Resisting the Spark [Older Man]

A new story in the series is now underway: She's a Bird, a sunny girl and a serious older man

Every time the fireworks bloom, I'm telling you I love you.

A mischievous, rebellious girl * a gentle, softhearted older man

Faux step-siblings / faux forbidden romance

*

1.

Tan Xingzhi is the decisive second young master of the Tan family in everyone's eyes.

In Jiang Xianhao's eyes, he's her handsome, gentle Uncle Tan.

He crouches in front of her and reaches out, his expression tender and his voice warm. "Want to set off fireworks together?"

From then on, Jiang Xianhao falls in love with the brilliant fireworks, watching them burst into dazzling beauty at their highest point.

As they vanish in the blink of an eye, she secretly watches his handsome, distinguished profile.

In her heart, a seed called love quietly takes root.

*

Jiang Xianhao has never been the kind of person to follow the rules and let others decide her life.

She's stubborn and rebellious, guarded like a hedgehog with its spines raised.

When her college entrance exam results come out, she goes against her family's wishes and secretly switches her major from medicine to ecology.

Her father's explosive anger gives her an excuse to run away from home.

But Tan Xingzhi finds her with ease.

She sits by the river, the evening breeze sweeping her hair back and carrying away the summer heat, revealing her bright, pretty face.

"I don't want to be a doctor for people. I want to be a 'doctor' for nature."

She lifts her head, gazing at the stars with hope in her eyes.

Tan Xingzhi swallows the words of advice he was about to give her and brushes the stray hairs from her ear.

Once again, he becomes her shelter from the storm.

"As long as you like it."

2.

Adulthood is like a key that unlocks her chains.

Her distant admiration turns into deliberate teasing, each time pushing the limits a little further.

Jiang Xianhao is cruel, leaving no room to retreat.

She likes seeing the possessive nature beneath Tan Xingzhi's gentle exterior, and watching him lose control again and again even as he tries to stay composed.

What she hates even more is the resistance in his eyes just before he gives in.

As if he were trying to put everything that's about to go off the rails back where it belongs.

So he chooses the worst possible option.

Tan Xingzhi arranges to meet a woman from a suitable family, intending to choose a fitting wife.

It's the riverside again, but now it's the bitter cold of winter.

Fireworks bloom across the sky.

Jiang Xianhao asks if he likes them.

He says, "Liking someone doesn't matter. What matters is whether you're a good match."

Jiang Xianhao wants to say, "Tan Xingzhi, you're ridiculous."

But what comes out is, "Does my love make you sick?"

His silence feels like an answer.

The evening breeze by the river cuts to the bone. She closes her eyes.

"Now I think I'm disgusting too."

3.

Later, Jiang Xianhao hides her softness and bristles in front of Tan Xingzhi, driving every last quill into his heart.

She learns to follow her family's arrangements and choose someone suitable.

He asks the familiar question.

Do you like him?

Jiang Xianhao only smiles. "You told me yourself that liking someone doesn't matter. What matters is whether you're a good match."

*

He holds back, then finally erupts.

For once, he loses control.

A wineglass smashes against the wall, red wine staining the photograph of the two of them.

Against a backdrop of fireworks, it all falls apart.

Tan Xingzhi braces a hand against his forehead, the corners of his eyes bloodshot.

He suddenly remembers what Jiang Xianhao said when they parted.

"Tan Xingzhi, I've given in."

"I'm giving up on you."

What she doesn't know is that he has long since admitted the truth to everyone.

"Yes, I love Jiang Xianhao."

Inspired by Chen Chusheng and Zhou Shen's song Against the Light:

"I thought I could step back, proving again and again how wrong this love is..."

Reading Guide:

1. Nine-year age gap. Both leads are romantically inexperienced. No blood relation, just a faux forbidden romance.

2. No intimate scenes before adulthood.

3. Flawed characters.

4. A little angst, lots of sweetness, and a story of healing.

Final blurb: 2025.2.17

Upcoming Story Blurb

Married and Tempted

Tan Muen persuades herself with three reasons to marry Shen Zeli.

1. Handsome, wealthy, and from a suitable family.

2. Courteous and polite, with a good sense of boundaries.

3. Busy with work, so he's never around.

But not long after they marry, Tan Muen realizes that aside from the first point, the others don't quite hold up.

1.

The first time she meets Shen Zeli, her grandfather drags her by the neck to a matchmaking restaurant. At the time, she is still wearing half of an exaggerated stage makeup look.

Shen Zeli wears a linen shirt tucked into dark brown casual slacks, looking relaxed, neat, and elegant.

He tilts his head slightly. His hand stops as he flips through the menu, and his calm, indifferent eyes sweep over her thoughtfully.

A few seconds later, Tan Muen catches a fleeting hint of amusement in his eyes.

She names it: mockery.

2.

After they agree to marry, they get along reasonably well.

That is... they get along well by never seeing each other.

As a result, Tan Muen often forgets that she's married.

After the cast party, Tan Muen and her dance troupe colleagues head to a bar for the next round. They egg her on to perform the award-winning routine with her dance partner on the floor.

"Look at that couple. They dance so well together. Are they professionals?"

From a booth on the second floor, Shen Zeli glances over at the sound. A pretty, fair face beams with a bright, confident smile.

He takes a sip of his drink, sets the glass down without hurrying, and heads downstairs.

"That's my wife."

3.

Shen Zeli starts spending more time at home, and Tan Muen worries that something has gone wrong at his company.

Even picking her up after work has become a daily certainty, whatever the weather.

One day, Tan Muen takes the black card he gave her on their wedding day out of the car and hands it back.

"If you're having trouble, just tell me. After all, our families formed this alliance through marriage. The Tan family won't stand by and do nothing."

Shen Zeli's brow twitches twice. He says nothing, but smiles instead.

To cheer him up, Tan Muen invites him to the premiere of her show. When they get home afterward, she's still riding the high of a successful performance. She takes out a bottle of red wine to celebrate with him and, while she's at it, cheer him up.

After a few rounds of drinks, she has no idea when she ended up sitting on Shen Zeli's lap.

The strings of crystals on the chandelier above them cast a dizzying shimmer. When he tilts his head back, their breaths mingle.

"Shen Zeli, do you want to kiss me?"

Tan Muen traces the outline of his brows and eyes with her finger, then shakes her head. "No, we got married for our families."

As she starts to get up and leave, he grips her shoulder and pulls her back down, firmly holding her chin.

"Who says people in an arranged marriage can't kiss?"

Reading Guide:

1. Both leads are romantically inexperienced. A sweet little romance.

2. Six-year age gap.

Theme: Don't let the one you love slip away.