The Gray-White Whale

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[Two academic aces] [Beautiful but tragic] [The one who got away] [Mutual devotion]

Cen Yin first sees Chen Jiaxun outside a juvenile detention center. The slender boy has a close-cropped buzz cut, and the instant their eyes meet, his deep, dark gaze collides with hers.

Not long afterward, Cen Yin spots a familiar figure in the back row of her classroom.

She’s helping the teacher collect a physics quiz. The paper is completely blank, with only three bold, sharp characters written in the name field.

So his name is Chen Jiaxun.

*

Most of the rumors about Chen Jiaxun at school are bad. Everyone fears him, yet can’t help being drawn to him.

He’s taciturn, keeps his distance from both school and his peers, and always has an icy air that warns strangers away.

But Cen Yin has seen him patiently and tenderly tell a little girl a story.

She’s heard the smile in his voice in the still, silent space: “Cen Yin, why are you blushing?”

She follows him to race cars on a mountain peak and watch the first fireworks of the New Year, their starry brilliance reflected in the boy’s deep, black eyes.

*

When they meet again years later, the boy who once lived in a run-down alley has become the sole heir to the He family of Hong Kong.

Across a sea of dazzling lights, Cen Yin watches him surrounded by people, the center of everyone’s attention.

She hurries away, only to spot a black SUV in the pale light of dawn. It’s been parked there all night.

The man is leaning against the car door, a half-burned cigarette still between his fingers.

Inside the closed car, Chen Jiaxun hands her his phone. “I don’t know the roads here. Help me with the navigation.”

The phone has a passcode. Cen Yin is about to ask him what it is when

Chen Jiaxun focuses on reversing, his eyes on the rearview mirror. “Your birthday.”

*

That late autumn, as the ginkgo leaves turned yellow, neither of them was the only one who fell in love.

[Reader advisory]:

1. 1v1, both leads are each other’s only partner, two academic aces. The story starts at school and later moves to the city.

2. Happy ending.

★ Ongoing: My Crush Is Teaching Me How to Flirt with Him

★ A sweet, slightly oblivious heroine x a cool but gentle hero | Character illustrator x game developer

★ [Reunion after a long separation] [Hero has a secret crush and carefully plans his approach] [Age gap] [Mutual devotion]

1.

Lin Zhisu’s impression of Shen Yu:

Academic ace, campus heartthrob, untouchable beauty, her current boss

Shen Yu’s impression of Lin Zhisu:

Neighbor, dining buddy, roommate, and #￥@%&

Lin Zhisu: ?

2.

Lin Zhisu asks, confused: “When did I become your roommate?”

Shen Yu coolly adjusts his glasses. “Last night.”

Lin Zhisu blushes. So that garbled part was…

(Can’t think about it, can’t remember it. Stop.)

Shen Yu lowers his eyes, watching Lin Zhisu’s ears grow redder and redder.

She doesn’t ask, and he can’t bring himself to answer.

3.

At a class reunion, Shen Yu loses a game.

Someone teases him: “Senior, can you finally tell us who your one true love was back in school?”

Lin Zhisu sits beside Shen Yu, a sudden ache tightening in her chest. Just as she lowers her eyes, he takes her hand.

Everyone at the table waits to hear the long-awaited gossip. Under the table, their fingers are interlaced. Lin Zhisu tries to pull away, but Shen Yu holds on tight.

Tenderness fills the man’s eyes as he answers seriously, “She’s right beside me.”

/

Lin Zhisu, that garbled part was

In the cicada-filled summer of that year, you entered my world.

Since then, the cicadas have never stopped, and the summer breeze has never faded.

Theme: Work hard to become a better version of yourself.