Chasing the Evening [Secret Crush]

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At the high school freshman opening ceremony, on the school athletic field.

As the outstanding student representative, Ye Jiale stood onstage, bright and confident, delivering his speech with great enthusiasm.

His clear, youthful voice swept past her ears on the gentle late-summer breeze.

He glanced up lazily, and Ke Chenxi's heart fluttered, even from her corner amid the crowd.

She had seen him before.

She had also thought she'd never see him again.

Back in eighth grade, for an entire semester, she'd ridden her bike past after school under the pretense of taking that route, just to watch him play basketball. He'd been a sunny, spirited boy.

The girl's cheeks were bright red.

She didn't know whether the blazing sun had made her blush or whether her racing heart had set her face aflame.

In their first year of high school, they became classmates.

He was a star in the eyes of his teachers and classmates, while she was just one of the many, sensitive and insecure.

He was the boy she wanted to chase after, yet could never get close to.

If not for one upheaval after another in her life, if not for all the pitfalls she'd fallen into, if not for the strange and monstrous people she'd encountered,

perhaps Ke Chenxi would still be that timid, gentle girl.

She thought she'd already managed to transform herself.

That was, until she saw him again.

Ke Chenxi saw Ye Jiale again at the labor arbitration commission in Beijiang District.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, a far cry from the boy she'd remembered in his white school uniform.

But she could still recognize him at a glance from his profile alone.

She'd thought she'd never have anything to do with him again in this life.

She never imagined that they would cross paths again, but she lost this time.

She was the lawyer representing the employee, while he represented the company.

She refused to back down during the hearing, but he caught her completely off guard.

It wasn't her face that turned red, but her eyes that had gone blind.

They were two parallel lines that had gone off course. Even if their paths briefly crossed, they would still return to their proper tracks.

But she didn't know that from then on, even if she kept retreating, he would steadily draw closer, as if it had all been planned long ago, not left to chance.

Ke Chenxi and Ye Jiale both moved into Chaoyang Huafu, and through a twist of fate, became roommates.

At a barbecue, when their other roommates teased her, he lazily spoke up from the side:

“She doesn't even remember me. What makes you think she'd remember you?”

She wanted to get closer, but didn't dare.

That New Year's Eve, she told herself she'd just gotten carried away, swept up in a rush of hormones. But the next night, buoyed by a slight buzz, she confessed her feelings during that clichéd, corny game of Truth or Dare:

“I like boys who have played basketball since they were little.”

If not for all those upheavals in life, if only they had said all the things they left unsaid, if only she weren't the sensitive, insecure girl she was...

But there are no ifs.

There were still so many uncertainties between them, including that mind-bending kiss.

She didn't know what it meant. Was it revenge, or was it just a fling?

But running away was what she did best.

At their class reunion, Ye Jiale learned Ke Chenxi's secret before she learned his.

On the eve of Lunar New Year's Eve, he trapped her in his arms again in the dim light, his burning gaze fixed on her, unable to look away.

“Can we stop running away from each other?”

“I love you, Chenxi.”

It was the first time he'd called her by her given name without her surname, just like she'd long dreamed he would.

It was also the first time he'd said he loved her, not just liked her.

This time, it was his eyes that turned red.

“The bauhinia flowers at Seventh High have bloomed again.”

“Ke Chenxi, I've missed you too.”

It turned out her secret crush had long since blossomed into the most beautiful flower, blooming passionately.

Reader's guide:

A secret crush becomes reality | Reunited after years apart | They choose each other | Both are each other's first and only

1. The heroine is introverted and resilient. Her work as a lawyer later leads her to put on an outgoing, aloof, cheerful front, but she's afraid of getting hurt and always holds herself back. She especially likes burying herself in overtime to numb herself and avoid her feelings. The hero initially can't figure out how she feels and mistakenly thinks she dislikes him, leaving him confused and conflicted. Later, he pursues her wholeheartedly and easily becomes love-struck.

2. Both leads are lawyers, and their reunion comes about because they represent opposing sides in a case. The heroine specializes in labor cases, so the story includes quite a few depictions of them.

3. The story mainly focuses on what happens after they reunite, with a few flashbacks. It's a bittersweet secret crush, with plenty of the heroine's inner thoughts.

4. The heroine comes from a troubled family, but she keeps striving to save herself.

5. They aren't the only roommates; this story has a small ensemble cast.

6. Love is never about rescuing someone in their time of need, but about making a good life even better.

Theme: Love yourself before you can love someone else.