Secretly Smitten

[Blind Massage Therapist X Elementary School Teacher]

His world has gone dark. You are all he has left. Whenever those hands, once meant to hold a scalpel, touch you, he trembles.

*

Xu Xiaokui has loved Zhou Xueming for ten years.

They first met on the first day of high school.

Zhou Xueming was utterly alone, visibly poor and uneasy, yet tall and straight as a pine in the snow. He sat beside a little flower, his faded clothes carrying the scent of sunshine after a long day outdoors.

Clean, pure, handsome, and gentle. That was Xiaokui's impression of Zhou Xueming in high school.

Her family was poor too, so she rarely spoke to him. The weight of a young girl's feelings stayed hidden in her dreams.

*

She met Zhou Xueming again after a chaotic parents' meeting.

Sore all over, Xu Xiaokui walked into a blind massage parlor recommended by a colleague.

A man stood there in equally faded clothes, his posture relaxed and straight as a pine. His beautiful, clear eyes, devoid of focus, were pointed at her. Her heart skipped half a beat.

It was Zhou Xueming.

The man who had once aspired to become a doctor now pressed his warm, damp hands against her body. Perhaps sensing her nervousness, Zhou Xueming murmured,

"Relax."

She clenched her teeth, soaking through the disposable pillowcase.

She couldn't tell which of them was trembling.

He walked Xu Xiaokui to the door. The sunset draped Zhou Xueming in its glow, but he had lost the ability to see such beautiful sights long ago.

He smiled faintly, the setting sun reflected in his half-lowered eyes. As he wrung out the damp nonwoven pillowcase in his hands, he said,

"Your voice is quite distinctive."

Zhou Xueming blinked his unfocused eyes, dryly.

"It sounds like the female classmate I hated most in high school."

*

Mutual pining, both leads are each other's first and only, and the male lead will not recover.

A bittersweet romance. A short story.

---- Next book: The Cheetah and the Starry-Eyed Girl ----

[Firefighter who treats his girlfriend like a daughter X Sweet little airhead who gazes at her boyfriend with stars in her eyes, sugary sweet]

Bai Xiaoli works at a stray cat rescue center. She spends her days playing with cats and dogs. Petite, with a pair of dimples when she smiles, she's sweet and innocent.

Then one day, a fire suddenly breaks out at the restaurant next door. Bai Xiaoli is trapped inside, curled up with a cat in her arms.

A well-trained firefighter enters the blaze and lifts her into his arms. "Hang on. I'll get you out of here right away."

Strong, muscular, and powerful, with a steady, determined gaze, beautiful, piercing eyes, and a lovely voice. His sex appeal is off the charts.

*

Zhou Lindong is a fire officer who battles blazes every day. Usually stern and taciturn, he's almost thirty and still single. He's always first to respond to an emergency, earning him the nickname "Cheetah of the Fireground."

His teammates tease him. "Captain, what a waste of your height and those incredible muscles."

"You shouldn't choose a partner based on looks alone." Zhou Lindong put on his training vest and turned to leave, giving everyone a broad, muscular view of his back.

Zhou Lindong is extremely stern and rigid. His job is a race against death, and he never allows himself to slack off or let his guard down. He used to firmly believe that looks didn't matter to him, even though he had absolutely no experience.

Until one day, Bai Xiaoli smiled at him, revealing a pair of dimples, and he lost his head completely.

After pulling every string he could to get a chance to meet her, Bai Xiaoli wasn't interested in him and politely turned him down through their matchmaker.

It was the first time Zhou Lindong had wished a girl would take a look at his face and physique.

*

What's it like to date someone eight years older?

Bai Xiaoli: "Like having a father figure..."

Zhou Lindong casually snatched her milk tea. "It's not nutritious. No drinking it."

But then he went into the kitchen and made a nutritious version of milk tea, carefully handing it to her. "Drink it while it's hot, good girl."

Bai Xiaoli: "Mm. And he spoils me like I'm the apple of his eye."

*

Both leads are each other's first and only. An incredibly sweet romance!

Theme: Work hard and strive forward to get what you wish for.