Synopsis
"I'll reach you before the cold air does."
A scheming, laid-back bad boy x a cool, calculating beauty who knows how to draw people in. Rekindled romance, salvation, and a reunion after years apart.
Zhou Yue got a new deskmate.
A transfer student named Yu Wanjin.
Yu Wanjin's grades were average, and she never caused trouble or broke rules at school. But outside school, she was close with Qin Hengzhi, the constantly disciplined troublemaker from the next class. Her words and actions were completely different from how she behaved at school. She also seemed to be investigating something.
Yu Wanjin hadn't planned to get involved with Zhou Yue, but he kept catching her doing bad things outside school.
In a dim alley, Yu Wanjin stood with her back to a dangerous wall and coldly warned him not to say a word. Zhou Yue stood some distance away under a weak light, his smile full of roguish charm. "That depends on my mood."
Zhou Yue seemed like a good-for-nothing, yet he reached out to help Yu Wanjin when she was at her most desperate.
She didn't want to owe him, so she asked what he wanted in return. Zhou Yue's careless expression faded, and he spoke seriously. "Go to the same university as me."
He knew she was capable of it, but not why she was hiding her abilities.
After the college entrance exams, they shared a brief, intoxicating time together. But Yu Wanjin broke her promise and disappeared without a word as soon as the results came out.
Six years later, they met again.
Zhou Yue was in charge of the Zhou Group and became Yu Wanjin's client. After their first meeting in the conference room, he asked her to stay.
"Mr. Zhou, what did you want to see me about?" Yu Wanjin had been brought in at the last minute and hadn't expected him to be the client. She kept her expression calm and distant, though inside she was already a complete mess.
"Mr. Zhou? After six years, you're still going to be so formal?" Zhou Yue said with a faint smile, his cool gaze hiding a trace of mockery. He moved closer and leaned toward her ear, his lowered voice sounding a little wicked. "Wanjin, it sounds much better when you call me A Yue."
Yu Wanjin knew she had wronged him and didn't want to get entangled with him, so she swapped projects with a coworker. But the next day, Zhou Yue showed up at the bar she owned. He knew how much it meant to her.
"You can change the project, but you can give up the bar too?"
Yu Wanjin had heard about Zhou Yue's methods in the world of wealth and fame. She put on a false smile. "Mr. Zhou, I've thought it over. I'm the right person to handle the project."
She thought he only wanted revenge. She told herself to put up with it and let him get it out of his system. But Zhou Yue seemed to be getting more and more "out of line."
So much so that he moved into her master bedroom and made himself at home.
"Zhou Yue, now that you're sober, leave my house." Zhou Yue had shown up drunk at her door the night before, and she hadn't been able to get rid of him.
When Zhou Yue heard her telling him to leave, he gave a faint laugh and showed no sign of going.
"What's this?" He pulled out a necklace. "It's been more than six years, Director Yu. Why are you still keeping the necklace I made you?"
How had he found the necklace in her bedside table?
"I just thought it looked nice, so I kept it. It's nothing important." Yu Wanjin reached out to snatch it back.
Zhou Yue dodged her. "Oh. If the necklace doesn't matter, I'll throw it away. After all, with your high salary, Director Yu, you don't need some old necklace, do you?"
She fell silent. He waited a while, but when she still didn't answer, he turned to leave with the necklace.
"Zhou Yue."
"Give it back."
Since their reunion, she had given in to most of his unreasonable demands, but this time she was adamant. The necklace was the only thing she had to hold on to through all those years on her own.
Zhou Yue turned his back to her. Looking down, he gave a bitter smile. "Why do you keep the necklace, but not me?"
-
Before transferring schools in her final year of high school, Yu Wanjin's aunt dragged her to a temple to pray for good fortune. On a prayer ribbon, she wrote: Yu Wanjin, free and unconstrained.
After starting university, every autumn and winter, when the cold air began moving south, she would often find herself in a daze, feeling that the chilling wind carried traces of him.
Even an intangible wind could become a restraint.
Every year when the weather turned cold, Zhou Yue went to her school to see her. He never disturbed her, only watched her quietly from a distance.
She was afraid of the cold. Fortunately, the cold air in the south was milder than in the north.
Zhou Yue actually knew why she had disappeared without a word back then. He had hated her for it, but felt even more sorry for her. When he learned she had returned to Beicheng for work, he was happy.
And this time, he had no intention of letting go again. It was cold in the north, and he only wanted to warm her hands.
Reading tips:
1. Both leads are strong and capable: a battle of wits between two smart people in love.
2. Both leads are sexually pure, and the ending is happy.
Blurb saved.
Theme: Love makes people better.
