The Salt Branch of My Secret Crush

[Signed for print publication. For updates, see Weibo @Lv Jinjiang Da Erduo Guai Jiaolv. The full text has been revised. Pirated copies are incomplete and should not be used as the basis for comparison.] [Unrequited love comes true / bittersweet to sweet / healing and redemption / older-brother-type boyfriend] -Resilient, cool-headed, naturally spacey poor girl x fake gentleman, scheming, aloof and taciturn rich young master Synopsis: After years of secretly loving him and never daring to confess, she finally pushes her crush to take the lead and reel her in. A story full of flirting and romantic tension. Xu Xi was the eldest daughter of a poor family. She had grown up without seeing much light, and every step forward had been difficult. On the day she planned to die, she met a boy who stopped for her and saved her from the dangers of the world. Xu Xi fell for him and loved him for four years. When they met again, he didn’t remember her. At seventeen, Zhou Yunjing was a golden boy. At seventeen, Xu Xi was covered in dust. Everyone said the two of them had no chance at all. But later, Zhou Yunjing held Xu Xi close and kissed her slowly in every place where she had once secretly watched him. *Lighthearted version: 1 Zhou Yunjing was a famous young playboy in the international division, born into an elite family. Tall and long-legged, with excellent grades and countless competition awards, he had the cool, handsome face of someone who looked as though he had eight hundred girlfriends. He was unstoppable, with admirers always at his side and an endless stream of attention. Yet he always looked on his many admirers with cold indifference. Xu Xi knew the gulf between them was vast, so she kept her unrequited feelings buried deep inside. She never expected Zhou Yunjing to become her deskmate. He was cool and arrogant, seeming so proper and untouchable that Xu Xi kept having to rein herself in. And yet... She accidentally brushed his warm forearm, the veins faintly visible beneath the skin. She accidentally glimpsed his handsome Adam’s apple and collarbones beneath his low neckline. Xu Xi thought that if things continued like this, she would only fall deeper. More to warn herself than him, she said, “You and I will always just be friends.” 2 But after she declared they were “just friends,” things started to go wrong. Zhou Yunjing insisted on giving her water to drink. He held the glass to her lips and stared at her without blinking. When she choked and spilled water on his fingers, he told her to lick them clean, saying that was something friends did. Her pen fell under the desk. When she crawled underneath to retrieve it, Zhou Yunjing’s shoe brushed her wrist. Worst of all, one time he even suggested that they share a bed. Xu Xi finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Please put your shirt back on.” Zhou Yunjing looked at her. Water droplets still glistened on his broad abs, and his breath was hot. He leaned close to her ear and spoke slowly, teasing her on purpose: “Why are you embarrassed? We’re just friends.” #After I stopped pursuing my crush, he started flirting with me #How are ordinary poor people like us supposed to withstand a guy this seductive? #Aren’t you supposed to be the cool guy? Why are you such a flirt in private? #I always thought you were a gentleman -One-on-one romance, first love for both, happy ending -The initial tone leans bittersweet and redemptive, but it gets sweeter later. The heroine will become rich and happy in the future, and all her problems will be resolved. For detailed content warnings, see the author’s note in Chapter One. Next book, My Elder Brother Is My Lord, now available: [Not actually related / growing up together / reunited after heartbreak / bittersweet push and pull / age gap / size difference] -Sickly, sweet, clingy girl x distinguished, cold-blooded, arrogant young master [She thinks they share both parents and love each other dearly. Then she thinks they share a father and are tragically in love. Finally she discovers they share neither parent, and decides perhaps they can take things further after all.] 1 Ji Rujiao was the little princess of the Ji family, spoiled and willful, indulged beyond all reason by her big brother, Ji Huaishu. Ji Huaishu was the eldest son of the prominent Ji family, raised in luxury and devoted to self-interest. He was sharp, cruel, and highly capable, looked down on everyone equally, and made an exception only for Ji Rujiao. A friend teased him, “Someone like you is probably going to hell someday.” Ji Huaishu casually crossed his long legs and glanced at the girl happily playing nearby. “Whatever. As long as she doesn’t go.” It was true. With Ji Huaishu’s attitude of “I’d rather betray the world than let the world betray me,” his sister might have been the last, and only, good thing left in him. Though Ji Rujiao was in poor health, under Ji Huaishu’s careful and indulgent care, she bloomed like a rose. Of course, that was all in the past. Later, it came to light that Ji Rujiao was the mistress’s illegitimate daughter, the product of her father’s affair. Ji Rujiao grabbed Ji Huaishu unsteadily, her face pale and covered in tears. “Brother, let me explain...” Ji Huaishu pulled her hand away and looked at the person he had once cared about most, who had now betrayed him. His words were deadly serious, as though he wanted to bite her to pieces. “You disgust me.” Then he left the country, letting her be driven out of the Ji family and left to fend for herself for years. Years later, in an old room that had long been sealed away, Ji Huaishu casually found a dusty notebook. Written inside, earnestly and awkwardly, were the words: [I love my brother most, and my brother loves me most. My brother and I only have each other.] Excerpt from Ji Rujiao’s diary 2 Ji Huaishu returned to the country and seized the inheritance, unstoppable. Ji Rujiao had nowhere to hide. With a storm raging outside, the man pinned her in the darkness and easily gripped her chin. His words came one by one, edged with cruelty: “Now it’s your turn to take care of me.” Ji Rujiao was forced to live with him and attend to his every need. She poured tea, tied his ties, massaged his shoulders, and even had to help him get dressed. Knowing she owed him, she accepted it all in silence. Until one day, she found a surveillance camera at home, its red light blinking. 3 After hating each other for so long, they finally made up. Their friends all marveled at how hard-won their reconciliation was. At a banquet, Ji Huaishu left early with Ji Rujiao, who was drunk. Watching the man carry Ji Rujiao tenderly to the car, Friend A felt that something was off. “They’re both adults now. That’s too intimate, isn’t it?” Friend B thought that filthy minds saw filth everywhere. “They’re siblings. This is normal. It’s just a hug.” Friend A said, “He kissed her forehead.” Friend B retorted impatiently, “It was only a forehead kiss. They’ve finally managed to repair their sibling bond, and I worked hard to make that happen. Don’t start trouble.” Friend A suddenly cried out in alarm, “He’s kissing her on the lips now, and he’s using his tongue!” Friend B: ? -The leads are not blood-related. Both are adults when they reunite. -They are each other’s only one, happy ending. Theme: Loving someone makes you a better person