The Client Says He's My Boyfriend

[Complete]

*80% locked behind the paywall. Please support the official version~

*Please add my next book in the series, Eight-Force Gale, to your favorites. Blurb below.

*A wooden, clueless girl x a taciturn boss who secretly gets jealous; she's all about money, he's all about winning her back

*Workplace setting / powerful man breaks down and chases his wife / stiff old-fashioned man finally shows off his charms

-1-

When life wasn't going her way, Shang Kerou liked to imagine something nice to cheer herself up. Like living in a spacious apartment. Like raising a cute little dog.

Or maybe...

Having a handsome boyfriend.

He had striking features and an elegant bearing, with eight-pack abs (she'd felt them through his shirt). He was gentle and considerate toward her, a wonderful person.

She loved to daydream, but that was fine. She knew the difference between fantasy and reality.

After graduating from college, she started working at an advertising agency. She worked diligently as a small cog in the machine, trying hard to earn money and live life to the fullest.

One day, she went with her supervisor to a client company's meeting.

Grinning, she carried three drinks and pushed open the conference room door.

There he was: the boyfriend she'd imagined, sitting in the room.

"Mr. Gu."

Her supervisor nudged her as she stood frozen in place. "Go on, say hello."

Shang Kerou's brain couldn't keep up. She parroted, "H-Hello, Mr. Gu."

Flustered, she took out the drinks. The two iced Americanos were for the project manager and her supervisor. The last one...

She shut her eyes, steeled herself, and painfully handed the man the drink she'd carefully picked out: a chocolate Frappuccino with three pumps of syrup and extra whipped cream.

-2-

Six months ago, Gu Qingshu fell in love.

The girl was optimistic and upbeat, like a little sun lighting up his world. He liked her, was infatuated with her tender, soft lips, and fell for her completely.

But before long, she stopped answering his calls and messages, vanishing from his world without a trace.

Until now, when she handed him a Frappuccino so sweet it made his teeth ache.

-3-

Because of something Gu Qingshu said, Shang Kerou was forced to work on-site at the client company.

Since time immemorial, clients and agencies have hated each other, calling each other idiots behind their backs.

Now Shang Kerou was alone in the enemy's lair, like a hostage.

She braced herself for the worst, but to her surprise, everything there was fine.

Except for the boss. He was weird.

Sometimes, he was unbearable.

"I'll give you the brief today. I want the proposal tomorrow."

Other times, he seemed almost human.

"Thanks for working late tonight. Let me treat you to a late-night snack."

She assumed work stress had given him a split personality and didn't think much of it.

Until that night, in the cramped entryway, when Gu Qingshu's eyes turned watery and red and he nearly shouted,

"Why are you pretending you don't know me?"

"What do you even think I am to you?"

"I'm your boyfriend!"

Shang Kerou hesitated for a moment, then raised a hand and touched his forehead.

"Has working overtime made you stupid?"

...A note before you read...

*This is not a conventional amnesia plot, and the heroine hasn't gone crazy. The reason she has forgotten the hero will be explained as the story unfolds.

*Also titled A Glimmer of Dawn

Written October 15, 2024 (latest version: May 14, 2025)

■

[Blurb for the series book Eight-Force Gale]

*A down-on-her-luck heiress too proud to ask for help x a spoiled young master who'll shamelessly do anything for love

A cat-drawing KOL x an art gallery director

*Reunion after a long separation / living together / rekindled romance / interspersed school memories

Every day, Ye Xier watched the weather forecast right on time, as she'd done for ten years.

But she wasn't watching the forecast for France, where she lived.

The weather forecast said, "Hong Kong is expected to be sunny tomorrow."

The weather forecast said, "Hong Kong is expected to get some sunshine tomorrow afternoon."

The weather forecast said, "Hong Kong will be mostly cloudy tomorrow, with one or two brief showers."

Her friend knew she had someone in her heart and tried to comfort her. "You're looking at the same moon."

Ye Xier lowered her eyes, despondent. "It's daytime in Hong Kong right now. He can't see the moon where I am."

-

Today, Hong Kong raised a Number 8 storm signal. Pedestrians hurried along, and the roads were packed with cars, their headlights lighting up the whole street.

Ye Xier bought dinner and hurried home.

Someone was standing stock-still in the narrow entrance beneath the tenement building.

She said, "Excuse me, could you let me through?"

The person didn't move.

She looked up impatiently, thinking it was yet another inconsiderate neighbor.

The moment their eyes met, she was startled, and the corn in her hand fell to the ground.

Before she could react, the other person picked it up.

"This is all you're having for dinner?" He blocked the entrance, looking down at her.

She didn't want to say much. "I'm on a diet."

"You never used to diet."

"People change."

His expression changed abruptly, and his voice turned cold.

"I've even come up with an excuse for why you're living here: to experience life, right?"

Unable to take it anymore, she called him by name. "Gu Cunzhi, what kind of life I live is none of your business."

The tension left his cold face, replaced by a smile. Gu Cunzhi raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you'd forgotten my name."

Ye Xier didn't want to keep arguing with him. She turned and walked away.

He grabbed her wrist and came up behind her.

"You left for ten years. You were really heartless to me."

[If I hadn't come looking for you, would we have never seen each other again?]

Theme: Live life to the fullest