How to Get Your Childhood Friend to Make It Official

Jealous, secretly affectionate county magistrate × sweet, money-loving talented woman | [Bickering couple / One-on-one sweet romance]

From the capital to Luo County, the Number One Scholar Cen Dingmo has a notorious reputation.

First, three popular storybooks published in the capital feature an outrageous, unrestrained censor with a red beauty mark between his brows who looks exactly like him. His reputation as a debauched playboy is impossible to shake.

Second, ever since he was posted to Luo County, he has taken his secretary wherever he goes, and they are together day and night, never apart. They even live in the same little courtyard, close enough to attract plenty of attention.

What people love gossiping about most, though, is just how ridiculously jealous Cen Dingmo is.

Anyone who dares to approach his secretary, exchange a few extra words, or show the slightest hint of affection will see the county magistrate make a forceful appearance.

Onlookers are baffled. What exactly is going on between these two? Why do they seem so strange together?

No one could ever guess that the storybooks that thoroughly blacken his name were written by his childhood sweetheart, Wu Heqing. And the delicate secretary he protects so fiercely is none other than Wu Heqing herself, disguised as a man.

Everyone says childhood sweethearts are a perfect match, so surely Cen Dingmo should have made their relationship official ages ago!

But Wu Heqing is slow to catch on when it comes to love. She hasn't the faintest idea when his feelings for her changed. She just thinks he's getting more and more impossible to deal with as he grows up: clingy and petty. The older he gets, the harder he is to manage. He's even more possessive than a little dog guarding its food.

She may complain about him, but whenever anything happens to Cen Dingmo, she worries more than anyone. His words are as sharp as knives, but his heart is soft as tofu.

The road to becoming Mr. Cen is a long one, sigh! He'll have to level up from a nuisance to a real pest first!

[Childhood sweethearts | Bickering couple | Woman in disguise as a man | They scheme against and dote on each other] [The whole novel is finished, no abandonment. Updates follow the rankings when available, otherwise 3-4 times a week.]

A little scene: Just a kiss between friends

Luo County's gossip lovers go wild shipping them: "The magistrate and his secretary are together!"

Secretary Wu denies it firmly: "Impossible! I'm not interested in him at all!"

The crowd eggs her on: "How would you know if you don't try?"

So Secretary Wu spends a fortune to book the most expensive restaurant in town and invites Magistrate Cen to dinner.

She catches him off guard, kisses his cheek, and checks his pulse: steady.

Then she kisses the corner of his mouth and checks again: maybe it's a tiny bit faster? No big deal!

Secretary Wu announces with confidence, "Just as I thought. I have no romantic feelings for you!"

But on a dark, windy night, Magistrate Cen sneaks into his secretary's room and kisses her again and again.

Secretary Wu explodes: "Are you crazy?!"

Magistrate Cen calmly fires back, "If you can test it, why can't I? I have no romantic feelings for you either. This is just a 'kiss' friendship!"

[The blurb for my new novel, When Will I Break Even?, is below. Hardworking, resilient heroine & youthful, fatherly male lead. A pure little sweet romance, so feel free to add it to your collection if you're interested.]

Xiao Jun gets into the stock market just in time for a crash, losing 40% of her capital in a month. All she can do is drag her friend out for a drink to drown her sorrows.

Handsome guy at the next table: "I didn't lose money on stocks last month."

Xiao Jun's eyes light up at once. You can make money in this market? He's a stock god! She downs the drink she'd just ordered. Liquid courage. She absolutely has to get his contact information.

What's more important than breaking even?

Only after sobering up does she realize that he really didn't lose money last month, because he'd lost far too much in the years before that...

What stock god? Strip him of the title and demote him to an ordinary investor!

Still, her fellow bagholder Xiao Qinyu is so good-looking, every feature hitting her right in the heart. After being single for years, she has finally met her ideal type. She has to make him hers, no matter what.

But fate is against her. Every time they meet, she's at her most embarrassing. How is she supposed to win the handsome guy's heart like that?

Xiao Qinyu gets stood up twice by his older sister, and both times he happens to run into the same girl: cautious and very strict about boundaries, like a little hedgehog with its spines up.

She's so interesting that he can't help wanting to get closer and closer, but she always keeps him at arm's length.

Fine. He'll put on a peacock display.

When she's sick, he tells her stories to help her sleep. When she's hungry, he cooks and brings her food. When she doesn't reply to his messages, he uses his good looks to post a private social media update only she can see, to seduce... no, attract her.

These tricks AI taught him work, but not very well. Xiao Jun still prefers talking with him about how to break even.

Gradually, Xiao Qinyu realizes her trades seem to be a reverse indicator: whenever she buys something, it drops soon after; whenever she sells, it immediately surges.

So he starts chasing her while experimenting with trades opposite to hers. Before he's even won her over, he manages to break even...

Theme: Finding a kindred spirit is a rare gift