First Snow, Please Hear My Confession

· School and city life / Reunited after years apart / Secret crush and healing

· Gentle, soft-spoken girl x Lazy, roguish bad boy

After the college entrance exams, everyone planned to get together.

Someone brought up the class's romance gossip, and Shen Zeyi was the first person they discussed.

“Shen Zeyi, so many girls have sent you love letters. How come you've never dated anyone?”

Shen Zeyi sat at the far end of the sofa, dappled light and shadow falling across him.

The moment he lifted his eyes, his gaze landed on Lin Tingcheng. His lips curved into an unmistakable smile, but he didn't answer.

Then someone mentioned Lin Tingcheng. “I remember plenty of guys were after her, too.”

Lin Tingcheng paused for a second, then smiled. “No one was after me.”

Halfway through the gathering, Lin Tingcheng went outside for some air.

At the stairway landing, someone caught her by the wrist. A faint heat traveled up her arm. Before she could look up, a restrained, carefully controlled voice reached her ear.

“Let me pursue you, okay?”

She knew it was Shen Zeyi.

That night, a hot, oppressive rain fell.

Lin Tingcheng left without a word, carrying the summer's stifling heat and the dampness of the rain, along with the words he'd said to her before they parted:

“Lin Tingcheng, you have a heart of stone.”

-

Years later, Lin Tingcheng returned to Songhuai City.

The first snow fell that winter, flakes drifting down as a bitter wind blew.

Shen Zeyi stood in the street beneath the dim streetlights, waiting until Lin Tingcheng appeared. Then he ran toward her through the snow.

Lin Tingcheng curled both hands into her sleeves, her voice trembling. “Why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you.”

His tender voice mingled with the wind and snow as it reached her ear, carrying away the endless loneliness.

Before she could gather her wits, he had taken her hand and intertwined their fingers. Warmth spread through her body, as if a pure, radiant love had been slowly taking shape.

Then she heard him say:

“Through countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters, you have always been the one I love.”

Before the winter night could melt away, we stood hand in hand in the snow.

You said you only loved me.

In that moment, even my heart began to melt into the winter snow.

Reader's guide:

1. The heroine is emotionally complicated and avoidant. The hero guides her, stays by her side, and grows with her.

2. Healing and redemption / mutual secret crush / reunited after years apart / bittersweet push and pull, from school to city life.

3. No intimacy or dating in high school. They are each other's first love.

Coming soon: Bitten by a Butterfly. Please add it to your favorites

University and city life / Second chance at love / Reunited after years apart / Bittersweet push and pull

Cool, aloof rich boy x Quiet, studious girl

Everyone knew they'd once had a passionate relationship.

But no one knew that Lin Shuyu was the one who dumped Pei Yuli.

It was pouring on the day they broke up.

Pei Yuli gripped her wrist tightly and glanced at the man beside her, his voice barely holding back. “Are you going with him?”

Lin Shuyu said nothing. She pulled free of his hand and walked away.

Pei Yuli stood in the downpour, watching her take shelter beneath that man's umbrella. The two of them disappeared from view, huddled together.

Back then, she'd flown into his umbrella like a butterfly, setting his heart beating in sync with hers.

Now the butterfly spread its wings and flew away.

-

When they met again, Pei Yuli was still the darling of the crowd, the heaven-sent prodigy everyone admired.

Lin Shuyu had just returned to the country. Invited to an event, she was pressured by a business partner to drink. Unable to refuse, she was just bringing the glass to her lips when Pei Yuli snatched it away and drank for her.

Someone asked, “You two know each other?”

Pei Yuli's expression was calm as he replied coldly, “No.”

Lin Shuyu smiled and played along, but when she lowered her head, her eyes turned red.

One night later on, Lin Shuyu was still awake at three in the morning.

On a whim, she called him. She heard his heavy breathing on the other end.

She came to her senses and realized she'd crossed a line.

Just as she was about to hang up, his low, husky voice reached her ear. “Speak.”

Tears spilled from her eyes, one after another, as she softly murmured his name. “Pei Yuli.”

I miss you.

But she didn't say it aloud.

At four in the morning,

Pei Yuli appeared at her home and pulled her into his arms. His familiar scent filled her lungs, and his low voice brushed against her ear. “Lin Shuyu, don't ever think about leaving me again.”

He lowered his head and left kiss marks all over her.

Like the butterfly that bit into that vivid summer, leaving it aching.

Theme: To our beautiful youth