attention.

Meanwhile, Xia Ju was in high school, ranked near the bottom of her class, dressed in ill-fitting clothes and shoes, and treated like a nobody in the Xia household.

Her stepsister deliberately kept her existence secret, so from beginning to end, Qin Yueting had no idea there was another girl named Xia Ju in the Xia family.

Xia Ju knew they were as different as clouds and mud, and that they had not the slightest chance.

*

Until one day, her nemesis at school led a group of thugs around looking for her. Xia Ju spotted Doctor Qin sitting in a cafe with a woman.

She dashed over and plopped down beside him.

Qin Yueting turned to look at the strange girl.

Her nemesis was still outside the window, refusing to give up. Xia Ju pointed at Qin Yueting and blurted, "This is my dad. He beats people up really badly. Why don't you come in and see?"

Qin Yueting looked like someone you didn't want to mess with, so the thugs left, unwillingly.

The woman across from him who had been trying to chat him up also slammed down her cup, grabbed her bag, and left.

Xia Ju breathed a sigh of relief. But when she turned around, she saw Qin Yueting looking at her with an amused smile. She had just ruined his blind date.

Doctor Qin scared Xia Ju so much that cold sweat broke out all over her. She bolted on the spot.

The next time they met, Xia Ju had a broken arm. Ignoring the doctor's advice, she turned and tried to leave.

A man in a white coat grabbed her and forcibly pushed her back into her chair.

Through teary eyes, Xia Ju saw that it was Qin Yueting.

"What right do you have to boss me around?" she roared, bristling with hostility.

Qin Yueting leisurely lifted her arm and said coolly, "Because I'm your dad."

Xia Ju choked, and even managed to stop her tears.

"You know I beat people up really badly, right?"

Qin Yueting watched her with a cheerful smile, thoroughly enjoying scaring a high schooler.

The high schooler trembled with fear and obediently sat in the chair while he put her arm in a cast.

*

Later, when Xia Ju got a thirty-seven on her physics exam, Doctor Qin held her report card and smiled like a spring breeze as he crooked a finger at her.

Only then did she learn that Doctor Qin really did beat people up super! badly!

Later still, the ever-smiling Doctor Qin looked at her with a serious expression.

"I can't exactly be your dad, but there's another position on my household register that's much better suited to me."

Doctor Qin bent down to meet her gaze, his eyes full of affection.

"How about it, sweetheart?"

Having a crush on someone is addictive. Having a crush on Qin Yueting is intoxicating.

Xia Ju's Diary

A sweet story with both leads having no previous partners, an eight-year age gap, and no romance before she comes of age. School comes first.

Theme: Don't be defeated, give up, or lose confidence in the face of adversity. Keep striving forward, and there will always be a chance.