Listening to Daylight

See the very end for my upcoming novel, "I Went Viral for Throwing My Weight Around with a Top-Tier Star"

Radio host & convenience store owner

Even daylight has its troubles. I want to hear about them.

1.

When her grandmother fell ill, Yan Zhao returned to her hometown to care for her.

She knew the place where she’d grown up inside out.

One day, she discovered that someone had rented the supposedly haunted house in town and opened a convenience store there.

The peeling, battered door and window frames, the cluttered but orderly shelves, the cracked cement floor, and a beautiful stranger.

The woman wore red lipstick and curled hair. Like a snow lotus blooming in a dark marsh, she stood out brightly in the dim shop.

When Yan Zhao walked in, she lifted her eyes languidly, moved her hand away from the tabby cat’s back, picked up the hearing aid she had just taken off and put it back on, then asked in a faintly accented voice, “What would you like?”

At the time, Yan Zhao picked up the bubble gum nearest her and handed it over without a word.

Later, after going into the store again and again, the answer slowly took shape in her heart.

She wanted to whisper into the woman’s ear.

2.

One day at dawn, “Listening to the Daylight” was released on music platforms.

In three days, it had over ten thousand plays and ten thousand comments.

That was an impressive result for a newcomer.

Yan Zhao had written, composed, and performed the song herself.

When it was released, she and the convenience store owner were sitting on a hill to the east of town, feeling the breeze and drinking the cheap baijiu no one bought from the shelves. They watched the stars and moon lingering in the brightening sky and gazed at the pale dawn on the horizon…

The harsh, counterfeit liquor made Yan Zhao’s eyes water and her head spin. Fueled by the alcohol, she boldly, yet cautiously, leaned her head on Yan Jin Yu’s shoulder.

That was when she heard the sound of daylight beside her.

3.

People fall in love in secret.

Yan Zhao thought the shop owner had no idea.

What she didn’t know was

Even with her hearing aid off, the owner could still hear the sound of daylight.

Because the eyes of the person in front of her could speak. One furtive glance her way told her everything.

Saved on 2024.2.13

Upcoming novel

Straight-laced (?) top-tier star & sharp-tongued, tsundere nobody

You Qing was invited to join a travel variety show.

For someone like her, a nobody who had been in the industry for five years and still only played minor roles in TV dramas, getting invited to any variety show was like having ancestral graves smoke with good fortune. But they’d even asked her to be a regular MC?!

Mom, I’ve made it!

Thinking, “You invited me, so I have to give you something in return,” You Qing took it very seriously. On the day of filming, she showed up full of energy and ready to give it her all.

That is, until the mysterious guest everyone had been talking about arrived.

Can someone tell her why the mysterious guest had to be Shi Rui Ci?!

Shi Rui Ci was a top-tier star in the entertainment industry. She had risen to fame one project at a time, with an impeccable track record, zero scandals or dating rumors in her five years since debut, and fiercely devoted fans.

During filming, everyone was understandably afraid of offending her. Everyone except You Qing.

The woman who had promised to film the show properly turned into a snarky, nonstop complainer the moment she saw Shi Rui Ci.

“Are you an idiot?”

“Why are your hands shaking so much? Do you have Parkinson’s or something? If you’re sick, go get treated. Don’t just tough it out.”

“If you don’t understand, listen to the teacher. Don’t let everyone find out you only finished elementary school.”

“I want that. Go buy it for me.”

“Carry this bag. I can’t anymore.”

The staff were all sweating for You Qing. You’re a nobody, not an idiot. Don’t you know how powerful a top-tier star’s fans can be? If you want to get famous for all the wrong reasons, don’t pick a fight with Shi Rui Ci!

Everyone thought You Qing was finished. But when the show aired, there were indeed hashtags like #YouQingIsOutOfControl #ThrowingHerWeightAround #BadMannersArentAPersonality #AnyPublicityIsGoodPublicity. But there were even more like:

#YouQingAndShiRuiCiAreSoShippable#

#ShiRuiCiYoureSoInLove#

#YouQingAndShiRuiCiCantYouGetTogetherForMe#

The Shi Qing couple took the internet by storm, though some fans disliked You Qing and refused to acknowledge the ship.

When a reporter asked Shi Rui Ci why she let You Qing pick on her, she fell silent for a few seconds, then answered honestly. “Maybe… because I’m her ex-girlfriend.”

A fan who had known since Shi Rui Ci’s debut that she had an ex-girlfriend: “?”

Was You Qing the ex-wife everyone had heard about?

The reporter asked, “Isn’t it awkward seeing You Qing again?”

Shi Rui Ci replied, “I hadn’t really thought about it. It’s just that we haven’t seen each other in years, and she’s gotten even cuter.”

The fans: “…”

A few fans had been ready to take out their keyboards and defend their idol. They quietly put them away and joined the shippers instead.

You Qing’s name began appearing on trending searches again and again. Her popularity soared, and major galas started inviting her.

You Qing became a breakout star.

But the conversation never stopped revolving around Shi Rui Ci.

You Qing said, “You want me to fake a romance with her for publicity?! I’d rather go back to my hometown and sell pigs!”

Shi Rui Ci: “Hm? Aren’t I your little piggy?”

You Qing: “…”

Theme: Never give up, and look for the little joys in life.