Sour Apricot

[Glamorous and bold heroine vs. reserved, gentle, honest man]

■ Male unrequited love | Older woman-younger man | Pure-love warrior male lead, devoted only to her | Mutual healing

On November 20, 2017, Chen Shang first saw him wearing a brown coffee-colored apron.

Her friend said the guy was pretty handsome, but looked way too easy to fool, kind of dazed and silly. Chen Shang ate as she spoke, picked up a piece of grilled meat and dipped it in sauce, then stole a quick glance and nodded vaguely.

He did look a little dazed.

But he probably would be fun to tease.

*You're like a gust of wind, and yet I wish so much that you'd stay.

[On Christmas Eve eleven years ago, I met a heroine and she gave me an apple. That was where it all began.]

[About the person I love: she's stubborn and sensitive, and she's always trying to find out just how much I love her. My dear girl, you don't have to test me. I've loved you year after year, long before you knew.]

Y's diary

When I crossed everything that had dragged me down and went to war with eternity, you were my battle flag. / Wang Xiaobo, To Love You Is to Love Life

Reader's guide:

1. Happy ending, older woman-younger man.

2. The male lead has had a crush on her for years and is extremely innocent.

3. A little angst for the guy: an honest younger man gets led on while the heroine plans to sleep with him and leave. (Tears. Nothing makes a man look better than a good cry. →_→)

4. The heroine is not a virgin, the hero is. Strong warning: readers who insist both leads must be virgins and fans of the male lead, beware.

5. No real-life inspirations. Don't associate the characters with real people. Any such comments will be deleted. I hope you all enjoy the story!

My next book, Today, the Wind Is Clear Too. Please add it to your collection, everyone! QAQ

Xu Yang visits Jiangzhou and falls in love with a breakfast shop.

The shop has an ordinary name: Breakfast Shop.

She can't tell whether she fell in love with its soup dumplings or its owner. Maybe it was both.

Zhou Zeshu must never find out.

One spring morning, orange-gold sunlight pierced the thin veil of clouds. During his morning run, Zhou Zeshu came across a silly girl standing in front of a selfie stick, chattering away.

One moment she grabbed her ankle and pretended to "soar through the clouds"; the next, she went up on tiptoe and performed a "ballet dance." Then she laughed to herself without stopping.

By the time he finished his run, she had finally stopped making a scene. Maybe she'd worn herself out. Sure enough, she was lying on a flower-bed bench with her eyes closed, fast asleep. He sat behind her to rest and thought, What a clueless girl. She's even left her phone perched right there on the stick.

"Ah, if only I could turn into a bear." She sprang up, full of energy. "All I want right now is to turn into a bear, bask in the sun to my heart's content, then eat a whole steamer of soup dumplings!"

"Listen, if you ever come to Jiangzhou, you have to try the soup dumplings at the breakfast place on Yanlan Street. They're so, so, so good."

So she was recording a video. But bears don't eat that stuff.

"Let's say this quietly while he's away: the male owner is absolutely gorgeous!"

Zhou Zeshu paused as he wiped away his sweat, holding back a helpless laugh, then nodded.

"But there's one thing about him that's really not okay." She cleared her throat and put on the stern voice of a discipline teacher. "Young man, cough, do you know what happens when you skip class for too long?"

"What happens?" Zhou Zeshu walked over with a bottle of water, raised an eyebrow at the horrified girl, and smiled. "I don't know. Why don't you make it clear, Teacher?"

Cheerful vlog blogger vs. gentle, handsome breakfast-shop owner

(The heroine is full of energy. She's not the cute type, just naturally bursting with confidence and infectious energy. She's incredibly uplifting.)

2024.4.22

1. One true pairing, happy ending.

2. A cozy, romantic, sugary-sweet story, a tale of spring.

Theme: We will never be younger than we are today