What Should I Do If My Toxic Boss Was My Childhood Idol?

My next novel, Snowy Night in Moscow, 1956, is a free short story about two men in the 1950s: the moon held high × crawling through the shadows. The one after that is The Fox Trap, a modern urban romance: a dazzling beauty × a foxy man. The blurbs are up on my page. Please add them to your collection!

Original blurb below

Sweet and lively girl × aloof, elegant man

Intern concept artist × “black-hearted” boss

*

Lately, something had been bothering Cheng Xue.

As a beleaguered game concept artist and hardcore gamer, Cheng Xue had just finished a game one day when she did what she always did and bragged to her friend:

“Let me tell you, my boss Li Jinxi is a complete idiot. A total idiot!”

“Who gives an intern an important project, then complains about everything and makes them revise the proposal seventeen times?!”

She’d been so engrossed in her rant that she didn’t notice until she’d finished that one of the sharp-tongued, quiet teammates she’d recruited in the game was still there, apparently listening to the whole thing.

Cheng Xue felt a little uneasy, but reassured herself:

He’s just some online stranger. It’s probably fine, right?

But half a month later, the same teammate invited Cheng Xue to a game.

The first thing he said was that he was Li Jinxi himself.

Cheng Xue: ?!

Should I hand in my resignation tomorrow morning, or make a run for it tonight by hopping on a train?

*

During a recent round of hiring, Li Jinxi ran into someone he knew.

Cheng Xue was a gifted classmate from his calligraphy and painting class thirteen years ago.

Back then, she was only nine, sitting obediently with a writing brush among a group of teenagers. Even so, her exceptional talent had repeatedly won her the teacher’s favor.

Maybe because Li Jinxi had patiently taught her a piece on the guqin and given her a seal, Cheng Xue had always loved sticking close to him.

She would tug at his sleeve and call him “Brother Xiaoxi” in her clear little voice, cute enough to melt anyone’s heart.

When they met again, Li Jinxi paid her special attention and held her to high standards, determined not to waste a genius.

He never expected to find out that

She hadn’t recognized him, and she’d called him an idiot behind his back?

One-on-one, six-year age gap, silly and sweet romance, relationship begins when she’s an adult

There’s a little online gaming in the story. If you don’t play games, feel free to skim the first three chapters. It gets going in chapter four!

#I’ve only studied guqin, calligraphy, and traditional Chinese painting for one to three years each, so I’m a rank amateur. Please point out any mistakes, qaq.

#All the descriptions of concept artists in this story are based on research, but the profession may not be entirely realistic. Please let me know if you spot any errors. I’ll bow down and thank you (thump thump thump).

Coming soon: The Fox Trap. Please add it to your collection. Blurb below.

Dazzling beauty × foxy man

*

With the money she first earned writing songs online as a student, Xu Jin started her own business from scratch. After several rounds of well-judged investments, she became a rising star in the tech world.

The only “flaw” in her otherwise charmed life was that she still wasn’t married.

Once, at a party, a nosy guest asked about it. Xu Jin raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Get married? Only if the groom is Ji Ciguang.”

Ji Ciguang was a prodigy who became a famous actor at a young age, an A-list superstar who always shone beneath the spotlights. He was 187 centimeters tall, with broad shoulders, lean muscles, and a body that exuded sex appeal. He was the dream man of countless young women, yet he’d never had a single dating scandal since his debut.

So everyone thought Xu Jin was joking and didn’t take her seriously.

But the next day, Xu Jin opened her front door and saw Ji Ciguang sitting on the sofa in her living room.

Under the warm lights, the man in a white shirt seemed a far cry from the elegant, dignified star he was on camera. His unruly fringe partly hid his sharp brows, making him look like a well-behaved, pretty little fox.

He narrowed his eyes and asked:

“Big sister, will you marry me?”

*

Few people knew that Ji Ciguang had once been a pawn the powerful Ji family had casually tossed into the entertainment industry.

When he was still unknown, a devoted young fan had kept him going through those bleak years, writing songs for him and giving him her whole heart.

Once he’d made it, the Ji family called in its pawn. They naturally assigned him a task: take down Xu Jin, a rival of the family.

So he deliberately got close to her and dealt her a devastating blow with ease.

But when he unlocked Xu Jin’s most private files, he discovered that they were all filled with songs she had written for him.

Huh?

The actor’s smile faded, and for the first time in his life, he panicked.

Did I just destroy my own first love?!

*

Later, Ji Ciguang retired from show business and reinvented himself as President Ji, heir to a fortune of billions and a man who could turn the tides with a wave of his hand.

Rumor had it that President Ji was aloof and uninterested in women. One after another, his admirers pursued him in vain and went home in despair.

That is, until two videos leaked by the paparazzi shattered the rumors

In one, President Ji is turned away at her door late at night, knocking with a wounded expression. “Big sister, please hear me out.” He looks like an abandoned puppy.

The video leaves everyone who sees it stunned.

In the other

Under dim lights, he pins a woman in a corner and roughly pulls the silk tie from around his neck to bind her hands. After a passionate kiss, he strokes the small of her back between their gasps and asks:

“Are you going to run away again?”

#“If you tame me, then we will need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. It is the time you have spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

The Little Prince

#I surrendered to you a long, long time ago.

One-on-one, both devoted to each other, both sexually inexperienced

The male lead is five months younger

Theme: Ideals and passion make miracles