1.
At the start of her junior year, Lin Zhiyi heard that the university department had recently welcomed a German exchange student. His Chinese name was Chen Siheng. He came from a wealthy family, was cool and courteous, and was so handsome it was outrageous.
One chance encounter was all it took for Lin Zhiyi to decide she would win this top-tier hunk over.
She was usually lazy, but she gave it her all when it came to pursuing him. This included, but wasn’t limited to, going out of her way to arrange chance meetings and signing in every day in hopes of claiming a boyfriend...
But after two months of pursuing him, her crush was still distant and unmoved.
Just as Lin Zhiyi was about to give up, heartbroken, her crush suddenly sent her two new messages:
[You can agree to get back together, Lin Zhiyi.]
[But you can’t leave me again.]
Lin Zhiyi: ...?!!!
Wait, she’d been single for 21 years. When did she get a handsome ex-boyfriend?!
2.
The next day, Lin Zhiyi saw Chen Siheng in an elective class.
He sat down beside her as if no one else were there.
The handsome face that had once captivated her now felt like a ticking time bomb.
On her left, her classmates watched with curious, eager eyes. On her right, her roommates gave her encouraging looks. Her phone buzzed in her drawer with messages from their group chat.
[Holy crap, holy crap, he just sat right next to Zhiyi??! Who said there was no progress? This is huge!]
[Go for it, Zhiyi!! Make your move and get your crush!!!]
Lin Zhiyi turned off her phone. Accepting that she was doomed either way, she closed her eyes and whispered, “I thought about it yesterday. Long-distance relationships don’t work. Even if we got together, we’d break up eventually, so you might as well pretend I never...”
“People are going to die eventually, too.” Chen Siheng turned to her, lowered his eyes, and looked at her, his long lashes fluttering slightly. “Should I go die right now?”
“...”
If what he said was true, Lin Zhiyi thought she might know why they had broken up before.
Blunt, earnest girl x fake ice-cold beauty, actually clingy younger man
Avoidant attachment x anxious attachment
The male lead is of Chinese, Italian, and German heritage. Both are each other’s first and only.
Blurb written on 2026.7.7 and screenshotted for the record.
Theme: Love can overcome anything
