The Sunset Falls into an Orange Sea [Rekindled Romance]

Coming next: Old-Time Rain [The Ex-Chasing Crematorium]. Please add it to your to-read list!

[In progress, expected to start updating in July. If you're interested, be sure to bookmark it!]

[Gentle, resilient physics professor x rebellious, devoted head of a conglomerate. Rekindled romance, aching push-and-pull, love triangle drama, reunited from the very first chapter.]

He Yan, the campus heartthrob in the finance department at Jingbei University, was a rich playboy, carefree and flamboyant.

Xu Xicheng, the physics department's top student, was dutiful and disciplined, spending her days studying in the library.

One night, after a group of them had been drinking at a party, Xu Xicheng thought He Yan was asleep. On an impulse, she decided to end her doomed unrequited love with a kiss.

But just as her lips were about to touch his cheek, the man pretending to sleep suddenly turned his head, and their lips met perfectly.

He Yan gazed at the girl whose cheeks had turned crimson, a playful smile growing on his face. "How about giving us a try?"

The story that followed, setting aside its ending, could have made up for all the pain and sorrow in the world.

But what story can set aside its ending?

She was the one who ended things. That rebellious man stood in the rain all night.

*

They met again seven years later at a science and technology gala. Xu Xicheng was now the youngest associate professor in the physics department at Jingbei University.

He Yan had rehearsed their reunion countless times. He would put the person who'd abandoned him in her place, act cold enough, and make her regret it.

But all his emotions crumbled the moment he saw her.

Rumors about Xu Xicheng and another man were running rampant at the banquet. He Yan stopped her, his unfathomable gaze as if he wanted to swallow her whole. "What's your relationship with him?"

Her reply was even more resolute than it had been on that rainy night. "What does that have to do with you, Mr. He?"

Seven years really was a long time, long enough to forget someone many times over.

But how could it be long enough for her to stop loving him?

*

They say that the first to fall in love is the one who loses, but He Yan was certain he had been utterly defeated from the very beginning.

He admitted defeat. He surrendered.

As long as Xu Xicheng would turn back and look at him, he would do anything. He was no worse than the men around her.

So why wouldn't she give him even one chance?

"Xu Xicheng, is your heart made of stone?"

"I guess it is."

"Then why can they have you, but I can't?"

Xu Xicheng lowered her eyes and answered with silence.

He Yan had lost all reason. He grabbed both her wrists and forced a kiss on her despite her struggling, until the metallic taste of blood between their lips was washed away by salty tears.

When he suddenly came to his senses, he pulled her tightly into his arms and apologized again and again.

"Don't cry, Little Orange. Don't cry. It's my fault. I'm sorry..."

But through her quiet sobs, the woman in his arms managed to say, "A Yan... let's just stop..."

*

It's absurd for people who study physics to talk about fate.

But Xu Xicheng still believed that everything had been decided in the instant the singularity appeared.

Even Christ the Redeemer, gazing down over the mortal world from the summit of Corcovado, might not be able to calculate fate in its entirety. How could she, living in the world below, know where the next gust of wind would blow?

He Yan, who had no idea what she was talking about, could only think: What is she babbling about? I want to kiss her.

Old-Time Rain [The Ex-Chasing Crematorium] blurb

[Clear-eyed, dazzling actress x dignified, paternalistic tycoon. The powerful man bows his head, coercive romance, the ex-chasing crematorium.]

Shen Muyan had enjoyed a steady stream of opportunities ever since her debut. She worked with acclaimed directors, and famous actors and actresses played supporting roles for her, yet she never quite caught fire. People mocked her as a resource-backed actress with poor acting skills.

But she didn't care. As long as Song Chifeng was by her side, nothing else mattered.

When Shen Muyan was still a student at film school, she had already started dating Song Chifeng, head of the powerful Song family in the capital.

Song Chifeng gave her everything the world could offer: roles, jewelry, luxury cars, and houses. Shen Muyan thought he loved her, but in the end she heard him say, "Muyan, don't be too greedy."

A cold kiss landed on her forehead. His indifferent eyes were utterly empty.

If he couldn't give her what she wanted, then she would want nothing at all.

*

After leaving Song Chifeng, Shen Muyan's career opportunities plummeted, and she was reduced to playing minor roles in web dramas.

She painstakingly honed her acting skills and instead shot to fame in several low-budget web dramas, rising to the ranks of top actresses.

They met again at a dinner for investors in her new film. She raised her champagne glass and smiled warmly at the man beside Song Chifeng. "Good evening, Mr. Gu."

That night, in the penthouse presidential suite, the man pinned her beneath him and took her relentlessly. His voice at her ear sounded as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

"Muyan, don't smile at anyone else."

The Shen Muyan who once wanted nothing but him followed his demands and smiled brightly. "Then I'll only smile at you. Can you give me the lead role in your next film, Mr. Song?"

*

Later, Shen Muyan was just as obedient and well-behaved as before, but now her compliance came with conditions.

A house in Hong Kong, luxury brand endorsements, a million-dollar car... She wanted everything, but never once said she wanted him. His indifferent eyes were utterly empty.

"Thank you, Mr. Song. I've had my eye on those ruby earrings for ages."

After another bout of wild lovemaking, Shen Muyan spoke to the man beside her with a smile in her eyes.

"Muyan, I'll give you anything you want. Please love me again."

Song Chifeng held her tightly in his arms, his body trembling as he pleaded in anguish.

She gently stroked his back and gave him a tender reply. "No. People shouldn't be so greedy."

Theme: Where there's a will, there's a way