The Hidden Wind Chime

Blurb for my next novel, Love Letter to the Moon, at the very bottom~~

The first time Ji Weiyi met Ji Wenshu, he took her hand and told her not to be afraid.

She fell into his gentle gaze and couldn't pull herself out.

Living under someone else's roof, she carefully hid her feelings until someone found the paper filled with the name "Ji Wenshu." Everything was exposed, and there was no turning back.

The shock on Ji Wenshu's face was enough to crush her. His words pierced her heart like an icy blade.

"No, Ji Weiyi. I have a fiancée."

He tore the paper to shreds and walked upstairs over the scraps, but when no one was around, he secretly gathered them up.

She obeyed, put her feelings away, and devoted herself to her studies. She went to schools farther and farther away, until news of her relationship reached home. On a cold, snowy night, she saw Ji Wenshu for the first time in three years.

Ji Weiyi was stunned for just a moment. Then her expression returned to normal, and she smiled at him. "Long time no see."

Someone seized her wrist, pressing down with tremendous force. The man's breath filled her senses as Ji Wenshu forcefully pinned her in the stairwell.

Her earlobe hurt. She furrowed her brows and saw the anger in his eyes, then curled her lips into a smile.

"Big Brother, you're crossing the line."

"Don't call me that, Ji Weiyi."

He moved closer, took her hand, and pressed it against his lower abdomen. "We're engaged. This is perfectly appropriate."

She struggled, stubbornly refusing to yield. "I have a boyfriend. Please show some respect!"

"Was he chosen by your parents and matched through a matchmaker? I was."

Worried about hurting her as she struggled, he changed his hold from a restraint to an embrace.

"He wasn't. I was."

In the study, just beyond the door, books lay scattered across the floor.

Outside, the house rang with New Year's Eve celebrations. Inside, he lifted her and pressed her against the bookshelf. Their ragged breathing and rising body heat mingled freely in the intimate air.

He kissed her, with only a door between them and everyone else.

Every pore of her body screamed, seeking softness amid the stimulation.

Only when Ji Weiyi slightly parted her lips did Ji Wenshu finally slow down, gently breathing against her ear.

"Shh. Don't let them hear us."

Reader's Guide:

1. Both leads are virgins, a monogamous pairing.

2. The female lead's original family is also surnamed Ji. They are not related by blood. She lives at the male lead's home, but they are not registered as members of the same household.

3. At first, the male lead is a restrained, courteous, gentle older brother. Later, he becomes a possessive business tycoon.

The female lead is initially a shy younger sister who tentatively tests the waters and feels conflicted. Later, she becomes resilient, rebellious, and provocative toward the male lead.

[The story begins when the female lead moves in. It includes an amnesia plotline: her childhood memories are inaccurate, and the male lead is unrelated. Please don't read if this bothers you.]

! See the author's note in Chapter One for specific content warnings!

Blurb written on 2024.03.15 at 16:15. Screenshot as proof.

Upcoming novel: Love Letter to the Moon

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He Chu Yue prided herself on having strong willpower. She wouldn't give in for money or beauty, or so she claimed in her social media bio.

Until that rainy night, when she abandoned reason and self-control and spent one reckless night with a man she'd just met...

Afterward, she fled in a panic and quietly changed her bio.

A month later, she stared at the two lines on a pregnancy test in the bathroom, and the world went dark.

Xiao Zhiyan was the youngest associate professor in the physics department at Jing University. For twenty-eight years, he'd been quiet, reserved, and interested only in data.

Except for that troublesome night.

He searched for He Chu Yue for a month, to no avail, and then ran into her in the obstetrics and gynecology department of a hospital.

He looked at the test results in her hand, his eyes narrowing behind his half-rim glasses. He asked coolly, "Is it mine?"

He Chu Yue was so angry she laughed. Assuming this was his opening line to shirk responsibility, she played along. "Who else would it be?"

Handing her the test results, Xiao Zhiyan looked up at her. "Do you want to keep it?"

He Chu Yue gave up resisting. "Whatever."

"All right."

Though she hadn't expected much, her heart still sank at the man's simple answer. Before she could hide the sadness in her eyes, Xiao Zhiyan calmly announced above her head:

"Meet me at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine tomorrow morning."

Every student at Jing University knew that Professor Xiao of the physics department was famously strict. During class Q&A, he never allowed questions unrelated to the subject. He was a cold, distant flower on a high peak, aloof and unfeeling.

Countless female students and teachers had confessed to him only to be ignored. People began betting that Professor Xiao didn't like women.

One day, a sharp-eyed student noticed a simple ring on Xiao Zhiyan's clearly knuckled ring finger. After losing a bet with a friend, the student nervously stood up during the question period.

The student was ready to be scolded, but the usually stern, cool-headed Xiao Zhiyan acted completely out of character. His eyes warm, he raised his ringed right hand for everyone to see.

"Wedding ring."

"Next question."

After class, the campus forum exploded. Meanwhile, Xiao Zhiyan, who usually went straight from class to the laboratory, made a rare appearance before Director Chen of the academic affairs office to request leave.

"Director Chen, I'd like to take half a day off."

Director Chen pushed up his glasses and took out a leave form. "Reason for leave..."

"My wife's prenatal checkup."

Director Chen's pen veered off course as he wrote "family matters," and surprise spread across his face.

After Xiao Zhiyan left with the form, Director Chen quietly opened the hottest thread on the campus forum and posted an anonymous exposé...

No.

An anonymous post.