Playing Nice [School Romance + Reunited Lovers]

[Author's page: Please add my upcoming novel, Meeting Spring in the Mountain Rain, to your collection. Blurb below.]

Everyone at Beichuan No. 1 High School knows Gu Linzhao.

Handsome, aloof, and consistently ranked first in the grade, he's the most outstanding prodigy and the most untouchable beauty on the mountain peak.

That is, until a transfer student named Fu Xianyin arrives.

She has a bright, delicate face and looks like a sweet, well-behaved student.

Not only does she snatch the top spot from Gu Linzhao in her very first monthly exam, but classmates say there's something ambiguous between the two of them.

Everyone says the untouchable beauty must be into well-behaved girls.

But only Gu Linzhao knows that Fu Xianyin is nothing like one.

She's a pro at scaling walls and fighting, and she lies and shirks responsibility without batting an eye.

But it takes him a long time to understand.

Fu Xianyin doesn't just pretend to be good. She pretends to like him just as convincingly.

*

Fu Xianyin has played the good girl for over a decade, and she's mastered the role.

She thought she could keep it up after transferring schools, too. But she slipped up and fell right into Gu Linzhao's hands.

With her good-girl act in ruins, Fu Xianyin decides to stop pretending.

She makes no effort to hide her coldness and rebellious streak. She never expected him to accept all her sharp edges and wrap her in tenderness.

But their paths lead in different directions.

Fu Xianyin has to try very hard not to lose herself in the warmth of his embrace.

*

They meet again while working on a project together.

They pretend not to know each other throughout, until the project ends and Fu Xianyin gets drunk at the celebration banquet.

When she wakes up, she finds someone familiar lying beside her.

She plans to pull the same trick and sneak away quietly, but as soon as she turns over, a strong arm clamps around her waist.

The man nuzzles her ear. The familiar strength around her waist brings last night back to Fu Xianyin.

He bites the tip of her ear, his voice low and lingering:

"What, running away again?"

"Fu Xianyin, who gave you the nerve to abandon me a second time?"

Reading guide:

* Also known as: What do I do after dumping my ex and losing control with him after drinking?

* School days to city life: 7:3

* Lots of healing and a little rekindled romance

* The school-life portion includes an ensemble cast

Upcoming novel, Meeting Spring in the Mountain Rain: A rebellious young master vs. a sweet, resilient girl. Blurb below. Please add it to your collection~

For safety, and because the house across the hall has been empty for years, Qi Qing has always used her neighbor's apartment number as the delivery address for her online orders.

Until she buys a piece of lingerie, and chooses cash on delivery.

One day, someone knocks on Qi Qing's door.

Standing there is Jiang Tingqing, her ex-boyfriend from a secret high school romance.

The dark circles beneath his eyes stand out against his pale skin. His long, alluring eyes narrow, and his handsome brows furrow.

"Qi Qing." He slowly says her name, then expressionlessly lifts the sexy lace underwear with two long, slender fingers.

"Tell me, why was I forced to buy this lace underwear for my ex-girlfriend?"

"And why is it so ugly?"

He smiles maliciously. "I've suffered serious emotional damage, Qi Qing. You owe me compensation."

*

In high school, Qi Qing and Jiang Tingqing were worlds apart.

One was so quiet she barely stood out. The other was a lazy, unruly celebrity at school.

Jiang Tingqing forbade Qi Qing from revealing their relationship at school, so she obediently kept it well hidden.

She hid her crush until the day someone exposed it. Then Jiang Tingqing cruelly asked her to date him.

As if he just felt like dating, and Qi Qing happened to be there.

Just for fun.

*

Their romance was an accident, and so was their reunion.

That's what Qi Qing has always believed.

She thinks Jiang Tingqing just wants to fool around, like they did in high school.

They're both adults. A little excess shouldn't matter.

Until one night, a colleague brings Qi Qing home. As soon as she steps out of the elevator, someone grabs her and pulls her against the wall.

Jiang Tingqing wraps an arm around her waist and kisses her. Before Qi Qing can explain, she tastes his tears.

His voice catches as if he's crying, but he still puts on a fierce act, rubbing his lips against hers as he accuses her in a trembling voice:

"Qi Qing, you treat me like a dog."

Hot tears fall on Qi Qing's face. She hears Jiang Tingqing say:

"I was willing to let you play with me. Why won't you?"

That's when Qi Qing finally understands.

All those coincidences seem to have been deliberately arranged by her ex-boyfriend.

There was another half to the words he'd left unfinished when he said, "Compensate me":

"Make up for everything I lost when I lost you, for all eight years of it."

*

She is a distant mountain where rain falls all year, shrouded in mist that never lifts.

Until spring finally arrives.

Theme: Learning to love and be loved.