I Won't Stop Until I See You

[A self-proclaimed tough guy who won’t accept kindness, but is actually henpecked and a little ray of sunshine x A gorgeous tsundere who’s best at delivering below-zero remarks with a cold expression]

Blurb:

Jiang Lü grew up in a miserable home. His dad didn’t care about him, and neither did his mom. After his parents stabbed each other in the back and sent each other to their graves, he became an orphan.

Just as he was planning to scrape by in some forgotten corner of the world, a man appeared out of nowhere and shamelessly pointed to himself, claiming to be Jiang Lü’s uncle, despite having no blood relation to him.

Jiang Lü: “?”

What did that mean? Had his two dead parents actually left him a living relative?

That was something, at least.

Jiang Lü followed his unrelated uncle to Linjiang to attend school as a visiting student. It wasn’t until he was bundled into a car and taken away that he learned there was another permanent resident in the house.

Like his parents, that resident had a complete set of handsome features and a face devastating enough to shatter the heavens.

Jiang Lü thought the guy looked friendly, but the next second, the other boy laid down three rules for living together.

“First, no playing on your phone at night. I’m allergic to light.”

“Second, don’t wake me up. I get cranky in the morning.”

“And one more thing.” Xia Zhiyan remembered a friend’s advice and decided to set this newcomer straight while he had the chance. “I’m straight, so Jiang Lü, please make sure we keep our relationship purely that of roommates.”

Jiang Lü moved into the other boy’s home very carefully.

In front of other people, Jiang Lü was a solid block of ice, while Xia Zhiyan was a blazing, dazzling sun.

Everyone thought they were incompatible, and even Jiang Lü himself firmly believed it.

But things gradually started to take a strange turn.

Xia Zhiyan, whom Jiang Lü had expected to hate him, took a path completely opposite to that of his sworn enemy.

Whenever Jiang Lü was unhappy, Xia Zhiyan would go out of his way to buy him little cakes to cheer him up.

They would hold hands and sprint away in a panic from the entrance of a bookstore, then meet each other’s eyes on a moving bus. Xia Zhiyan would take him to feed stray cats, and secretly snap pictures of Jiang Lü from behind to post on his social media.

Jiang Lü thought it was charity, or maybe pity.

Until one day, someone swept him up in their arms and carried him into a private room at a budget hotel. Their faces were only inches apart.

They were so close that it seemed they would kiss the next second.

Jiang Lü panicked and remembered the three rules Xia Zhiyan had laid down. Trying to rouse Xia Zhiyan’s conscience, he said, “Weren’t you the one who insisted we keep things purely as roommates? What are you doing now?”

“I was sleepwalking that day. What I said doesn’t count.”

Xia Zhiyan curled his lips into a smile. “Besides, falling purely in love with your roommate is still pure.”

“Let’s just make the best of it, Jiang Lü. I don’t mind.”

Later, when Xia Zhiyan came out to his family, he declared, “I’m gay. I knew it the first time I saw him. Jiang Lü is the victim here; he had no choice. I was the one who made the first move every step of the way.”

Bonus scene:

One day, at an amusement park.

Overcome with emotion, Jiang Lü, tears still on his face, rose onto his toes without a word and planted a hard kiss on Xia Zhiyan’s lips.

They kissed passionately, neither wanting to let go.

Friend A, catching them in the act: “Holy crap, there’s a couple making out in that corner.”

Friend B: “They’ve got no public decency, kissing in broad daylight. But, now that you mention it, one of them looks a lot like Xia Zhiyan.”

Xia Zhiyan’s clothes. Xia Zhiyan’s pants. Xia Zhiyan’s shoes.

Holy crap, that is Xia Zhiyan!

Then who’s the guy in his arms?

Friend A: If that’s not Jiang Lü, I’ll stand on my head and eat shit.

Friend B: If that’s not Jiang Lü, I’ll stand on my head and feed you ten pounds of shit.

Xia Zhiyan: “Oops, I accidentally bumped my lips against my boyfriend’s. What should I do? ^_^”

Reader’s Guide:

1. Be civil and polite. Let’s all be kind and keep the internet clean. This is the campus edition.

2. No real-life inspirations or prototypes. Please don’t read anything into it. Thanks! Both leads are adults and enter into a relationship!

3. This couple is endgame, with a wholesome, sunny vibe. No fan faction wars, please. The official pairing won’t be broken up or reversed. Both are each other’s first and only, one-on-one romance. No disruptive comments! There will be a later reconciliation-after-a-breakup arc!

4. The first lead to appear in Chapter One is the one who gets pursued! Don’t get them mixed up! (>﹏<)

5. The tags are probably campus romance / sweet romance / happy ending / healing / reconciliation after a breakup / secret crush. Hope you enjoy reading! v(｡･ω･｡)~

A preview of my upcoming novel, The Succubus Returns to the Crime Scene

Blurb:

Lin Han, a cool, long-haired male art student at a top art academy, wakes up one day to find he’s received a succubus golden finger.

Whenever he shows up somewhere, someone will inexplicably fall in love with him and then die.

Lin Han: “?”

Isn’t this supposed to be a Succubus System? How did it turn into a Reaper System?

After getting caught up in yet another murder case and being taken back to the police station for questioning, the gloomy Lin Han props his chin on his hand and lays it all out for the captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit: “Ever since I became a succubus, people have been dying around me every day. I’m desperate too!”

Even worse, from that day on, he discovers that he can hear the thoughts of artworks at crime scenes.

The captain, Xing Changxiu, respects his explanation but doesn’t understand it. To prevent more murders, Lin Han has no choice but to help the captain solve cases.

And just like that, Lin Han’s first eighteen years of smooth sailing and comfortable living are completely upended.

A headless corpse turns up in the school’s art studio. The victim was a junior in Lin Han’s department.

Lin Han: “Captain Xing, I suggest you check his admission file first. Otherwise, I honestly can’t figure out how someone with color sense this awful got into college. His fundamentals are so terrible it’s horrifying.”

Xing Changxiu: “...”

A bloody handprint appears in an exhibition hall. The night before he disappeared, the victim was bringing Lin Han flowers and asking him out. When they meet again, he has become the stuffing inside a Venus statue at the art gallery.

Lin Han: “He said he wanted to pursue me, but the night before he died, he was still getting physical with some other guy at the museum. Captain Xing, how does he have the nerve to show his face?”

Xing Changxiu: “...”

A world-famous artist throws a birthday party on a yacht. After Lin Han firmly turns down his advances, the man is dismembered, with his body parts hidden inside a cake.

Lin Han lets out a strangled cry and drops the cake after taking a single bite: “...?! Ugh! What kind of sicko did this? I only get one slice of cake a day, and I’d only taken one bite! Come on, man, have a little mercy!”

Xing Changxiu: “...”

As one bizarre case after another unfolds, they solve murder after murder.

Xing Changxiu realizes that Lin Han really hasn’t killed anyone. But why does everyone who pursues him meet such a terrible end?

Bonus scene:

One day, Xing Changxiu gets another call from the police station. He glances down at the person still asleep beside him and explains to his subordinate,

“I know the victim was one of his admirers, but Lin Han definitely isn’t the killer. We were in bed together when the victim died last night.”

Subordinate: “...?”

So when their chief kept saying he’d find something to use against Lin Han, this was the something he meant?

That’s a little too vivid.

Theme: Love can overcome any hardship.