The Tenth Year

At a luxury brand's New Year launch, stars gathered in droves, and internet celebrities were everywhere. Jian Qingcheng was one of the most insignificant among them. Yet in the official vlog filmed by the brand's newly appointed global ambassador, Qi Zongye, she had a full two minutes of screen time all to herself, a whole fifth of the video. That was even more than a certain currently red-hot young traffic starlet. The video sent shockwaves through the industry. Everyone speculated about who Jian Qingcheng really was. Was she connected behind the scenes? Was she Qi Zongye's secret girlfriend? It wasn't until several of Qi Zongye's biggest fans brought out a pile of evidence to clarify things that the truth came out. Jian Qingcheng was nobody special. It just so happened that this year marked the tenth anniversary of her friendship with that willful, free-spirited top-tier star of the music scene. When it came to his friends, Qi Zongye had always given them his whole heart, and lavished them with both attention and money. But no one expected that years later, the elusive Qi Zongye would suddenly start a livestream, only to show off his child. The little one's palm-sized face was the spitting image of Jian Qingcheng. Their family connection was obvious without a DNA test. Onlookers and fans: ??? You call this being friends? You say "friend," but mean "wife," right? The trending topics pretended to be furious and accused him of ruining his image. Qi Zongye remained unruffled. In the livestream, his light gray eyes swept casually over the comments. "How come I feel like I'm announcing our relationship every single day?" "If you don't believe me, whose fault is that?" A friendship-turns-into-love story A genius, willful top-tier star with a bit of a hopeless romantic streak X An inconspicuous internet celebrity who stumbled into the industry and abuses her obscurity, but really wants to build a career A writing exercise I'll write whatever I feel like Completely fictional setting, no real-life inspirations Next book, an older woman-younger man romance: "10" On the train back to City X, Yin Lai, thirty years old and in the middle of a divorce lawsuit, met Li You, a university student ten years younger than her. Yin Lai thought the young man was pretty interesting, so she teased him on purpose. "Hey, kid, want to date me?" Li You replied, "No." Yin Lai felt disappointed and thought perhaps she should find someone else. Only later did she learn that when Li You said no, he meant: no dating, only marriage. 30 - 20 = 10 An older woman-younger man romance with a ten-year age gap The female lead is divorced; the male lead has never been in love before Theme: A relationship that grows through companionship and mutual support