The Campus Heartthrob Is the Childhood Friend of the Mute Everyone Hates

(Before June, I’m opening a new series for my upcoming school novel, "The Bad Dog and the Love Letter." I’m working on the manuscript now. If you’re interested, please add it to your collection!) At No. 6 High School, the disciplinary board hangs right beside the honor roll. The neighboring glass cases always display two photographs. On the right is Zhou Ai, the loner and mute everyone believes has no loving family and no friends. On the left is Chen Xunfeng, the darling of everyone around him, who does whatever he wants and gets away with anything. They had nothing to do with each other, until someone casually called Zhou Ai a "mute" in front of Chen Xunfeng. Chen Xunfeng's expression instantly turned cold, and he hurled a basketball at the person with all his strength. That cemented their reputation as the top student and the school bully, locked in a bitter feud. When Chen Xunfeng finally corners Zhou Ai at the cramped back gate, the people around them are rubbing their hands together, eager to leave a scar on the mute's pretty face. But the school bully, usually so cold and aloof, braces a hand against the wall and bends down to ask softly, "I've been waiting for you for more than half a year, walking back and forth right in front of you every day. Do you really not remember me?" Zhou Ai raises his eyes, usually lowered in indifference, and slaps Chen Xunfeng, the untouchable boy everyone fears, right in front of the crowd. It is the first time they have seen Zhou Ai sign, but only Chen Xunfeng understands what he says. Zhou Ai signs: Finally done pretending? The mute has never been able to speak. But back in kindergarten, nobody dared even look at him for long, because at his side was a domineering little lunatic who bit anyone he saw. They were the strangest pair in the whole kindergarten: a filthy little lunatic and a spotless mute. No one could get close to their world. But a few years later, someone came and took the lunatic away, and the mute was left completely alone. The mute walked alone through life until he was sixteen, when the lunatic finally forced his way back into his life. And from then on, the lunatic and the mute were never separated again. Many years later, the mute was still a mute, and the lunatic was still a lunatic. But every afternoon at six, the lunatic would drop whatever he was doing and go to the research institute to pick the mute up from work and take him home. 1. Reserved researcher bottom x unhinged, loyal-dog CEO top // top student bottom x school bully top 2. Childhood friends / happy ending / mostly set at school 3. The leads are adults when their romantic relationship begins 2023.3.10 An upcoming entertainment-industry novel. If you’re interested, please add it to your collection! Blurb: At the backstage of the annual awards gala, reporters surround Chen Yan, whose name is mired in scandal, and ask what he thinks of Zhou Helin, the top-tier star who just won an award. "Could you comment on your recent partner, Zhou Helin?" Chen Yan is famous for being a rich young heir with a gorgeous face, a terrible temper, and a massive ego. But for the first time, he answers a reporter's question: "He has a really slim waist." The area around them falls deathly silent. Desperately trying to explain on the live broadcast, a reporter says, "Yes, we all know that Top Zhou has a fantastic figure." Chen Yan lazily lifts his eyes and says something shocking: "What the hell would you know? Have you slept with him?" The livestream freezes, and the entire internet erupts. No one has ever linked Zhou Helin and Chen Yan together. Though they always appear on the same sets, film the same movies, and attend the same events, they are polar opposites. On set, Chen Yan skips work for no reason and arrives with three luxury cars escorting him. Zhou Helin, by contrast, is quiet and reserved. He arrives early and leaves late every day, holding his own when trading acting tips with veteran actors. At events, Chen Yan lounges in his seat playing games. When the camera turns his way, he blows a bubble with his gum, his face cold. Beside him, Zhou Helin leans back in his chair, every gesture exuding the elegance of a refined young master. His looks and bearing are beyond reproach. Chen Yan is a rich young heir mired in scandal. Zhou Helin is a lofty beauty who has descended to the mortal world. In everyone's eyes, they have nothing to do with each other. But on the way home that night, Chen Yan receives a message from a contact saved as "Dead Man": Want to get back together? Chen Yan replies coldly: No. I'm not interested in a man who's four years older than me, has the surname Zhou, and replied "Oh" to my last message. Ever since their school days, Chen Yan's gaze has always drifted to Zhou Helin, beyond his control. At sixteen, surrounded by a crowd, he watches Zhou Helin's silent back in the distance. At eighteen, standing alone on the street, he looks up at Zhou Helin's giant advertisement on a high-rise. Then, at a dinner party when he is twenty, he arrives late, opens the door, looks up, and finally collides with Zhou Helin's gaze, completely unprepared. Rich young master bottom Chen Yan x celebrity top Zhou Helin Childhood friends / mutual pining / at school, the bottom is rich and the top is poor Theme: Persevere, and live life on your own terms