Until the Dense Fog Chokes Me [Secret Crush]

Coming soon: The Rules of Dog Training, a melodramatic, pregnancy-and-runaway romance with an older woman-younger man dynamic.

Both leads are sexually inexperienced; the man is secretly in love. Reader discussions: @Chen Guimoshou

At a dinner party, someone with a taste for gossip said with a grin, "Ling Shu's ex-boyfriend is coming back. Apparently, he wants to get back together!"

Xue Huaiyue's hand trembled, and the red wine swirled against the glass, forming crimson blossoms.

Someone else asked him, "Come to think of it, isn't Ling Shu's ex your senior? Is there anything you can tell us?"

Xue Huaiyue closed his eyes and coldly said, "Get lost," cutting off the conversation. Outsiders could never know that when they first met, Ling Shu thought they were at odds, while for Xue Huaiyue it was the beginning of years of unrequited love.

Everyone thought Xue Huaiyue was a born winner, someone at the very top of the social pyramid, while Ling Shu was merely beautiful, with too little to offer.

They had no idea that back then, hidden in suffocating darkness, Xue Huaiyue had heard the girl in the next room show someone else her dependence and infatuation. He had already decided that one day, he would win her genuine love.

Even if it meant earning the reputation of a man who stole his older brother's woman.

On a damp, mist-choked night, he gripped her face from above, forcing her lips apart, and murmured coaxingly, his words indistinct: "Ling Shu, love me."

Ling Shu, love me.

*

The cool, beautiful Ling Shu only wanted to live quietly in her circle and mind her own business, but family pressure forced her to go on a blind date.

The moment she saw the face of the person across from her, Ling Shu's smile stiffened and froze. The man she'd originally been set up with had been replaced, in a bizarre twist, by Xue Huaiyue, the hottest new rising star. The match seemed dangerous and ill-suited: she was no match for him in status.

His ears turned red. He acted as if nothing was amiss and asked hoarsely whether she wanted to give them a try.

She might as well. Her ex-boyfriend's betrayal had already made her feel that love had nothing to do with her.

Later, her ex-boyfriend knocked helplessly on the door. "Ling Shu, open up. Can't you forgive me?"

On the other side of the door, the man gripped Ling Shu's face and lowered his eyes to look at her flushed cheeks. In a breathy voice, he asked, "Are you opening the door, or are we carrying on?"

Drinking led to trouble, and a handsome man proved irresistible. In a daze, Ling Shu pushed the unattainable man down, ruining his chastity. Xue Huaiyue was sure of his victory. He pursued her step by step, pinning her in a corner, his eyes red and his voice trembling:

"Ling Shu, don't use me and then just walk away."

Proud and unyielding, he gently kissed her lips and bowed his head in surrender.

Theme: True love