Crossing the Line [Secret Crush]

During the summer after first grade, Grandpa brought home a strange boy he had found by the river.

The boy wore oversized, ill-fitting clothes. He stood there with cold eyes and a cool expression, saying nothing.

Grandpa told Yan Qi to call the boy Uncle.

Back then, Yan Qi had no filter. "My uncle died ages ago."

The boy remained expressionless at her words, while Grandpa's eyes filled with tears first.

During the summer after her first year of high school, Yan Qi was sent back to her hometown by her parents as usual.

But when she got there, she learned that her young uncle was the heir to the renowned Song Group. He had returned to the Song family not long ago and reclaimed his place in the family.

From now on, her young uncle would no longer be called Yan Qinian. He would be Song Qinian.

Watching Grandpa sit in a bamboo chair, looking as if his soul had left his body, Yan Qi sighed wistfully too.

She had planned to catch fish and pick lotus pods in the river this summer, but without her young uncle to row the boat, that dream was gone.

Later, when Yan Qi went to college, her young uncle kept finding all kinds of excuses to visit her on campus.

Song Qinian would show up holding something, and his first words were always, "Why aren't you greeting me?"

Since Song Qinian really had been one of her elders for a few years, Yan Qi would reluctantly call him, "Young Uncle."

"Grandpa told me to give you this." Song Qinian handed her a bag of dried sweet potatoes.

Yan Qi took it, wondering why Grandpa had suddenly become so nice to her, bringing her snacks all the time.

*The years fly by. Some people follow the rules, while others plot in secret.

*Happy ending / unrequited love from the male lead / seven-year age gap / slow pursuit / slow-burn everyday life

*At first, the female lead only sees the male lead as a childhood friend. He's very patient, slowly luring her into the "trap of love" he's set for her.

Theme: A slow, careful pursuit