1.
Top-tier star Chu Jing has never been involved in a dating rumor.
Her first one is with a very tall man she doesn't even know.
The two are caught passing each other in a coffee shop, all because they're holding bags of coffee beans from the same obscure brand.
According to the investigation, this cool, aloof, handsome man is a captain in a certain military district.
The day the photos broke, the trending topics exploded, and paparazzi swarmed the entrance to her home.
At the same time, an incident from her high school days was dug up. The news story and the dating rumor claimed the top two spots on the trending list.
"Chu Jing may have a mental illness."
The top-tier star fell from her pedestal overnight.
2.
The original female lead was suddenly replaced, and her ads and variety-show appearances were canceled. Chu Jing became the most idle person in the entire entertainment industry.
One night, the captain from the dating rumor strode over on his long legs and appeared beneath the dim streetlight outside her building.
The tall man turned his head. "Chu Jing. Have we met before?"
She snapped back, "Obviously. We were even in the same photo."
"I mean... a long time ago."
A hundred years ago, perhaps.
3.
In high school, Chu Jing often had a strange, inexplicable dream. Later, she tried to draw it with her clumsy artistic skills.
It was a story about a spoiled young heiress who had studied abroad during the Republican era and a senior military officer she met.
He once wrote her a letter by hand. The first line read, in ink, "Yu Nan."
The letter became famous throughout the city.
But she never dreamed of how their story ended.
4.
[The former top-tier star is just a pretty face. Not a single one of her performances is worth watching.]
But one anonymous die-hard fan dug up a Republican-era film Chu Jing had acted in during college.
She played an insignificant character with only seven seconds of screen time, yet even in that brief moment, her depth as an actress shone through.
On the day she returned to the top, Chu Jing held her trophy and smiled beneath the spotlights on the raised stage. "That was the starting point of my acting career."
Her sparkling eyes quickly spotted the man sitting gracefully in a corner. Her face flushed as she remembered the reckless night they'd shared.
In the night, the impossibly handsome captain held her in his arms, her clothes thin against him. His voice was low and tender, yet teasing, as he laughed softly in her ear. "So... do you remember now?"
The letter in her hand was crumpled, a crease falling right across the elegant characters "Yu Nan."
/The first time I met you was beneath a century-old locust tree on a street corner in Country A./
Chu admired the view, and happened to meet Nan beneath the locust tree.
"All my deepest love for you is hidden in that century-spanning love letter."
*A captain who seems as bright and noble as the moon, but is actually ruthless and doesn't waste words (Xiao Nan: ?), VS a handsome, roguish captain who's irreverent yet inexplicably reliable, and a beautiful, chuunibyou actress with a quirky mind who'd rather smash the pretty-face label than give up, but is actually incredibly tenacious.
*A winding journey to fish for candy from a jar, only to get so much you feel sick of it!
[Reading Guide]
*Past and present lives. The main theme is the entertainment industry; the Republican-era setting is only a brief prelude. No real-life inspirations. Anything may be changed, including but not limited to character names and the blurb.
*An extremely fictionalized modern setting. Do not compare the male lead's captain rank with real-world systems. It exists purely for the sweetness.
*The Republican-era past life has a tragic ending; the modern life has a happy ending.
Rough draft of the blurb written on May 10, 2023, screenshot saved.
Theme: Be confident and hold fast to your dreams
