A Towering Peril

"There's an ancient Chinese poem that goes, 'The tower rises a hundred feet, and I can pluck the stars by hand.'"

"You may know that when I was young... things weren't easy for me. Luckily, there was always a star shining down on me, so the darkness never felt quite so dark."

"Later, I was fortunate enough to meet that star again as an adult..."

"I let myself entertain an impossible hope, thinking that if I climbed the tower, I could pluck the star from the sky."

"I made every preparation. I conquered my fear, climbed the tower, reached out, and tried to pluck the star that seemed so close."

"But I forgot to ask whether the star wanted me to pluck it."

"The star said it didn't."

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A polished executive in public, a devoted puppy-dog fanboy in private: the bottom. VS. A cold, chaste star in public, a ruthless schemer in private: the top.

An intense push and pull, over and over, with a very slow burn. Both of them have issues.

It looks like a relentless pursuit that turns into requited love. In reality, they test each other and save each other.

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There's no breakup-and-makeup, and no groveling-for-forgiveness arc, let alone a reunion.

All in all, it's a story about learning to face yourself, learning to love, and learning what love means.

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You can call Mr. Cheng a hopeless romantic with no bottom line, but don't call him pathetic.

You can say Brother Tian is messed up and thoughtless, but don't call him a player.

I respect everyone's freedom to interpret the story, and I also respect my right not to accept interpretations that are wrong.

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Realistic fiction, with some details altered. That means everything I write really happened, but not necessarily at that time or in that place.

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I'll do my best to keep this version coherent and easy to read, but there will inevitably be occasional differences from the final version. It's more or less the same, so just bear with it. It's free anyway.

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I don't recommend jumping in before it's complete.

Hope you enjoy it.

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Mr. Cheng is bisexual, but that doesn't have much impact on Green River. It may come up when necessary to move the plot along.

And danmei is danmei. Biological sex doesn't determine self-identity. This is a love story between two men. I won't accept any argument to the contrary.

If that bothers you, steer clear. I'm not responsible for anyone's personal assumptions or preferences.

I'll post this once the fanfic is finished, probably in mid-to-late October.

Oh, and this shares a timeline with BM. It tells the story that the other novel left unfinished, so there are quite a lot of scenes featuring side characters.

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Gou Tang is back, so I'm taking a break from posting on Green River. Until we meet again, friends.

Theme: We don't have to imitate the love that others have.