Burning Incense, Gazing at Spring

[Thank you all for supporting the official release. If you can, please leave a five-star review!] [Blurb] Once you've experienced unconditional love, you'll never forget how it felt. The wasteland is barren. If flowers begin to grow there and fill it with color, then barrenness is no longer her fate. Being loved is. Wuji Jiang was a perfume Jiang Yanci created when he was seventeen. After meeting Gu Zhixu, he added a magnolia note to it. The finished perfume was never released, but it did have a tagline: “When the first magnolia blooms in Jianan, Wujiang will go on sale.” But flowers don't bloom on a set schedule. If one never blooms, should you wait forever? Later, the flower bloomed and Wujiang went on sale. When the flower faded, Wujiang was discontinued and became a collector's item. Waiting for the first magnolia in Jianan to bloom meant that Jiang Yanci was waiting for Gu Zhixu to fall in love with him. - Years later, Gu Zhixu, famous for her debut novel, attends a new product launch. A reporter asks her what her favorite perfume is. She answers, “Wujiang.” The perfume was discontinued only a few years after its release, and to this day no one knows why it was discontinued or who created it. The reporter asks in surprise, “Does it mean something special to you?” Gu Zhixu is silent for a moment, then nods. “Yes. It's the keepsake that brought my fiancé and me together.” After Wujiang was discontinued, she tried every way she could to buy a bottle at a high price, but it had long since disappeared without a trace. A week after the launch, Wujiang, the discontinued perfume, is announced for rerelease. Perfume lovers wait all day for the promotional video and preorder information, but when the time comes, the official account posts only a photo. The young man and woman in the photo are wearing school uniforms, their eyes brimming with smiles as they look at the camera. The caption reads, “Happy birthday, my spring.” - “Wujiang was discontinued so you wouldn't even have the chance to borrow its scent to remember me. I wanted to become a regret, so you'd remember me forever.” [Reader's Guide] - Told in flashback, from school days to adulthood; reunion after years apart; mutual pining - One true pairing, happy ending; once they get together, they never split up again - A little melodrama; the heroine is three months older than the hero. Please read with caution if that bothers you. - The hero's personality changes considerably over time due to family circumstances - They save each other; the heroine suffers from severe depression, but is mostly recovered by the time they reunite - They both choose each other; they didn't separate because of a misunderstanding - Details about perfumery and depression are based on online encyclopedias and books, and are not meant to be scrutinized. Please contact me for removal if there are any issues. - Publication updates on Weibo: @Xiao Shi Xian Upcoming novel: She Says We're Just Friends Shi Xian has liked Xu Yang since childhood. She's smart, brave, and beautiful. She was even willing to “die” with him. When he was little, Shi Xian accidentally swallowed chewing gum and thought he was going to die soon. Crying, he wrote a will and asked Xu Yang to give it to his parents, then lay in bed waiting to die. Xu Yang was scared too, but gritted her teeth and swallowed a piece as well. She said, “Shi Xian, we'll be fine. And if we're not, I'll be with you.” They grew up together and went through all kinds of childish yet earnest “ups and downs.” Xu Yang even promised to be with him for the rest of their lives. He always believed Xu Yang liked him too. But he'd overlooked the fact that her kindness was a chivalrous impulse she showed to everyone equally. One day, A popular debate topic online asks, “Can men and women be just friends?” Xu Yang answers matter-of-factly, “Of course. Aren't Shi Xian and I?” Everyone turns to look at Shi Xian. The person in question chews his beef unhurriedly, looks up, and gives a careless smile. “Why are you looking at me? Her logic is flawless, isn't it?” That night, Shi Xian changes Xu Yang's contact name from [O2] to: [This bad woman who plays with people's feelings, I'm never talking to her again T_T] Five minutes later, Xu Yang knocks on his door, her hair still wet. “Shi Xian, dry my hair.” “...Oh, coming.” [Reader's Guide] - A super-perceptive, chivalrous heroine versus a cocky, double-standard, chuuni hero - Ensemble school story, childhood friends, bickering couple, everyone is a chuuni Theme: Love gives you the strength to become yourself.