If Love Had a Shape

[Warning 1: This story's heartbreak and redemption may be intense...]

[Warning 2: Neither female lead is perfect. The more angst there is early on, the more intense the redemption later. Please read according to your own comfort level. Treasure your life and keep your glands protected.]

Wei Jinglan has synesthesia. When she talks to strangers, terrifying shapes appear before her eyes, leaving her isolated, withdrawn, and difficult to approach.

Until she meets Chi Xin.

As a girl, Chi Xin stood in front of her to protect her and promised to become the person closest to her. She was a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, lighting up Wei Jinglan's childhood.

Wei Jinglan held onto those words. From then on, to become the person closest to Chi Xin, she willingly stepped down from her pedestal and threw herself into the dust.

Chi Xin was a superstar, so Wei Jinglan became her assistant. She ignored other people's insults, looked after Chi Xin's daily needs, and warmed her bed.

Chi Xin was passive, so Wei Jinglan overcame her illness and confessed first, accepting every unreasonable little fit of emotion Chi Xin had.

Chi Xin was busy with work and had no time to prepare for an engagement after proposing, so Wei Jinglan secretly took care of both families' elders and arranged a surprise engagement party for her.

But later, Wei Jinglan learned that Chi Xin had never loved her. Their passionate relationship had only lasted because Wei Jinglan's body was still useful to her.

The person Chi Xin called closest to her had never been someone she planned to keep for long...

From beginning to end, Wei Jinglan was the only one who had taken that childhood promise seriously.

At their grand engagement party, while everyone thought the marriage alliance would make both families stronger, Wei Jinglan set fire to the carefully designed dress she had spent countless sleepless nights creating.

She shed the mask of the thoughtful little assistant and reclaimed the position no one else could reach.

Elegant and aloof, exceptional and otherworldly, like a goddess returned from ascension, she said, "You're all welcome to witness Chi Xin and me call off our engagement."

Much later, the superstar Chi Xin, adored and pursued by countless people, yet impossible for anyone to surpass, bent one knee before Wei Jinglan without a care for the crowd and begged, "Jinglan, could you love me once more?"

☆ Restrained, reserved, sweet on the outside and dark within, the assistant who is her first love (top) × carefree, pampered, dark on the outside and sweet within, the singer who becomes her lost love (bottom)

Reader's guide:

[1] Showbiz, both leads have no other romantic partners, rekindled love, one-on-one, happy ending

[2] A genuine pursuit of the top after a breakup, no exaggeration or deception

[3] Modern alternate universe, same-sex marriage is legal, no real people served as references

[4] Many original settings, including details about synesthesia. They may not match reality, and the story isn't meant to be scrutinized for accuracy.

[5] The writing is amateurish. I hope you enjoy the story. Feel free to discuss it reasonably, but please don't attack anyone personally.

Please bookmark my next story, Want to See You. If you're interested, check out my author page!

Blurb:

At the entrance to a street-corner coffee shop in Rongcheng, the wind chime jingled whenever customers opened or closed the door.

Inside, the beautiful owner carefully spread out a freshly made missing-person notice and hung it in the most conspicuous place in the shop.

It seemed even more important than the shop's business.

"Ms. Zhuang, could I get your autograph?" A fan recognized the owner and nervously stepped forward to ask.

After a moment's thought, the woman removed her mask with her slender, pale hand and readily agreed.

"Autographs and photos are both fine. Coffee and desserts are on the house. I only have one request."

She pointed to the missing-person notice, her expression solemn. "Could you post this on your social feed and help me find someone?"

Zhuang Weichou was looking for someone.

Ten years ago, on a stormy day, this person had given Zhuang Weichou, then a student, a plain umbrella.

Ten years later, when rosy clouds filled the sky, this person had given the successful Zhuang Weichou a little shop where she could retreat from the world.

A helping hand in the snow, timely rain: nothing could describe it better.

The trouble was, Zhuang Weichou had never seen her.

It was as though their lives ran on different schedules. This person took part in her life, yet stayed apart from it.

As time passed, even Zhuang Weichou began to wonder whether it was all like trying to catch the moon in water, just a dream brought on by wine.

Over ten years, her memories gradually faded, leaving only a few traces in writing.

So Zhuang Weichou wrote down those little moments on paper and kept them in her heart.

Then one day, someone had left a message in that magical notebook.

"Weichou, live well. Stop looking for me."

The president of the Yin Group, Yin, had a secret: she owned a magical notebook that wrote on its own. They said the person writing in it was from ten years in the future, and that person's name was Zhuang Weichou.

Theme: Be grateful for what you receive, and cherish what you have.