The CEO Regrets It After I Turn Down the Puppy-Like Guy's Confession

(Mainly from the bottom's point of view, but with a lot of top's POV too. Proceed with caution if that's not your thing.)

At his cousin's wedding, Wen Yunji saw a beautiful hand on the gift ledger and memorized the name written there: Yan Ci.

After the wedding, he ran into a friend at the hotel and met the friend's "younger brother."

Later, Wen Yunji went to a remote area to make a donation and saw that "younger brother" again. That was when he learned the boy was Yan Ci.

As his friend's younger brother, Yan Ci received a lot of care from Wen Yunji. Whenever Wen Yunji passed by his school, he would sometimes take him out for a meal and chat with him briefly.

But Wen Yunji noticed that Yan Ci was always covered in bruises, his exercise books looked brand-new, and he was always skipping class.

Wen Yunji tried to talk him out of it a few times, but got nowhere, and stopped seeing him.

The next time they met was at a private boxing gym. Wen Yunji watched Yan Ci stand in the ring, letting another boy hit him without fighting back.

Only then did he understand that the injuries on Yan Ci's face weren't from fights. He was short on money, and was being beaten up as a sparring partner.

Wen Yunji felt sorry for him and took extra care of him, but Yan Ci misunderstood his kindness and confessed to him.

-

Yan Ci had been secretly in love with Wen Yunji for six years, but never dared approach him. They were worlds apart, and Wen Yunji already loved someone else.

Yet fate kept pulling them together. Yan Ci held back again and again, but in the end, he couldn't stop himself from confessing to Wen Yunji.

He never expected Wen Yunji to reject him outright. Wen Yunji said there was someone else in his heart.

Yan Ci left for a distant place, and when he returned, he avoided Wen Yunji at every turn.

They ran into each other in the mountains. Watching Wen Yunji and his admirer from a distance, Yan Ci slipped and fell halfway down the mountainside, injuring his leg and back.

On the phone, the usually gentle Wen Yunji asked in a panic for the first time, "Where are you? I'll come find you."

Yan Ci looked despairingly up at the sky above the cave. Rain soaked his clothes as he laughed softly. "It's all right, Mr. Wen. I'm heading down."

"The roads are slippery in the rain, Mr. Wen. Be careful."

Bonus scene:

Much later, Wen Yunji looked at the home Yan Ci had designed especially for him and remembered the past. Only then did he realize that Yan Ci had actually confessed to him the very first time they met.

Yan Ci had been reading The Little Prince aloud to him. The very first line he read was, "Yes, I love you."

And the last thing he said before leaving hadn't been, "Sorry for bothering you lately."

It had been the words he wrote at the temple: "Wen Yunji, may joy be with you, and may you always know peace."

A devoted design genius nursing an unrequited love, humble in the early stages vs. a kind CEO devoted to charity

1. Mutual pining, nine-year age gap. Mainly from the bottom's POV, but also with scenes from the top's POV.

Theme: Those who meet will meet again