Lost in the Sea Breeze

[Complete] Next up: "Branches Entwined in the Mire", a childhood-sweethearts story about rekindling an old romance

[Resilient and clear-eyed × Forceful and cunning]

Jiang Zhiyue bought a ticket for a famous cruise ship, but her boyfriend stood her up, turning their romantic getaway into a lonely trip full of disappointment.

She had planned to spend the few days at sea in peace by herself, but unexpectedly met a man of Chinese-French heritage.

He was frank yet mysterious, sincere yet always in control. He said he was an ordinary mid-level white-collar worker living and working in London, but Jiang Zhiyue accidentally discovered that the ship's client director and even its captain treated him with the utmost respect.

She couldn't figure him out. During their final two days, she subtly tested whether he was telling the truth whenever they talked.

"Once the ship docks, we'll never see each other again. Can't you be honest with a friend you've met by chance?"

A friend she'd met by chance.

That was the casual excuse Roderick had made up to get close to her.

As for whether their paths would cross again,

Roderick fixed his blue eyes on her and slowly curled his lips into a smile. His voice was low and rich. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I've changed my mind."

A few traces of forceful menace seeped into his gentle, gentlemanly tone. Jiang Zhiyue noticed the undiminished interest in his eyes, and the dangerous promise that their connection would continue suddenly made her heart jump.

The faint sense that things were slipping out of control unsettled her.

When the cruise ship reached port, she left without a word.

-

In a vast sea of people, the odds of running into someone by chance were slim. Yet a few days later, Jiang Zhiyue encountered Roderick again in a hotel lobby.

"Are you following me?" she asked in disbelief, her fingertips digging into her palm.

Roderick smiled. His deep-set features were captivating, and his eyes held a lazy confidence, as if he had everything under control.

It turned out the hotel belonged to his family.

With her boyfriend coming to find her and her friends worrying about her, Roderick held her vulnerable spots in his hands, yet gave her the chance to choose.

The day she agreed to be his girlfriend, he fastened a necklace custom-made for her around her neck, kissed her earlobe, and whispered, "Sweetie."

Jiang Zhiyue held the rare gemstone at her chest, but didn't tell him that in her heart, she'd already set a countdown for their relationship.

-

Roderick never expected that at the end of that summer, Jiang Zhiyue would disappear again, becoming a dazzling dream he couldn't hold on to.

After returning to China, Jiang Zhiyue's life fell back into its usual routine.

She thought that absurd dream was over, until one day she saw a figure who had no business being there.

He came up to her and asked why she'd left.

Jiang Zhiyue pressed her lips together. "It was just a game. I thought you'd had enough."

"A game?"

Roderick gave a cold laugh and bent down, lifting her chin. "Sweetie, you broke up with me unilaterally and disappeared. Did you ever think about how you'd face the consequences?"

-

On the evening they first met, an orange sunset hung low on the horizon.

On a whim, Roderick boarded the Reina cruise ship.

Family infighting, his collateral relatives' grasping pursuit of profit, and his father's rigid control over power all left him feeling stifled.

A voyage far from shore would naturally give him a brief respite, but sooner or later he would have to deal with the many matters awaiting him. Roderick gave the order that he would disembark at the next port.

But a young woman from the East stumbled into his world and disrupted his plans.

[Blurb written on April 13, 2025, revised June 17, screenshot saved]

P.S.

1. The male lead is inexperienced. His family once arranged for him to meet a few women, but he turned them down and never dated any of them. (These weren't dates he sought out himself.)

2. There is a five-year age gap. The female lead is 23, and the male lead is 28.

3. The male lead is forceful and possessive, and uses domineering methods. Please read with caution if that's not for you. This is just a novel and has no connection to real life. In the real world, don't put your trust in strangers. The author just wants to write an unrealistic story, so think of it as another universe. If it's not your thing, please be gentle.

4. The cruise trip in the story differs from real life in some ways. Everything is there to move the plot along.

5. More to come if I think of anything.

---- New book coming soon: "Branches Entwined in the Mire" ----

[Rekindling an old romance]

[Sensitive and resilient × Strong and accepting]

The next time Xu Jinfei saw Liang Jingyi, it was in a courtyard at dusk. She still hadn't adjusted to the time difference, and gazed hazily at the tall, solitary figure in the twilight.

Seeing her stare blankly, the elders around them teased, "This is your beloved Brother Jingyi, the one you adored most as a child. You were inseparable back then. How did a few years studying abroad make you so distant?"

The dim yellow light fell across his profile. Xu Jinfei couldn't make out Liang Jingyi's expression. All she could hear was her own heartbeat, heavy and aching. She parted her lips, but couldn't bring herself to call him "Brother."

Liang Jingyi, who once indulged her in everything, now stood a foot away and gave her a distant nod, a perfunctory response to their reunion after all these years.

That was how he usually treated other people.

The bleak autumn wind brushed her cheek, and she slowly understood that an old lover and an older brother were ultimately not the same.

No one would ever again indulge her and steady her when she grew spoiled.

P.S.

1. The leads' families have been friends for generations. They grew up together and are not related by blood.

2. Both leads have only ever been with each other. The male lead loves only the female lead from beginning to end. The blurb is just putting on an act (he's holding back).

3. The original blurb was written on October 15, 2025. Screenshot saved.

Premise: Take love seriously