And Then Came Summer

[The main story is complete; bonus chapters will appear from time to time. The story was revised and rewritten multiple times during serialization. I'm not responsible for pirated versions. Please add my next novels, Butterfly Overturns and See You Tomorrow, to your collections. Weibo: Qing Chi Ya.]

Ye Wenxia met Yan Zheng at the most miserable point in her life.

She'd been rejected three times by the same person. A trip to clear her head had brought sleazy harassment, and after exposing a crooked tour group's schemes, she'd been abandoned on an unfamiliar street.

As the faint chanting of sutras drifted over, she wondered in a daze whether the gods would save her next, or whether something even more unfortunate would happen.

She looked up and saw a man whose eyes were indifferent, yet whose whole bearing held a wild edge.

At first, they were just strangers who happened to cross paths.

The winding, rugged National Highway 318 took them past golden mountains glowing in the sunlight and the evening glow over heavenly lakes. They cheered and celebrated victory together at a lively, sun-baked horse ranch, then waited for a meteor shower at Everest Base Camp.

The journey they never finished was full of regrets, like a beautiful dream cut off without warning.

The day they parted.

Ye Wenxia looked at Yan Zheng and, for the first time, plainly and fervently voiced her hopes. "You should have something to say to me."

The only answer was an announcement over the airport speakers.

After leaving behind sacred, free-spirited Lhasa, she remained the classical dance world's beloved star, basking in applause and flowers, while Yan Zheng was the most untamed, unruly eagle on the plateau.

They never should have crossed paths.

Later.

Her friend eagerly rode the wave of popularity surrounding Highway 318, borrowed her old backpack, and set off on a spontaneous trip.

One afternoon, Ye Wenxia suddenly received a call from her friend.

"Xiaxia, why is there still a sketchbook in your bag? I didn't open it, but a Gesang flower fell out..."

Ye Wenxia froze, then turned to look at Yan Zheng, who was bent over watering the flowers in the garden.

The Gesang flower's meanings are happiness, good fortune, and beautiful love.

So he'd hidden the answer inside a Gesang flower all along.

[We will meet again, beneath a sunlit golden mountain, as snow falls on the capital, a hero breaks through the flames, and summer arrives.]

Bright and lovable heiress x wild and romantic fire station captain.

A partly road-trip novel set along the Sichuan-Tibet section of National Highway 318.

Road trip first, city life later.

Note: The heroine once had a crush on someone else. She gets over him before she gets together with the hero, who has never been in love before.

2. Both leads have had no prior partners. A slow-burn, gentle slice-of-life story. Romance is in the eye of the beholder. No real-life inspirations. The leads act according to their own logic, so don't pick fights about it.

3. Details about firefighters, Tibetan customs, local stories, and legends come from various sources, videos, and accounts by local people. All religious beliefs are respected.

4. The author's writing is a work in progress. If it's not for you, please stop reading in time; there's no need to announce that you're dropping it. Every coincidence serves the plot. When traveling, don't trust strangers too easily.

Theme: Learn to love