Falling into the Tidal Night

The full text of my other novel, Spring Hues in the Misty Fields, is complete. My next book will be Like Summer, a substitute romance.

@Tianli y / Please follow my author page!

A story of healing and emotional push-and-pull

On Nan Xi's birthday, her friend Yin Wan organized a get-together at a newly opened bar in Dongcheng. It was the first time Nan Xi had met He Jingheng, but not the first time their paths had crossed.

She sat on a bar stool and pretended to study the drinks menu while secretly watching the handsome man in front of her mix a cocktail with concentration.

He had casually loosened his tie. When he tipped his head back, his sexy Adam's apple showed. His broad hand gripped the cocktail shaker, veins visible on its back. Nan Xi couldn't help swallowing, her interest piqued...

"Boss He, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Sorry. That's personal, so no comment." His voice was cold, his expression making it clear he wanted nothing to do with her.

Nan Xi drank the last of the "Iceland" cocktail he'd made for her, then lightly wiped the trace from the corner of her lips with a finger. Her smile grew, and she found him even more interesting.

She decided then and there that she had to sleep with him.

-

Nan Xi hadn't been to He Jingheng's bar in a long time. That day, he stared blankly at the spot opposite the bar counter, which had almost become her regular seat. His brow furrowed slightly, though he didn't even realize it himself.

"What is it? Can't get used to it?"

"Looks like she found you too boring and moved on to another target."

At the time, Nan Xi was busy closing up for the night. She had finally sold all the flowers in her basket. She took off her mascot head and bent down to pick up a wilted flower branch she'd accidentally dropped. But the costume was too heavy, and she lost her balance, pitching forward. A pair of arms caught her securely.

The position they were in was undeniably intimate.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"Or did you really find another target?"

He looked at her with a heat she'd never seen before, and even his voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.

Nan Xi had never seen him like this. Finding it amusing, she teased, "What if I did?"

The hand at her waist tightened. "You can't."

-

That day, Nan Xi ordered an "Iceland" at a beach bar. She was just about to complain that it tasted so much worse than He Jingheng's when she heard someone pull out the chair behind her.

She ignored him and called over the bartender to ask for a new drink. This one didn't taste right. But the man behind her spoke first. "Let me try."

Nan Xi froze. She knew that voice better than any other. But she'd secretly run off to another city to get away from both the snow in Dongcheng and this man, without telling anyone. There was no way she could run into him here...

When the drink was ready, He Jingheng pushed it in front of her. Nan Xi reached for it, but he caught her hand, keeping her from moving.

"Don't get handsy. There are cameras."

He Jingheng suddenly laughed and bent closer, his lips brushing and lingering against her ear. "Getting handsy?"

"Nan Xi, you slept with me and ran off. Which one of us is the one getting handsy?"

Six-year age gap / Both have only been with each other / Happy ending

Theme: Love boldly.