Secret Crossing

[Includes 20,000 words of bonus side stories, available for free] After working hard to make it to her third year of college, An Miao had only ever done two outrageous things. First, with her father hoping she would get married soon, she turned down every romantic prospect without exception. Second... she accidentally slept with her childhood friend, the epitome of elegance and integrity, a paragon of gentlemanly virtue. She woke up the next morning to find everything in disarray. Pei Du had been the perfect kid everyone else's parents wished they had for twenty years. He had earned more awards and commendations than he could count, and hundreds of people had admired him. He was disciplined, courteous, chaste, upright, honest, and principled. But hidden away where no one could see it was a patch of swamp, a secret corner of his heart he'd kept since he was thirteen. From the moment he reached maturity, he couldn't stop himself from wanting his childhood sweetheart. More than once. One day, his dream came true. - Later, after they started dating, An Miao went through the drawers from his school days when she visited his home. He'd thrown away his old exam papers, except for one neatly stacked pile. Every name field was written in her handwriting. When he was in a rush to hand in a paper after an early-morning class, he often forgot to write his name, so she would fill it in for him amid the rush. Further inside, she found a water bottle shaped like a rabbit. She stared at it in disbelief, then turned to him. “When did you start liking me? How come you even kept the thing I lost in eighth grade?” He leaned against the wardrobe, arms folded, looking at her sidelong. “Did you really think it was my finger pressed against your lips when the lights went out during evening study hall that year?” A guarded heart x the one who insists on breaking through (?) Cautious x aggressive The story of “my scheming childhood friend, who's very good at pretending,” slowly making his move - “The moon doesn't know that it's bright and pure. The moon doesn't even know it's the moon.” Jorge Luis Borges, “The Unknowable” Childhood sweethearts · Healing each other, both ways ovo Coming next: A Kiss for You After three years in the entertainment industry, Xia Zhiyi finally landed a hit show and was on the verge of a glittering career, with luxury brands courting her and S-tier scripts coming her way. Then she refused to be coerced into sleeping with someone, and got blacklisted. Suddenly, she was reduced to playing bit parts. Getting out of her contract proved difficult, and she'd tried every option. On the day she decided to leave the industry, Xia Zhiyi went to deliver some clothes to a friend, but security stopped her at the entrance. “You can't enter the side venue without an invitation.” As the tension mounted, the event organizer came hurrying out. Xia Zhiyi turned to see what was happening. Surrounded by a crowd, a limited-edition Rolls-Royce with a Hong Kong license plate rolled through the downpour and came to a slow stop under the covered entrance. The black car door opened. The man had broad shoulders and a lean waist, and an air of effortless nobility. He was used to being the center of attention. With an indifferent expression, he walked through the crowd and met her eyes. It was their second meeting. They were little more than acquaintances, though she had once done him a small favor. A moment later, he bent his arm to offer it to her, inviting her to enter as his date. “If you don't mind.” Only after she was seated in the center of the front row, with her friend nowhere in sight and even the top-tier star relegated to a corner, did she realize what kind of world the man beside her inhabited. The main venue. The investors' section. A seat of honor. - Later, in a garden just after the rain, beneath a clearing sky, the man told her circumstances had forced his hand and asked if she would consider marrying him. Xia Zhiyi did a little research and discovered that although he had mixed-race heritage, was exceptionally handsome, and owned assets all over the place, he had one fatal flaw: he was impotent. Thinking of her future, she set the marriage term at one year. She assumed the marriage would be in name only, but one day a little accident led them to spend the night together. When she woke in his arms the next morning, she struggled to grab her clothes and cover herself. “I'm sorry,” she said sincerely. “Could you pretend last night never happened?” “...” Later, when she realized he saw their relationship as that of a sugar daddy and his kept woman, she quickly packed her things and prepared to run. Her escape failed, and she was brought right back. During their confrontation, the man frowned slightly and repeated, “...What kind of daddy?” Xia Zhiyi answered reluctantly. “A sugar daddy.” “I'd give you the moon if you asked for the stars. You kiss me whenever you want and dump me whenever you feel like it. You even tell me to stop dreaming.” He gave a faint nod. “I've never seen a sugar daddy this pathetic.” “...” [Little scenes] 1. Xia Zhiyi had once studied traditional Chinese medicine for a role. Not long afterward, a friend sent her some potent supplements. Following her professor's instructions, she added a few kidney-tonifying herbs to the prescription she made for his insomnia. It didn't take long for Lu Shen to realize that whenever he drank the medicine she'd made herself, he would feel restless and overheated all night and be unable to sleep. One night, chatting with a close friend, the usually taciturn man paused, then spoke softly into the night breeze. “Then tell me.” “What does it mean when my wife keeps slipping aphrodisiacs into my drinks?” For countless mornings afterward, Xia Zhiyi would wake up aching all over. She wondered if she'd put too much of the medicine in a few days earlier, making him so insatiable that he'd worn her out all night. Exhausted, she got up to check. Huh? I didn't even add that much. 2. After news broke that Xia Zhiyi had married into a wealthy family, people had all sorts of things to say. Some envied her luck, while others sneered that the actress had married up. Only she knew how much hardship she'd endured along the way. No one expected that on the night she won an award, the lights of Victoria Harbour would stay on all night for a thirteen-minute light show. Someone had gone to great expense to celebrate her achievement. A photograph captured the moment, quietly becoming the image of the night: Under the glittering lights, the man knelt before her, lifted his face, and kissed her. #Bet you didn't expect the male lead to be the one giving the kiss Meeting you was a miracle more dazzling than anything else. Theme: Be brave enough to love.