Harbor Extra: Orange Blossoms at the Turn of Spring and Summer

Bonus-story collection for Letters from the Harbor The complete story is free and finished Includes an alternate timeline and child-raising in the main storyline. Please leave a five-star review! · My next story will be Practicing Unrequited Love. Add it to your favorites in my column first. The first time I met Chen Ningxiao was at the birthday party of a rich young lady. By the villa window, the white headlights of a car flashed past. A moment later, a man's languid figure emerged from behind a black lacquer screen inlaid with gold. He was dressed entirely in black, which made his skin look even paler. His right hand, holding a cigarette, hung loosely by his side as he walked, revealing a thin red cord around his wrist. Everyone there was a close friend. Tao Yitan felt out of place and barely spoke the whole time. Looking back, she realized that was how it always was in Chen Ningxiao's circle: quiet, silent, and barely noticed. From China to New York, Tao Yitan spent six years on the road of unrequited love. For Chen Ningxiao, she got into a university she had never dared dream of attending and moved to a city she had never dared visit. She had helped other people pursue him, and even helped him deal with a few romantic entanglements. She had never told him she liked him, and Chen Ningxiao had never asked. Until the day Tao Yitan, who rarely wore makeup, put on a full face, changed into a new dress, and carefully checked her appearance in the mirror before turning around, radiant and dazzling. Chen Ningxiao asked where she was going. “A friend set me up with someone. I'm going to see how it goes.” Tao Yitan's eyes held a faint smile. She suppressed the sadness spreading through her heart and asked, “Would you help me check him out? I'm not very good at judging men.” It wasn't as if she had decided to give up on him. From the very beginning, she had known they were worlds apart and never expected him to look her way. But on a stormy night, rain pounded against the apartment she shared with someone else, shaking the whole building. Chen Ningxiao stood outside her door, his reddened eyes fixed on her. After a sleepless night, his breathing was hot and ragged. “Tao Yitan, you can't just use me to become a better person and then leave me behind.” A cool and arrogant young master with a martyr complex × a sensitive, poor girl. Four-year age gap. /After so many years on the sidelines, I was never lucky enough to speak up. Even if I admire you in secret, I have that freedom./ Unrequited love story, both leads are each other's only ones. · Theme: Love has countless possibilities