Drowned in Roses

[Check out the companion novel, Looking Up at the Moon!] - A straightforward, oblivious beauty who doesn't know she's beautiful, like a little rose × a cool, devoted, all-around genius [Mutual pining / School life / Healing sweetness] 1. Her friend sums up Wen Shuli in one sentence: beautiful without knowing it. The most talked-about moment on No. 5 High School's forum was when she took the stage at the arts festival and played “Daylight” on the violin. The girl wore a pale white dress, her presence pure and luminous. Light and shadow suddenly swept across her, and in that moment she seemed like a beloved, heavenly princess, with all the stars gathered around her. After the performance, a boy blocked her way. “You're so beautiful. Be my girlfriend.” Wen Shuli raised her long lashes. “Sorry, I like someone.” The summer when she was fifteen remained vivid in her memory. On the basketball court, the boy leaned against a branch. The broken sunlight of midsummer rested against his face, blazing and dazzling. She tried to collect every detail about him: he liked summer, soda, roses... Yet she never found out his name. 2. Shen Yan, a famous figure at No. 5 High School. He was cool and aloof, and his grades left everyone else behind as he held the top spot in his year. Countless girls lined up to give him love letters, but he turned every one of them down. The boy said with easy confidence, “Sorry, my heart belongs to someone.” He remembered their chance first meeting for three whole years, but at the time, it felt as though an endless river separated them, keeping them out of reach of each other. Later, his best friend told him that a pretty girl had a crush on him. He couldn't be bothered to ask who it was, until he happened to see the familiar chestnut-brown hair in a photo. The boy's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He smiled without a word. When they met again in high school, he deliberately approached her time and again, laying his plans step by step. His intense desire drew her into a dazzling whirlpool of roses. “Wen Shuli, I like you.” “Little Rose, stay right where you are. I'll come find you.” 3. At a college gathering, everyone plays Truth or Dare. Shen Yan draws a dare card: [Speak the truth]. Everyone around them turns to the couple and starts teasing them. Wen Shuli asks him, “A Yan, what am I to you?” Shen Yan smiles softly, his eyes full of affection. The room is dim, darkness stretching on around them. He leans close to her ear, his voice low and deep. “You're my weakness.” -You're my only weakness. You always will be. Note: 1. High school and college; one true pairing, first time for both, happy ending; extremely sweet! 2. They won't date before reaching adulthood. 3. It's a little long, with a slow start. ---Upcoming novel: Looking Up at the Moon--- [Please add it to your collection!] - A gentle, dazzling fashion designer × a roguish IT company CEO / a devoted, manipulative puppy [Childhood friends / He has a crush on her / Older woman, younger man / Two-year age gap] 1. Xia Qingyue, the universally acknowledged department beauty in the design program at Jingcheng University, is just as her name suggests: beautiful as the moon. She has a dazzling, bewitching face and a pair of foxlike eyes that captivate the soul, yet her personality is gentle to the core. In others' eyes, she's the moon in the sky, a flower in a mirror, forever beyond their reach. No matter how creatively her many admirers try to woo her, Xia Qingyue smiles and turns them down. The red teardrop-shaped mole at the outer corner of her right eye is like a dab of cinnabar, alluring yet gentle. “I'm not thinking about dating right now. I'm focusing on my studies.” Who doesn't love a gorgeous woman who's clearheaded and rational? From then on, Xia Qingyue is crowned “the hardest-to-pursue beauty on the mountain peak,” standing atop her pedestal. But someone sees a young man corner her in a deep, shadowy alley, his brown-haired head resting on her shoulder, looking utterly aggrieved. “Sis, do you like me?” For the first time, she is at a loss for words. Then the young man's identity is revealed: Surprise, that kid is the beauty's childhood friend! 2. Jiang Ci, a first-year student in the Information Engineering Department, is exceptionally talented. His peerless academic record has made him well known throughout Jingcheng University. To outsiders, he's carefree and unruly, seemingly bad to the core. Who could have guessed that the other side of him is a manipulative, clingy little brat? “Big Sis, this water's too hot. Blow on it for me.” “Big Sis, I can't eat spicy food. Don't you care about me anymore?” “Big Sis, grow your hair long. I want to see you with long hair.” The wilder he acts, the softer he gets when he calls her Big Sis. With every “Big Sis,” Xia Qingyue loses herself and falls deeper. His meticulous care washes over her, and in that moment, she admits she's fallen for him. But what she doesn't know is that Jiang Ci has had a crush on her for nine whole years. 3. Later, Xia Qingyue becomes a renowned designer in Jingcheng, while Jiang Ci founds the city's largest IT company under the name Qingyue. One day, their companies work together. At the banquet, investors look around for them. But in an unoccupied corner of the back garden, Jiang Ci easily pins her in place and bends to kiss her. Warmth spreads between them. Xia Qingyue instinctively steps back, her ears turning red as she pretends to warn him, “Little brother, don't get carried away.” “I'm not your little brother.” He brushes a light kiss against the snow-white, delicate neck of the person in his arms, leaving bold red marks in plain sight. His hot breath falls against her ear. “I'm your man.” -You're my moon, and my moon alone. Note: 1. College and city life; one true pairing, first time for both, happy ending; trust me, it's sweet! 2. The hero's personality is quite different from what you'd expect. Theme: Be brave and pursue what you love.