I've Been Pursuing You for a Long Time

*Yin Rui (bottom) × Jiang Lin (top)

*Feisty, tsundere kitten × cold on the outside, scheming big-tailed wolf with an S streak

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Yin Rui has recently run into two problems:

1. The rival who wrote him challenge letters for all three years of high school and competed with him for first place every time has ended up at the same university. They're in the same department and the same class... and even share a dorm room, sleeping in bunks.

2. His rival gave him a love letter.

Beneath the dim streetlights, shadows fall in mottled patterns.

Jiang Lin hands over a sheet of paper identical to his old challenge letters.

Yin Rui scoffs. Great, are we going to keep competing in college too?

"Please accept my love letter." Jiang Lin gazes at him, his expression as cool as ever.

Yin Rui: "...Is something wrong with your brain?"

Jiang Lin holds the letter without so much as flinching. "I'm emotionally stable, healthy in body and mind, and have no bad habits... In the future, you can control all the money I earn. I'll give you the prize money from this competition as a down payment..."

Yin Rui's famously slow brain finally catches up. Before he can get out the word "Get lost," someone walks past, and in a panic he snatches the letter and stuffs it in his pocket.

Jiang Lin: "You accepted."

Yin Rui: "Like hell I did."

Jiang Lin: "Can we start by holding hands?"

Can I start by punching you?

Later...

With someone kneading the back of his neck, Yin Rui turns red-eyed and goes soft, cursing, "Jiang Lin, you shameless bastard."

Shameless Jiang Lin leans close to his ear and coaxes him. "Be good. Say you like me, and I'll stop."

Yin Rui, whose mouth is harder than any other part of him: "Like you? With all those challenge letters, we're sworn enemies."

Jiang Lin, who's hard everywhere but his heart: "Baby, every single one of those letters I wrote you was a love letter."

I've been chasing you for a long time.

March 23, 2023

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Reader's Guide:

1. One-on-one, both leads are virgins, happy ending.

2. They have a history going back to childhood. A little bittersweet, but the romance isn't angsty; it's sweet.

3. Can't think of anything else for now. I'll add more if I do...

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Please check out my upcoming story next door, The Police Officer and the Doctor Rekindle Their Love

▌Blunt and tough, the police academy's heartthrob vs. composed and reserved medical prodigy

▌Doctor top | Six years older | Rekindled romance | Both virgins, one-on-one, happy ending

At nineteen, Lu Huiyuan leans over the medical school's wall and whistles at Xue Lianzhi as he walks by. "Hey, senior, want to date? I'm tough and obedient."

Back then, he was passionate and straightforward, determined to melt the iceberg that was Xue Lianzhi.

But the iceberg's heart was a deep sea.

Lu Huiyuan wanted a promise, wanted a response, but all Xue Lianzhi gave him was silent devotion.

Just before graduation, Lu Huiyuan tears up their photograph. Looking into Xue Lianzhi's unruffled eyes, his heart turns to ash. "You go after your future, and I'll protect justice. We're even."

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Seven years later, a serious criminal case brings them together again on the city police bureau's special task force.

At opposite ends of the conference table,

Lu Huiyuan, his police uniform concealing a sharp edge, is the youngest chief of criminal investigations in the System.

Xue Lianzhi, immaculate in a white shirt, is a renowned medical expert in his field.

They exchange polite, distant greetings.

"Professor Xue, I've heard a lot about you."

"Chief Lu, a pleasure."

They refuse to yield to one another.

"Professor Xue, please analyze this from a professional perspective."

"Chief Lu, your operation plan carries significant risks. I don't agree."

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Everyone at the bureau thinks the two of them don't get along. They clash at meetings and sit at least three tables apart in the cafeteria.

No one notices

that Xue Lianzhi is always checking Lu Huiyuan's safety from the corner of his eye,

while Lu Huiyuan always lets a second of longing show after Xue Lianzhi turns away.

When communications fail during a mission, Xue Lianzhi loses his composure and roars, "Lu Huiyuan, answer me!"

Static crackles over the line, followed by a breathless, low laugh. "...What are you panicking for? I'm not dead."

In the ink-black night, their figures intertwine.

Xue Lianzhi tenderly touches the new scar on his shoulder blade. His normally calm voice is scorching and hoarse. "Back then, you said we were even..."

Lu Huiyuan shudders all over, then bites down hard on his shoulder, his eyes burning with a flame that has never gone out in seven years.

Xue Lianzhi winces, but only pulls him closer. "But the rest of my life has belonged to you for a long time." His kiss falls, crushing their breath. "Sentence me to life, Chief Lu."

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Theme: Growing up is painful, and every stage of life brings different challenges. Don't give up on yourself, and don't turn away the kindness of those around you. Love yourself, and in time, you too will be loved.