The No-Heart-Pounding Challenge

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[My other story, Mistaken Fruit, is updating. Please add it to your favorites, ORZ.]

Blurb

/A sweet, career-focused slowpoke x a jealous, love-struck bad boy/

Blurb

I

The news that shocked her former teammates for an entire year was this:

Jiang Yuzhou, former star player for the FZ team, who could rule the entertainment industry on looks alone, had become the coach of an elderly esports team with an average age of 65+, in a cramped little storage room in the community center.

His daily pay was one boxed meal from the community cafeteria.

A nosy friend hinted around for information. "God Zhou is making such a sacrifice for that childhood sweetheart next door?"

Jiang Yuzhou glanced at Shi Miao, who was standing with an irritating figure, and gave a cold, expressionless laugh. "Do you think that's likely?"

One day, someone suggested that everyone play the "Don't Fall for Anyone Challenge."

The big screen showed internet celebrities of every style, while laughter and teasing filled the room and the countdown went on and on.

Only Jiang Yuzhou, leaning silently against the sofa in the corner, said nothing. Light and shadow fell across his sharply defined profile. His narrow black eyes were like a deep, still pool, and he looked utterly unmoved by everyone.

No one knew that he had already surrendered in the most humiliating way.

Ten seconds after she sat beside him.

II

To complete the difficult task of becoming a full-time social worker, Shi Miao hurried to cling to her childhood friend Jiang Yuzhou.

But he was incredibly hard to please.

The day before, he had leaned over with his fluffy head and let her wipe the dirt from his face, like a gentle giant dog.

The next day, he was cold and dismissive, speaking in a sarcastic, passive-aggressive tone. He even walked off without a word while she was taking a call from a senior student.

When her best friend once again gossiped about their relationship,

Shi Miao forced a smile and put on a brave front.

Honestly, even if Jiang Yuzhou and I were lying in the same bed, nothing would happen. :)

It didn't take long for her to learn what it meant to speak something into existence.

III

After a chaotic night,

Shi Miao squeezed her eyes shut and huddled under the covers like a quail.

A long, handsome hand brushed her stray hair aside and pinched the soft flesh of her cheek.

Then Jiang Yuzhou's smug, satisfied voice came from above her head. "What, you don't want to take responsibility?"

"Wouldn't this count as..." Her lashes trembled as she protested in a tiny voice. "Both our fault?"

"Fine. Let's recreate the whole incident."

Shi Miao: T^T

*

"A youthful crush means...

I've already made room for her in the rest of my life."

Adapted from The Truth Is True

[Reader's Guide]

1. One-on-one, both are each other's first love, happy ending.

2. A short, sweet confection focused mainly on the romance.

3. The dating-show bonus story can be read on its own. If you're not interested, feel free to skip straight to the main story's bonus chapters.

4. This is my first story, so it has plenty of rough edges and the writing is amateurish. If you don't like it, just close the page. No need to tell me you're dropping it~

PS: Paragraph comments are open. Come have fun >3<

Blurb for the Next Story

Mistaken Fruit

▲ Rekindled romance | Fake relationship turns real | Intense push and pull | Urban

Blurb

I

During her first week as a hospital intern, Chi Xue met Chen Wangshu.

In the crowded corridor, he stood backlit with a medical chart in his hand. His pristine white coat outlined his tall, slender figure, giving him an indescribably aloof and elegant air.

A young woman who had made up a flimsy excuse to strike up a conversation blushed with embarrassment.

He seemed completely oblivious. Brief and to the point, his cool, handsome features radiated distance.

Like a cold moon high in the night sky, looking down on the mortal world, he made it impossible to entertain any presumptuous thoughts.

At the time, he was already working independently under his mentor, while she was still a fresh-faced intern.

They hurried past each other in the department without their eyes ever meeting.

Only she remembered his unguarded sleeping face on a midsummer evening, and the brief, unexpected kiss they shared.

And only she knew how much of her heart had been hidden in their relationship, which had started for a reason.

But a story built on self-deception could never have a happy ending.

II

Four years later, Chi Xue unexpectedly ran into her old flame at a dinner gathering.

Their uninformed friends deliberately tried to set them up.

Chen Wangshu leaned back in his chair. After a brief silence, he said calmly, "There's no need."

But as the gathering came to an end, he heard her draw a firm line between them.

He curled the corner of his mouth, a trace of self-mockery passing through his deep, dark eyes.

"So, to you, everything back then was just an act, and none of it counted?"

Chi Xue had no intention of getting involved with him again.

Not until a snowy night, when she saw her blind date out and turned straight into a familiar embrace.

A kiss that brooked no refusal made the air grow scorching hot.

She looked up and, in a daze, saw snowflakes melting at the corner of his eye.

The man who had always been so confident lowered his head. His despondent voice brushed her ear, trembling with restraint.

"Choose me."

"We're more in sync when it comes to this, aren't we?"

III

To outsiders, Chen Wangshu had a privileged family, a promising career, and seemed to have everything within easy reach.

But no one knew that his tranquil life had once gone off the rails.

The first time was four years ago, when a chance encounter led him to ask a girl to pretend to be his girlfriend.

The second was after they met again, when he staked everything and became her lawful husband.

/

"The cruelest punishment for a rational person is to watch himself fall while fully aware of it."

[Reader's Guide]

1. Cool, obsessive surgeon & gentle yet stubborn floral artist. The leads are each other's one and only, happy ending.

2. Purely urban setting, rekindled romance, with a long, drawn-out romantic push and pull. Both leads have their flaws.

3. Medical details are based on online research and personal experience.

Blurb saved as a screenshot.

Theme: Break through the challenges of communication between generations and explore the issue of retirement in esports.