Paper Fish

When Yun Yun was little, she met a sickly boy.

He was shorter than her, couldn't fight as well as she could, and wasn't as good at tattling.

Back then, he was like a delicate wooden doll.

Yun Yun had never seen any expression on his little face other than indifference.

But Yun Yun had a habit as a child: whenever she saw someone good-looking, she wanted to go up and chat with them.

At first, he ignored her completely, treating her like she wasn't there.

Yun Yun refused to give up and kept trying to make conversation out of nothing.

Eventually he started responding, but then he began pranking her every day.

"Hey, Jiang Sui. This picture-based writing assignment is so hard."

Jiang Sui glanced at it carelessly and, for the first time, comforted her gently:

"If you can't do it, don't. The teacher won't check."

Yun Yun was so thoroughly soothed by him that her head was spinning.

Then the next day, she was called to the teacher's office for a chat.

"Jiang Sui, Jiang Sui, can you solve this problem?"

Jiang Sui unhurriedly picked up a pen and quickly explained it to her.

"...I didn't understand..."

Yun Yun was about to cry.

Jiang Sui looked at her and quickly let the corner of his mouth lift. His light brown eyes were beautiful.

Then he quickly put his smile away, shook his head, and said gently:

"You're too dumb. Go ask someone else."

When Yun Yun asked to borrow Jiang Sui's holiday homework, he said he'd forgotten to bring it.

Yun Yun was secretly pleased that she wouldn't be the only one getting scolded.

Then, the very next moment, she watched him pull his densely written homework out of his schoolbag.

After being teased for so long, Yun Yun's enthusiasm soon faded.

Later, she transferred to another school.

When they met again, the boy had become the unattainable ideal of many people. He was polite, gentle, and coolly reserved. It was as if he had become a different person.

Yun Yun went about her busy life quietly, without a fuss.

She could only feel wistful about the brief connection they'd once shared.

What she didn't know was that Jiang Sui's gaze toward her was growing more and more strange.

Yun Yun had always thought she was living a quiet, peaceful life.

She had never imagined that one day Jiang Sui would grip her wrist tightly, kiss her gently, and, in a low, husky voice, coax her half by force and half with tenderness into saying again and again that she liked him.

(The heroine is clear-headed and independent, not a wallflower.)

(The hero has a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside side. Don't read if that's not your thing.)

A lighthearted school romance, both leads are each other's first love, with a little groveling from the hero. Both leads have flaws.

Theme: Only by staying strong through adversity can you find the love you want.