Ulterior Motives [Age Gap]

Childhood friends / Reunion after years apart / One-sided crush / Healing each other

[An innocent-looking but calculating younger childhood friend x a handsome, straightforward, looks-obsessed writer]

Tang Zhi is a moderately famous writer on Lvjiang, best known for writing imaginative stories driven by plot.

One day, an old reader left a comment in the reviews of her new book.

"Author, it's been years. Why are your romance scenes still so stiff and unrealistic?"

Tang Zhi felt as if she'd been shot in the knee. Her romance scenes were unrealistic?

Of course they were, she'd been single for 27 years!!!

When her friend heard about her troubles, she offered an idea: "Why not stop turning down the blind dates your mom arranges for you? Spend more time with men, then start dating someone. That'll give you material for your romance scenes, right?"

Thinking of the short, balding, potbellied men her family had set her up with before, who never stopped talking about their secure jobs, Tang Zhi quietly replied: "If I spend time with them, I'm afraid I'll never be able to write romance again."

Her friend asked again: "If that's no good, think back. Was there really not a single handsome guy around you when you were growing up?"

Tang Zhi hesitated for a second. In her mind appeared a tall, handsome boy, vividly smiling as he wiped his sweat with the hem of his jersey and called her "sis."

She smiled as she replied to her friend: "There was one, but sadly, he was younger than me."

The next day, when Tang Zhi went out, she noticed a new tenant had moved into the vacant apartment across the hall and glanced over curiously.

The person from yesterday's chat suddenly appeared before her.

The young man in a black shirt had changed a lot since he was sixteen. The one thing that hadn't changed was how handsome he was.

Tang Zhi stared at him, unable to stop herself from entertaining a wicked thought.

A woman three years older than a man gets a golden brick. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea?

A little scene:

After they officially started dating and had slept together, Tang Zhi took advantage of Shi Yu's good mood and confessed: "Actually, I had ulterior motives when I first approached you."

Shi Yu smiled. "I know."

Tang Zhi was confused. Afraid he hadn't understood, she explained earnestly: "The romance in one of my books was a complete mess, so I wanted to see if dating someone would help."

Shi Yu kept smiling. "I know that too."

"?" Tang Zhi was puzzled. "How did you know?"

Shi Yu raised an eyebrow and lowered his head, brushing the tip of his nose against hers. "Sis, I was the one leaving all those 'hugs' in the comments on every chapter."

"So, did it help, sis?"

Shi Yu fell in love with someone when he was very young, and for many years afterward, he continued to love her.

Blurb updated on January 28, 2023

Theme: Loving you is the thing I've persevered at for the longest