Passing Light

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[Blurb One] Female lead's perspective

When Nian Cheng first arrived at the compound, she was dazzled by good looks. All she could see was Shen Xingzhou's bright eyes and handsome smile.

Shen Xingzhou was a born star, bold and carefree, adored wherever he went. She was gentle and quiet, sweet and mild, always cast as the background to Shen Xingzhou.

Aside from their matching family backgrounds, Nian Cheng felt they weren't suited to each other in any way.

If their elders hadn't arranged their betrothal as children, he would never have thought of her as anything more than family or a friend.

During their fourteen years as classmates, Nian Cheng thought she'd done an excellent job of hiding her inappropriate feelings. The most daring thing she'd ever said to Shen Xingzhou was, "Brother, you're so handsome."

-

In Shen Xingzhou's eyes, Nian Cheng had been protected and raised exceptionally well. In the unfathomably deep compound, she was different. She was so obedient, so pure, that he didn't want to sully her.

Faced with an elder's casual joke and her feelings, which she thought she'd hidden perfectly, he pretended not to know. He dated whoever he wanted and moved on whenever he felt like it, never holding himself back.

Until one day, she broke from her usual docile manner and told everyone at a family banquet:

She had someone she liked. She wasn't Shen Xingzhou's fiancee.

He thought: He was free.

But when he saw Cheng Bai standing silently behind her, he felt so miserable he couldn't sleep all night.

[Blurb Two] Male lead Cheng Bai's perspective

Cheng Bai was abandoned by his birth mother as a child, rejected by his birth father, and disliked by his peers. He was raised by his grandmother. After she passed away, he was left alone in the world, with only a few friends.

Looking back on his life, the first time he felt warmth was at a family banquet at the Shen home, when a girl who had just arrived at the compound sat beside him and secretly ate candy. So there was someone willing to get close to him after all.

But that girl was engaged to Shen Xingzhou. Her surname was Nian, and her given name was Cheng.

The first time he wasn't alone in his despair was on a rainy night, after his grandmother died and he had no home left.

That kind girl ran out to him, holding an umbrella.

Trying to sound casual, she said, "Brother Cheng Bai, let's go home."

The first time his heart was truly broken was the day he left the compound.

He wanted his girl to get what she wanted, but he couldn't bear the thought of someone other than him standing by her side.

[Blurb Three] Female lead's perspective

When college began, Nian Cheng saw Cheng Bai again.

He was just as before, with thick, stern brows and a fierce look that gave off an air of keeping everyone at a distance.

Delighted to see a familiar face in a strange place, she smiled brightly. "Brother Cheng Bai."

The young man stared at her in silence, his gaze frightening.

But a moment later, he wore a faint smile.

You came here yourself. That's what he thought.

-

Once she started college, a boy who confessed his feelings to her one day would glare at her the next and accuse her of hiding her romantic history. That was when she realized something was wrong.

At last, she understood why she'd always been single.

It wasn't because she was dull, honest, or simple-minded. There was a master manipulator hiding in plain sight at her side.

She said, "Brother Cheng Bai, we can't be so old-fashioned. Our elders' childhood betrothal doesn't count. If you keep telling my classmates I'm taken, you'll ruin my chances of finding a partner."

Cheng Bai didn't say a word. His fingers curled into a tight fist, and after a long while he raised his eyes, unable to hide the possessiveness and obsession in them. "You want to date?"

He stepped closer, his heated breath enveloping her. "A Cheng, I'm better than all of them. Give me a try..."

One-on-one romance, happy ending

Theme: A true gentleman is not limited to a single role