A Semitone Apart

The companion novel, Jiao Se, is complete and can be found on my profile. Feel free to add it to your collection. This novel will be available for purchase on September 12. Thank you all for your support. "bows"

(While reading, I recommend looking up the classical music pieces mentioned in the story. Listen along for the full atmosphere and a much better experience.)

[Warm on the outside, cold within genius pianist x steadfast violinist]

An innocent first love, a quiet devotion.

When she was seventeen, her once-comfortable family fell on hard times. She had to drop out of school and return to her hometown with her parents after their business failed. Faced with enormous debts, her naturally gifted violinist’s hands developed thick calluses from working day after day at a factory station. Two years later, a kind benefactor finally helped her continue her education.

At the music concert during the university’s opening ceremony, a rousing performance came to an end. The world-renowned young pianist bowed onstage in thanks.

Someone beside her pointed to the stage and asked, “Xi Duo, I heard he went to the same high school as you. Do you know him?”

She smiled and shook her head.

He Che became famous at a young age and was hailed as a once-in-a-century genius in the classical music world. How could she possibly know him?

That summer, she sat in a shabby rented apartment, staring blankly at a job-hunting website.

On a sweltering, humid afternoon, He Che stood at the door in a perfectly tailored bespoke suit. His phoenix eyes curved with a hint of amusement as he said, “Want me to find you a job?”

By a twist of fate, she got married.

Once, while drunk, she pointed at He Che’s soft, full lips and giggled. “Mr. He, has anyone ever told you that your lips look so soft and kissable?” Then she licked the corner of her mouth with the tip of her pink tongue, looking like she’d been craving them for ages.

He Che gazed at her intently and coaxed, “Then, would you like to try?”

She hiccuped. “No.”

He Che held her head and gently drew her closer.

“Come on, be good. Try it.” He leaned in, checking her breathing. “Practice makes perfect.”

On the day of her thesis proposal meeting, the department assigned faculty advisors. He Che sat below the stage in gold-rimmed glasses, gazing up at her with a relaxed expression.

In the practice room, her fingers danced swiftly across the black and white keys. When the piece ended, He Che wiped his fingers and casually flipped through her thesis. “You want a divorce? Do you still want your thesis approved?”

Note: Secret marriage, not a teacher-student relationship. The male lead has been plotting for a long time; the female lead falls in love after marriage. Both are each other’s first, and it has a happy ending. Enjoy!

The next novel, My Consort Is a Scumbag, is available for advance collection. Historical transmigration. Feel free to add it to your collection!

Jiang Yu transmigrated into the body of Yuan Shuang, the eldest princess of Great Wei.

According to the Book of Fate, if she could just hang on until she turned twenty-six and die by her consort’s sword, she would enjoy a life of wealth for generations to come.

For the sake of that generational fortune, she did everything she could to offend her consort, hoping to die a horrible death.

She pampered eunuchs, kept male lovers, bullied and humiliated him, and did every wicked thing imaginable.

Later, the Song army besieged the city, and the southerners stormed into Luojing. That day, she had just turned twenty-six.

She watched as Liu Qi held a long sword to her neck.

Without changing her expression, she said, “What a schemer, Consort. You really are a scumbag.”

Liu Qi sneered. “May I ask where I have been a scumbag, Your Highness?”

She had heard that after returning to the Southern Song, he spent his days socializing with officials and noblewomen, deftly ingratiating himself with everyone and living the good life.

She mocked him. “Naturally, you climbed the social ladder and sold your looks to gain military power.”

The long sword in Liu Qi’s hand hit the ground with a resounding clang.

He gripped her pointed chin in his palm, as if she were a magnolia blossom he could pluck whenever he pleased.

Forced to tilt her neck back, she accepted his ragged breaths.

Their endless kisses were both a test and an answer.

They carried a little tenderness, but far more sharpness and force.

Even in hardship, he never stopped murmuring her name.

“Yulan, in this life, I will serve only you.”

Theme: Thank you for helping me become the person I most wanted to be.