The Girl Who Had a Crush on Me for Fourteen Years

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Yu Ran walked into a cafe. The wind chime rang out brightly, and the sleepy owner lifted her head to look at her.

The moment their eyes met, Yu Ran's heart gave a jolt. It had been a long time since she had felt her emotions surge like this.

Yu Ran was sure: she had fallen in love at first sight with the cafe's owner.

The owner had a sweet, innocent look, and the tips of her ears turned red when she brought over the coffee. Yu Ran thought she was adorable, and came to the cafe every night after work.

After nearly half a month of this, Yu Ran finally worked up the courage to ask, "Can we get to know each other?"

The other woman reminded her that her name was Shen Suhui.

Yu Ran remembered her. They had been in the same grade in high school, though in different classes. She had worn glasses and been quiet, well-behaved, and inarticulate, always walking with her head bowed.

She had always been the most inconspicuous person around. Compared to then, she had changed so much.

Yu Ran smiled. "Then let's get to know each other all over again. I want to pursue you!"

-

Just before high school graduation, Shen Suhui clutched a letter as she crossed paths with Yu Ran in the hallway.

She instinctively lowered her head, trying to hide her insignificant self. The opening line she'd thought up slipped from her mind, and she could only watch as Yu Ran brushed past her.

On New Year's Day of her first year at university, Shen Suhui missed Yu Ran so much that she went to her school.

Yu Ran was embracing another girl, laughing happily.

From graduation to work, unemployment, and starting a business... Shen Suhui never crossed paths with Yu Ran again.

Shen Suhui made it through fourteen winters alone.

Then, at the end of the fourteenth winter, the cafe's wind chime rang, and she met the eyes she had never dared hope to encounter again.

Yu Ran gazed at her with warmth and passion, and said:

"Can we get to know each other?"

"I want to pursue you."

-

Bonus scenes:

- 2015.12.31

This is the first winter since I met Yu Ran again. It's so, so cold. I wonder if she remembers that we met before.

- 2016.12.31

The second winter. I get to see Yu Ran every day, and somehow this year doesn't feel so cold.

- 2017.12.31

The third winter, and the last one before graduation. Will I ever get to see her again?

- 2018.12.31

The fourth winter. I couldn't help going to the city where Yu Ran studies.

- 2019.12.31

The fifth winter. I didn't see Yu Ran this year.

- 2020.12.31

The sixth winter. I didn't see Yu Ran this year either.

- 2029.12.31

The fourteenth winter. I saw Yu Ran again. She comes every day to drink the coffee I make. Today she called me pretty and invited me to ring in the New Year with her.

Yu Ran picked up her pen and opened the diary to its last page.

- 2030.12.31

I'm married to Shen Suhui now. I turned the fifteenth winter into spring.

Orthopedic surgeon and cafe owner

Originally titled Fourteen Winters

Reader's guide:

The pursuing lead has had an ex-girlfriend, but nothing physical happened between them. Their relationship was platonic, and the ex was a jerk.

Bittersweet romance, unrequited love becomes mutual, healing and heartwarming, reunited from the very beginning.

A romance between two mature women in their late twenties.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to stay or go.

Revised on 2024.7.3

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Coming soon: Bankrupt, I Married My CEO Nemesis

Blurb:

The favored daughter of heaven, Ji Mingchu, was arrogant and proud, convinced of her own superiority. With her privileged family background, she had enjoyed a smooth and easy life for over twenty years. Then one ordinary night, the Ji family announced its bankruptcy.

Unwilling to accept reality, Ji Mingchu got drunk at a bar, had a fling with a masked woman, left her contact information, and fled.

The woman was slender and sexy, with a butterfly-shaped birthmark on her lower back. She trembled when kissed. Ji Mingchu was distracted, savoring the warmth of the woman's body from earlier, when a familiar sports car pulled up beside her and interrupted her thoughts.

The woman in the driver's seat took off her sunglasses. It was the last face Ji Mingchu wanted to see at that moment.

Wen Xi clicked her tongue and taunted her smugly.

"I heard the Ji family went bankrupt. If you're willing to beg me, I can find you a job and even get you a sports car..."

"You're insane!"

Ji Mingchu walked away. She would never give in to the person she hated most!

When she got home, her father handed her an agreement. She looked closely, and there it was: a marriage contract between her and her nemesis, Wen Xi.

Her father explained that if she agreed to marry, the Wen family would help the Ji family make a comeback.

It was humiliating, but she had no choice but to compromise.

After the wedding, she discovered that Wen Xi's humiliating behavior was baffling.

For example, she had to curl up in Ji Mingchu's arms to fall asleep at night.

For example, she was always ordering Ji Mingchu to call her "wife," and would ignore her otherwise.

And, for example, she was always demanding that Ji Mingchu kiss her lips and skin late at night.

Ji Mingchu endured a year of torment. Wen Xi kept tempting her, and she became more and more unsettled. On their wedding anniversary, she cruelly asked Wen Xi for a divorce.

Wen Xi's smiling face suddenly fell. With red-rimmed eyes, she revealed a vulnerability Ji Mingchu had never seen before. She untied her sash, and Ji Mingchu saw the butterfly birthmark she had been fixated on for a year.

A tear slid from the corner of Wen Xi's eye as she begged cautiously.

"Please don't leave me. I'm begging you."

Theme: True love will be waiting for you in the future.