It's Not Too Late [Entertainment Industry]

Chu Wange has loved eating fish heads since she was little. Her grandmother used to tell her that if you eat fish heads, it will rain on your wedding day. But when she married Wen Zhuo, the sky was clear, the sun blazed overhead, and the heat left everyone dazed and disoriented.

She had always thought Wen Zhuo, like her, had only entered marriage because circumstances left him no choice. In a family like theirs, marriage was a bargaining chip, something they could put on the table in a deal. Love was far too much of a luxury. What difference did it make whom you married? They were fortunate enough to know each other well and be familiar with one another.

Until one day, Wen Zhuo got drunk. His eyes were red at the corners as he gripped her by the throat and asked through clenched teeth, "Chu Wange, do you even have a heart?"

Only then did she realize that a certain kind of secret love could grow in silence, like a stubborn little weed in a crack, taking root and growing against all odds. After the long passage of time had washed over it and settled it in place, it had finally grown into a towering tree, lush with branches and leaves, its roots twisted together and sunk deep into the earth, impossible to uproot.

After a lifetime of tangled devotion, she discovered that the one she loved was not the right person, while the right person had been by her side all along.

It was one afternoon in their senior year of high school, after a tiring study session. As usual, Wen Zhuo pushed open the window to breathe in some fresh air and clear his head.

Sunlight poured into the room, warming him from head to toe as his gaze wandered aimlessly.

The next moment, he spotted the girl next door, dancing on tiptoe beneath a tree in her yard.

Sunlight fell through the gaps in the leaves, and one beam landed just right on her. Her slender figure seemed to glow with a faint rose-gold halo, making her shine like a star.

Her long, pale neck was like that of an elegant swan. Her arms moved with graceful lightness, and when she turned sideways, her chest rose slightly, like a pair of little hills.

In that instant, Wen Zhuo felt as if something had struck him.

He instinctively pressed a hand to his chest, trying to quiet the thunderous pounding of his heart.

At the very back of his desk drawer lay a letter. Its final line read: At the summit of the Himalayas, there will never be the lights of a thousand homes.

Before he had a chance to send the letter, he heard her say dejectedly, head bowed, "What should I do, Brother Wen Zhuo? I think I've fallen for a boy."

An unsent love letter, a secret crush never spoken aloud, lay sealed away for many years.

P.S. "At the summit of the Himalayas, there will never be the lights of a thousand homes." Quoted from Emily Dickinson's "I Miss You, But I Can't Tell You"

Female lead: an actress in the entertainment industry

Male lead: the heir to a powerful family in the capital

Both are each other's first, one-on-one romance. The female lead takes time to warm up, and love comes after marriage.

New novel, Love's Spell. Blurb:

The first year after Xie Weini left, Zhuang Xian moved into Yunlu Villa halfway up the mountain. Alone in the vast mansion, he was like a lonely ghost drifting through the world day and night.

For a whole year, no one knew that on countless sleepless nights, he relied on alcohol to numb himself. As if addicted, he scoured the world for fine liquor and lived a debauched, extravagant life with his drinking buddies.

It finally drew the attention of his father, who had rarely tried to discipline him since he came of age. His father flew into a rage, took him from Yunlu Villa, and arranged for professional medical staff to treat his alcohol dependence.

He spent half a year recuperating in a small building at a private hospital, cut off from the outside world. Everyone assumed he had simply suffered a serious illness.

Later, he moved back to Chunjiang Road. From then on, he never touched another drop of alcohol and worked hard to get his life back to normal.

He turned over a new leaf and settled down, becoming a completely different person from the reckless man he had once been.

Until he saw Xie Weini again.

It was a summer evening when rain poured in sheets. He had just finished discussing some business and was about to leave when he brushed past a young woman in a white skirt suit. She hurried along, yet moved with care. The beauty mark at the corner of her mouth trembled, giving her a breathtaking beauty. The clack of her high heels against the ground sounded again and again, each step like a blow to his heart.

He stood frozen for a long while.

It turned out he needed only a glimpse of her profile to recognize Xie Weini with ease.

And what hurt even more was that Xie Weini did not recognize him at all.

Theme: Love means being there for the long haul.