Only After Getting Drunk Do You Know How Strong the Wine Is

My new novel, "A Lingering Love," is now underway. It's a sweet romance about a couple who marry first and fall in love later. Find it in my collection. If you're interested, feel free to check it out, follow, and leave comments.

Blurb:

"Easygoing" tour guide x "difficult" tourist

★

On New Year's Eve, Chen Fu arrived alone in Urumqi after his girlfriend broke up with him just before their trip. His flight was delayed by an hour, and he waited half an hour for his luggage.

From his hat and boots to his expression and mood, he was dressed in black from head to toe. Among the crowd at the arrivals exit, he immediately spotted Song Zhou, who was also dressed entirely in black.

She was calling him, her tone polite and deferential. "Hello, I'm Song Zhou, a tour guide with the Sunrise Over Blue Seas studio. I'm waiting for you at the airport exit. May I ask..."

Then she lifted her eyes and looked at him. That single glance brought back a fleeting glimpse of her in a snowstorm, buried deep in his memories.

Playing the demanding client, he complained to the tour guide, Song Zhou. "Is this what you call a private, high-end custom tour?"

She lowered her eyes stiffly and offered him a deferential, professional explanation and apology. A flush spread across her pale cheeks like a beautiful rose blooming in the snow, just as it had years ago when she blushed shyly in front of him, avoiding his gaze.

His mood suddenly improved a little.

★

Song Zhou had never imagined she would see Chen Fu again.

Ten years ago or ten years later, Chen Fu had always been like the red sun in the sky: the brightest and most distant presence in the world, and her most extravagant dream.

But she had never dared to dream it could come true. From the beginning, she knew that some distances were ordained by fate, and no amount of effort could bridge them.

Then fate seemed to remember her and grant her favor. She and Chen Fu kissed, slept together, and became a real couple.

Later, she went to Beijing, and Chen Fu proposed to her. It seemed her most extravagant dream was about to come true, step by step.

Until the day they went to register their marriage, when she discovered an agreement Chen Fu had signed on her behalf behind her back.

Her dream shattered, and she fled Beijing in humiliation.

★

When they reunited on New Year's Eve, the taxi driver teased them. Song Zhou changed the subject, while Chen Fu gave a dismissive snort, thinking, She's as dull as plain water. Who'd want to chase her?

Back then, he had no idea that much later, he would chase her all the way down the coast, from north to south, and ask her again and again, "Song Zhou, can we start over?"

★

Life is precious, love is dearer still.

But for freedom, both can be cast aside.

Petofi, "Liberty and Love"

★

1. No real-life inspirations. A one-on-one romance between two ordinary people, reuniting after a long separation. The female lead's secret crush comes true, and the male lead stubbornly pursues his wife. There is some angst and a separation along the way, but the ending is happy.

2. The female lead has family-of-origin issues. Neither lead is perfect, and both grow from immaturity to maturity. Their love and the adjustments they make for each other are the main focus of the story.

3. Set in a fictional parallel world. Real-world attractions mentioned in the story are described using information from the internet. Corrections are welcome. Some place names are fictional, so please don't compare them with reality where they differ.

4. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it!

Theme: Love yourself before you love someone else