A Rain-Soaked Summer Night

During her graduation trip on a beach in a foreign country, Xi Tang meets Hutton Lambert. He's quiet and modest, and doesn't like drawing attention to himself. The good news: Hutton is a college football player. The bad news: Unfortunately, he's a backup no one knows about. At a party, all the girls have their eyes on the handsome, charming starting player, Diggins. No one likes Hutton or pays him any attention. If he hadn't been sitting in a corner secretly watching her, she probably would have missed this uncut diamond too. Xi Tang feels sorry for him, pities him, and encourages him. It's definitely not because of his handsome face or sexy, muscular build. She keeps making the first move, time after time, but gets little response. Of course he doesn't respond, because Hutton doesn't like her at all! This whole flirtation, this whole heart-fluttering affair, was nothing but wishful thinking on her part. Enough. This ridiculous story of mistaken feelings ends here... But why does he start clinging to her the moment she gives up? Wasn't he supposed to never make the first move? Why does he flirt with her, kiss her, and hold her? It only takes one game as a starter for his natural brilliance to shine through, impossible to hide any longer. Only then does Xi Tang realize that he's not some unknown backup at all, but a secret weapon the team has deliberately kept under wraps. This charming guy was a high school celebrity, a star quarterback adored by girls. He'd only been keeping a low profile to avoid all the annoying attention. From the media, the fans, and all the girls who liked him. Hutton is no longer, or perhaps never was, a secret that belongs only to her. In an instant, he becomes the first person girls turn to for gossip, stealing the spotlight from Diggins. She's jealous, but avoids him because she doesn't want anyone to find out. He immediately leaves everyone else behind and comes looking for her. Breathing unevenly, he begs her, "Don't ignore me." When the graduation trip ends, so does their summer romance. - The night they meet again, Xi Tang doesn't know which is more awkward: that he's the center of attention at a party, while she's a server who caused a commotion with a mistake, or that when their eyes meet, both blushing, she realizes he doesn't remember her at all. The gaze that once burned so passionately, as if he wanted to soak her through, now turns toward her, unfamiliar and indifferent. The paparazzi from the Tulip, always digging for gossip about sports stars, are waiting outside the bar. They had planned to catch player Diggins in the act of cheating, but instead they accidentally snap a photo of Hutton, famously immune to scandals in the league, kissing a Chinese woman in the alley behind the bar. In the photo, later bought for a million dollars, his hands hold her tightly around the waist, as if he wants to press her into his body. His gaze is so heated it seems ready to melt her. Someone marvels that Hutton is interested in more than just football! He's boring? He's boring. Her note is in his wallet, and her photo is in his locker room. The person in his heart hasn't changed for a single day all these years. Find more international romance and size-difference stories in the author's collection~ Reader's Guide: 1. Both leads have only ever been with each other. The heroine had a boyfriend before, but because they were young, they only held hands. 2. Reconciliation after a breakup / reunion after years apart / size difference / international romance. (The heroine does not attend an American university. She stays in China for college and reunites with the hero in the US for graduate school.) 3. [Every plot point serves the story] This is just a novel, so it inevitably has a lot of made-up details. The setting is fictional, so please don't compare it to reality. Thank you! *Important: In this fictional setting, the legal drinking age is 18. The descriptions of football games include many made-up details. This isn't a football sports story. Thank you for understanding. 4. Please treat one another with respect~ Don't mention other authors' work in the comments for this story, and don't mention mine under other authors' hard work! Thank you! (Such comments will be deleted, and I hope you understand.) Next story: The Night at 22 Degrees, Su Li x Lu Jiayan - One night during a study trip abroad, Su Li decides to confess her feelings to Sheng Ze, the boy she's secretly loved. He leans against the windowsill, busy chatting with other girls. Why would he care about spending a quiet night with her? On her way back, she runs into Lu Jiayan in the hallway. This study trip had started because of him. One word from the young master of the Lu family, and half of Yuncheng's rich and powerful families signed their children up for the same trip. The Su family got the news late. They had to call in favors and spend a fortune to snatch a transferred spot from someone else. The next day, the young master announced he wasn't going, leaving everyone dumbfounded. How could he mess with people like that? But no one dared blame the unruly young master Lu. Fortunately, the trip went ahead after all, and Su Li learned that he'd changed his mind at the last minute because he had feelings for someone, and that girl wasn't on the list. After he catches her crying, Su Li feels awkward and humiliated. But then she remembers that Lu Jiayan was only there to get away from the crowd. Besides, even though they came together, he probably couldn't even remember her name, could he? Thinking about it that way makes her feel better. Later, at the welcome party for his return from overseas, the Su family still isn't invited. In the end, Su Li manages to attend with her older cousin and finally sees him from afar at the party. The handsome, distinguished young man wears a black suit and stands at the center of a crowd. Even so, his handsome features are unmistakably cloaked in indifference. He is casual, too lazy to socialize, in stark contrast with the enthusiastic flattery of everyone around him. And she can't even squeeze into the circle of people flattering him. Who could have guessed that later, the young master himself would come to her and ask if she wanted to make Sheng Ze regret it? Su Li is tempted. "How would I make him regret it?" He looks at her and smiles casually. "Marry me." But he already has a girl he loves... Su Li realizes the truth and agrees. In this marriage, which is destined to be a partnership and nothing more, Su Li is sensible enough to be ready to walk away at any moment. One night, when she can't sleep, Lu Jiayan drives her to Yun Mountain to look at the stars. The wind is strong at the summit. He wants to hold her, but Su Li politely steps away. Lu Jiayan holds back his frustration and asks her, "What do you think we're doing?" Su Li says nothing. Maybe this is practice for dating, or a rehearsal for a date? Once you've made your girl in your heart change her mind, will you do this all over again with her? But she seems unable to keep playing along with him. She can't help falling for him. Theme: Pursue your dreams bravely, broaden your horizons, and enrich your life experience.