As soon as a certain social media app goes online, notifications about new followers start popping up.
Tong Li eagerly opens the message:
"I'm back in the country."
"Next week, I'm visiting a distant relative with my parents. We'll be in your city, so do you want to meet?"
This guy with the username "c" is Tong Li's online boyfriend. They've been dating for over half a year, but they've never video-called or exchanged photos, and have only had two voice calls.
But that's okay. As a novel addict, Tong Li can easily tell from his cool, slightly gravelly voice that...
This guy is handsome and tall.
From their chats, she knows he grew up in Hong Kong with his parents and speaks fluent Cantonese.
His ancestral home is Xiping. His parents are businesspeople. He's 19, a third-year university student majoring in finance, and an ESTP.
Yep, he's got all the makings of a novel's male lead.
When she learns he's coming to Xiping, Tong Li gets nervous for a moment, then boasts boldly over the internet: "If you dare come, I'll dare to meet you."
"How about we kiss as soon as we meet?"
Tong Li never imagined that her online boyfriend would turn up at the welcome banquet her family had so lavishly arranged.
And he's also her distant cousin, a relative so distant they'd never have met otherwise???
With all eyes on them, Tong Li looks at the aloof young man before her and, burning with embarrassment, calls him "Cousin."
He looks just as confused and only manages to find his voice after a long pause. "Little sister?"
The elders at the table are having a lovely time. Tong Li sneaks a glance at Chi Yanzhou beside her, not daring to move a muscle.
A notification chime sounds from the social media app, and Tong Li jumps. She sneaks a look at her phone. It's from the "Cousin" beside her: "Babe, what a coincidence."
Tong Li's scalp goes numb. She wants to scream, grab him, and demand, "What exactly are we to each other?!"
*They are not related by blood. They're so distantly related that they would never have met otherwise.
*The male lead is from Hong Kong.
*A sweet online romance.
Theme: Give everything for love
