Qin Shen has a boyfriend seven years younger than him. They’ve been together for eight years. The young man was once a student Qin Shen sponsored.
Eight years ago, the Qin family was going through a difficult time, and Qin Shen was depressed. A student he had sponsored on a whim, partly to improve his reputation, sent him a shy, youthful letter.
It read:
“Mr. Qin, I’ve been accepted to B University. I’ve returned the full amount of your support, and I’ve also enclosed a basket of apricots from my hometown. They’re sweet and delicious. Please accept them as a small token of my gratitude.”
The apricots had thin skins, and by the time they arrived, they had already gone bad.
Qin Shen regretted never getting to taste the supposedly sweet, delicious apricots.
As time went on, letters kept arriving, filling a drawer. Eventually, he and the student became close, and little by little, they got together.
Qin Shen was busy, and his younger boyfriend was considerate and not clingy. They saw each other just twice a week.
If nothing unexpected happened, Qin Shen figured he would marry him as soon as his boyfriend gave the word.
But one night, his boyfriend’s college roommate suddenly called. His voice was lovely. “Is this Mr. Qin? A-Qiu is drunk. Could you come pick him up?”
Qin Shen agreed, put on his coat, and drove to the biggest bar in the city.
Yu Qiu was slumped crookedly in a chair, clinging to the person in front of him and kissing him passionately.
Another young man beside them was frantically trying to stop him.
“A-Qiu, Mr. Qin will be here soon.”
“That’s the point! I want him to see. Qin Shen is an old man who lives like a monk. I’ve wanted to leave him for ages!”
Qin Shen didn’t approach. Moisture had gathered on the suit jacket draped over his arm, but his expression was still gentle. He simply pinched the bridge of his nose and said mildly, “If you don’t want to be together anymore, then let’s break up.”
After eight years together, Qin Shen ended things swiftly and decisively.
He blocked every way Yu Qiu could contact him and removed Yu Qiu’s fingerprint from the villa’s entry system.
But Yu Qiu’s college roommate, whose name Qin Shen didn’t even know, started pursuing him instead.
He was even more persistent than Yu Qiu, who was lost in drunken revelry. Qin Shen had never met anyone so determined.
The roommate wore old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses, with long bangs covering his eyes. He was awkward and nervous.
“Mr. Qin, A-Qiu asked me to explain, ”
“A-Qiu asked me to cook for you. Your stomach isn’t well.”
“A-Qiu...”
At last, Qin Shen could take no more. “Tell Yu Qiu to come see me himself. You don’t need to come again.”
The day he met Yu Qiu, Yu Qiu was dressed to the nines and held his chin high, apparently convinced that he had finally won this farcical jealousy game.
Qin Shen could only laugh. “We’ve broken up. Don’t send Qiu Zetao over anymore.”
Qiu Zetao was the roommate’s name.
Yu Qiu looked baffled. “Qiu Zetao? What does he have to do with this?”
When Qin Shen got home, someone was curled up beside the doormat. His face was hidden in the darkness, but his hands clung stubbornly to the hem of Qin Shen’s clothes.
A trembling, humble voice spoke, risking everything on the answer.
“Mr. Qin, could you please look down at me?”
Reader’s guide:
The love interest changes. The real love interest is Qiu Zetao. A bittersweet little sweet treat (?)
Possessive, emotionally fastidious top x humble, secretly in love, honest bottom
Qin Shen and Yu Qiu’s eight-year relationship was very chaste, limited to holding hands and kissing, so they are both virgins
The couple are endgame, no splitting them up or swapping their roles. They’re made for each other.
Theme: You have to weather the storm to see the rainbow.
