A Heartbeat Off the Rails [Foster Care]

My next novel, After My Ex-Girlfriend Dumps Me and Loses Her Memory, is coming soon. Please add it to your reading list~

◎ Fostered in the same household / mutual secret crush / seven-year age gap

1. Because of her mother’s job transfer, Li Shuyue moves to the Harbor District as a child and lives with the Huo family.

When she first arrives, Li Shuyue trembles anxiously in the unfamiliar place, thinking she is about to begin a life dependent on someone else’s kindness. Later, she becomes the little princess everyone in the Huo family knows, and some even call her Huo Shuyue.

Over the years she grows up in the Huo household, Li Shuyue is grateful time and again to have Huo Yanzhi by her side as an older brother. He may seem cold and taciturn, but he has a warm heart, is thoughtful and caring, and, most importantly, is not that much older than her. They have enough in common to feel like peers, so at least she is never lonely.

Later, Li Shuyue comes to hate the word “brother” most of all.

She and Huo Yanzhi are not related by blood, nor are they even relatives. Yet after years of living together and gradually growing accustomed to one another, everyone knows she is part of the Huo family. Even she cannot escape getting caught up in it, enduring years of heartache.

She buries this unspeakable secret crush deep in her heart.

But years of restraint come undone all at once.

During the summer before her senior year of college, Li Shuyue drinks too much. When the alcohol goes to her head, she somehow finds the courage to sleep with Huo Yanzhi.

After their night together, Li Shuyue no longer dares to face him. She then flees to the capital under the pretext of pursuing a graduate degree.

Who would have thought Huo Yanzhi would corner her at the university gates on the first day of graduate school? He looks down at her timidly lowered eyes, his cold, imposing presence enough to make her panic. Then he coolly remarks, “Getting bold, are we?”

Li Shuyue, who loves him but is also afraid of him, lowers her head even further…

2. Huo Yanzhi stays in the capital for work.

The two move from the Harbor District to the capital, and begin living together again.

But that night keeps resurfacing in Li Shuyue’s mind like a nightmare. She is on edge and can no longer pretend that she and Huo Yanzhi are siblings as they live under the same roof.

Seeing him makes her heart flutter.

When she cannot see him… the longing only grows stronger.

It is maddening. Li Shuyue feels like she is going out of her mind.

One day, Li Shuyue is hurt by something and secretly cries at home, only for Huo Yanzhi to catch her. He asks what is wrong, but she says nothing.

Li Shuyue is easily swept up in her emotions. She cannot talk to Huo Yanzhi right now, because he is never ruled by his feelings. He is always the rational one, and she cannot stay calm enough to talk things through with him like this.

Then the man holding her suddenly lowers his head and kisses away her tears. His tenderness and soothing affection are unlike anything she has ever seen from him.

Li Shuyue’s tears stop. She stares at Huo Yanzhi in disbelief, and through her tear-filled eyes, she clearly sees years of restraint accumulated in his gaze.

The man who always puts reason first is utterly defeated in front of her. Fully conscious, he gives in and kisses her lips. His rich voice grows hoarse, quiet words trembling through her heart. “Well? You’ve already done something much more outrageous. Is your big brother not allowed to kiss you?”

Blurb written August 6, 2024.

Blurb: After My Ex-Girlfriend Dumps Me and Loses Her Memory

Xie Hangjin is the only son born to two wealthy families from Beijing and Shanghai. Ever since he was born, he has been the envy of everyone around him, and wherever he goes, people adore him.

Everyone who knows Xie Hangjin says that someone born with such privilege is sure to have a smooth life and never suffer the slightest hardship. Then Jiang Chuwei comes along.

Xie Hangjin takes a terrible fall because of her and learns just how painful love can be.

While dating Jiang Chuwei, whenever Xie Hangjin chats with his friends, two out of every three things he says are about her. His phone wallpaper is a picture of her, and she fills his social media accounts.

His friends all know how sweet their relationship is, and how much Xie Hangjin loves Jiang Chuwei. But their families are worlds apart. His friends never spoil his mood by saying so to his face, but behind his back they all agree that the relationship cannot last. They figure the two can date for a while, but marriage is out of the question.

Not long after college graduation, news breaks that Xie Hangjin and Jiang Chuwei have split up. No one is surprised; they all think it was bound to happen.

At one gathering, someone gets carried away after drinking and brings up Jiang Chuwei, criticizing her as unworthy of Xie Hangjin and saying he should have dumped her ages ago instead of wasting so much time and effort.

Before he can finish, an expensive red wine appears from nowhere and splashes all over his face. He is about to lose his temper when he turns and sees Xie Hangjin, his expression dark. With his eyelids lowered and his gaze sharp, Xie Hangjin says evenly, “She was the one who dumped me. Got a problem with that?”

The room falls completely silent. Everyone exchanges stunned looks as they realize that Xie Hangjin was the one who got dumped.

After that, no one dares mention Jiang Chuwei in front of him.

Because the man is clearly still hung up on her after the breakup. Even though she dumped him, he cannot stand to hear anyone say a bad word about her.

-

Jiang Chuwei never expects something as absurd as amnesia to happen to her. When she opens her eyes with memories frozen three years in the past, she is in a hospital. A nurse asks for her family’s contact information, but her family is not in the capital, so she gives them Xie Hangjin’s number.

Before long, Xie Hangjin rushes over, his face full of worry. It is obvious how concerned he is about her, yet for some reason he only stops outside the hospital room, looking in from a distance.

Jiang Chuwei cannot worry about anything else. She only knows that she is injured and alone, and that she feels helpless. The moment she sees Xie Hangjin, her vision blurs. She pouts in a wounded way and reaches out for a hug, her voice catching as she sounds both aggrieved and affectionate. “Hangjin… you’re finally here.”

As time passes, Jiang Chuwei grows more and more convinced that something is strange about Xie Hangjin. He is still very good to her, but he no longer clings to her, kissing and hugging her all the time like he used to. When she takes the initiative to get close, he stays perfectly still, as if he were a shy innocent. Sometimes, he even looks at her with a hint of resentment in his eyes.

Jiang Chuwei thinks she must be misunderstanding him. He loves her so much; how could he hate her?

Sure enough, after she kisses him, his eyes are once again full of love for her. After a passionate night together, all the strangeness disappears without a trace. He becomes even clingier and more lovesick than she remembers, wishing he could be glued to her every moment of the day.

Theme: Two people choosing each other and growing together