The Top-Tier Star and His Childhood Friend Assistant

Next up: Sunset Falls into an Orange Sea [Second Chance Romance], Old Rain [The Ex-Wife's Revenge], and After Writing My Boss into an Explicit Story. Please add them to your to-read lists!

[Childhood Friends, Spoiled Farm Owner x Her Loyal Dog]

When they were kids, Chen Yuli became Yu Wanxin's most loyal servant so she wouldn't snitch to his parents.

A hand held out to the right meant he wanted Wangzai milk. A hand held out to the left meant he wanted cake. A glare meant shut up...

Thirty years on, Chen Yuli had become a top-tier star, while Yu Wanxin was now his assistant.

Now that the tables had turned, he demanded that Yu Wanxin be on call around the clock, buy his breakfast at seven every morning, and obey his every command...

But at ten the next morning, she was still fast asleep, so Chen Yuli sensibly bought breakfast himself.

Well, he'd been her servant for over twenty years. One or two more days made no difference.

*

A few days after Yu Wanxin started the job, Chen Yuli realized he was still her loyal servant.

He carried the bags, drove the car, held the umbrella...

He filmed under the blazing sun while Yu Wanxin sat in the shade, cracking sunflower seeds and criticizing his acting.

He posed for photos at Fashion Week while Yu Wanxin feasted in the dining area and mocked his empty stomach.

He braved the wind and sun on an outdoor variety show while Yu Wanxin stayed home watching TV in the air conditioning, calling to remind him to buy cake on his way back.

So Chen Yuli decided to fire his assistant.

Yu Wanxin gave a cold snort. "Do I get N+7? If not, I'll take this to labor arbitration."

"How about N plus the rest of your life?"

Well, as his assistant he'd still be the one serving her. He might as well make her his wife.

Blurb for Sunset Falls into an Orange Sea [Second Chance Romance]

[Gentle, resilient genius physics professor x proud, devoted group president; second chance romance, angsty push and pull, love triangle drama]

He Yan, the finance department's campus heartthrob at Jingbei University, was a rich young master, carefree and flamboyant.

Meanwhile, Xu Xicheng, the physics department's top student, was diligent and proper, spending all her time studying in the library.

At a party one day, after everyone had been drinking, Xu Xicheng thought He Yan had fallen asleep. On an impulse, she decided to end her doomed crush with a kiss.

But just as her lips were about to touch his cheek, the man pretending to sleep suddenly turned his head, and their lips met perfectly.

He Yan's dark eyes fixed on the girl blushing furiously. His amused smile deepened. "How about giving us a try?"

If you set the ending aside, the story that followed would be enough to make up for all the pain and sorrow in the world.

But what story can be told without its ending?

She was the one who ended things. That proud, unruly man stood in the rain all night.

*

They met again seven years later at a science and technology gala. Xu Xicheng was now the youngest associate professor in the physics department at Jingbei University.

He Yan had rehearsed their reunion countless times. He would put the person who'd abandoned him in her place, act cold enough, and make her regret it.

But all those feelings crumbled the instant he saw the ill-fitting coat draped over Xu Xicheng's shoulders.

At the banquet, He Yan stopped her. His unfathomable gaze seemed ready to devour her. "What are you to him?"

But her reply was even more decisive than it had been on that rainy night. "What does that have to do with you, Mr. He?"

Seven years really was a long time, long enough to forget someone completely.

But how could it be long enough for her to stop loving him?

*

They say whoever falls first loses, but He Yan knew for certain that he'd been the one to lose, completely and utterly, from the start.

He admitted defeat. He surrendered.

As long as Xu Xicheng would look back at him, he'd do anything. He was no worse than the men around her.

So why wouldn't she give him even one chance?

"Xu Xicheng, is your heart made of stone?"

"I suppose it is."

"Then why can they all have a chance, but I can't?"

Xu Xicheng lowered her eyes and answered with silence.

He Yan had lost all reason. He seized both her wrists and forced a kiss on her despite her struggles, until the metallic taste of blood between their lips was washed away by salty tears.

Coming to his senses, he pulled her tightly into his arms and apologized over and over.

"Don't cry, little Orange. Don't cry. It was my fault. I'm sorry..."

But the person sobbing in his arms could only manage, between broken breaths, "A Yan... let's just end it..."

*

It's absurd for people who study physics to talk about fate.

But Xu Xicheng still believed that in the instant the singularity appeared, everything had already been decided.

Even Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain couldn't necessarily see all of fate. How could she, a woman living in this mortal world, know where the next breeze would blow?

What are you rambling on about? I want to kiss you.

He Yan, who hadn't understood a word, decided to fight magic with magic and bent down to kiss her.

"Why overthink it? All you need to know is that a man named He Yan loves you more than anyone else in the world."

Theme: Keep moving forward bravely.