When Childhood Sweethearts Come of Age

Four-year age gap / younger guy with a secret crush

An intensely possessive, sweet-faced-but-dark younger puppy × an expert at soothing puppies

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At fourteen, Shi Mei became an orphan after an accident and began learning to live on her own.

That same year, new neighbors moved in next door.

Their daughter was a beautiful, dazzling college sophomore attending the most famous university in the city. Even though she only came home on weekends, people with designs on her kept coming to ask about her.

But whenever they knocked, they always got the same answer: "Ming Yi isn't home."

In the room just beyond the wall, the breeze lifted the white curtains. The math problem was complicated and difficult to solve. Ming Yi's slender fingers rested on the question as she spoke in a gentle, melodious voice.

"Meimei, don't get distracted."

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On the night Shi Mei finished her college entrance exams, a storm swept through Nanqiao City. The rumbling thunder kept her awake.

Through a gap in the curtains, she saw the light shining from her neighbor's home and sent Ming Yi a message.

"Sis, the thunder outside is so loud. I'm scared to sleep alone."

She didn't get a reply. A few minutes later, the light next door went out, and then she heard a key turning in the door.

Years later, on another rainy day, Ming Yi brought it up. Drawing out her words, she leaned close to Shi Mei's ear. "I know you're not afraid of thunder."

Shi Mei was editing her resume and remained unmoved.

"And I wasn't asleep, either."

A string of garbled text appeared on Shi Mei's screen. She remembered that daring kiss of hers.

1. There is no detailed romance before adulthood. The heroine is already an adult before her college entrance exams.

2. One-on-one romance, and each other's first love.

3. Probably a short story (no promises).

Theme: Walking side by side and growing together