Chili Pepper Green Tea

A maxed-out, hot-tempered firecracker × a gloomy, calculating green tea with separation anxiety

The green tea who appears out of nowhere is actually her gloomy childhood friend

-

Yu Xing hates the new transfer student.

He’s unbelievably beautiful, but there’s something wrong with his head.

He takes her student ID photo and homework assignments she needs to turn in, wakes up early to paint a bruise on his face to attract attention, deliberately plays the victim, and spreads rumors in front of their classmates that he and Yu Xing grew up together...

Yu Xing is at her wits’ end, but everyone else takes his antics as proof that the two of them are close.

Yu Xing doesn’t know what to do.

Whenever she’s on the verge of exploding, he artfully furrows his brows and looks at her pleadingly with his affectionate, bright peach-blossom eyes as he apologizes:

“Sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t like it.”

But the moment Yu Xing really calms down, he turns nasty again and taunts her:

“Yeah, I did it on purpose. You’ve always known that, haven’t you?”

Back and forth, he keeps Yu Xing on edge.

But what makes her even more uneasy is that she’s accepted all of this without a second thought.

She can’t bring herself to push Chi Jue away. All she can do is let him take her hand and press it to his cool cheek as he begs:

“Look at me a little longer, please, Yu Xing.”

Yu Xing doesn’t understand why he acts this way.

But she really can’t take her eyes off him.

-

For a time, Yu Xing had forcibly thrust Chi Jue’s life into three years of normalcy, without asking his permission.

His ligature marks, his fear: when they were children, Yu Xing had taken a pair of garden shears and cut all of it to pieces without a second thought.

But now, Yu Xing clearly doesn’t recognize him.

Chi Jue isn’t disappointed. Instead, in the anger he feels at not being recognized, he finds a new way to deal with things.

She won’t be able to keep his identity a secret forever, so before she recognizes him, he’ll make Yu Xing angry and get on her nerves.

That way, when the truth comes out, she’ll feel twice as sorry for him.

And he’ll get twice as much of her love.

-

When they reunite years later, Chi Jue’s mind is even more messed up.

To get some time alone with Yu Xing, he transfers money to a male friend who works with her and leaves him a message:

“Go. Take a cab from now on. Don’t interrupt Mom and Dad’s romance.”

Friend: “?”

Friend: “You got it, Dad!”

He floods his social media feed in the middle of the night, just to brag that Yu Xing brought him home:

“Guys like us, childhood friends, have to stay pure while we wait to be doted on. Yu Xing, are you looking?”

Yu Xing: “...”

Yu Xing: “You’ve gotten older, but not smarter.”

When his separation anxiety gets bad enough, he complains to Yu Xing:

“You can have me neutered. I hate having anyone else between us. Condoms are no good, and kids are even worse.”

Yu Xing: “...Just go die.”

-

Tips before reading

1. Both leads have only ever been with each other. The story is roughly 70% school and 30% adult life.

2. He’s not your typical green tea. Everyone else thinks he’s one, but the heroine thinks he’s an idiot.

3. A sweet slice-of-life story with no angst, just something light and relaxing.

[Next Book: Classmates, a historical romance. A sweet-on-the-outside, scheming high-flier × a straightforward little woodblock]

[Blurb]

Fu Luo has always been well-known.

She was already a little famous back when she attended the academy.

Her classmates said, “Fu Luo is the only person at the academy who can beat Qi Wensong at Go.”

Fu Luo smiled awkwardly. “He let me win. I’m not that good.”

Her classmates said, “Fu Luo must be the only person who’s ever used Qi Wensong’s brushes and ink.”

Fu Luo was puzzled. “He’s just being helpful. He lends his supplies to anyone who needs them.”

Her classmates said, “Fu Luo scored higher than Qi Wensong on the essay exam... She really is a literary star.”

Fu Luo protested, “No, I was excused from that exam! He wrote the paper and put my name on it!”

Everyone at the academy was baffled. “So what exactly is your relationship with Qi Wensong?”

Fu Luo thought for a long while, then answered with sincere bewilderment, “We’re just classmates.”

Qi Wensong, who had never lost at Go, was so fastidious it was almost unbearable, and couldn’t eat if he didn’t come first: “...”

-

After becoming an official, Fu Luo’s fame spread far and wide.

Her colleagues said, “I saw the difficult-to-approach Qi Wensong take off his bracelet and lend it to Lord Fu to tie up her hair.”

Fu Luo explained, “My ribbon broke, so he lent me his.”

Her colleagues said, “We have to submit a visiting card and wait three to five days to see Qi Wensong, but if we bring Lord Fu, we can see him right away.”

Fu Luo thought it over. “Maybe his moods are just unpredictable?”

Her colleagues said, “Does Qi Wensong wear the same color as you every day?”

Fu Luo beamed. “Of course. We have the same taste.”

Her confused colleagues at the Ministry of Revenue asked, “So what exactly is your relationship with Qi Wensong?”

Fu Luo hesitated, then answered earnestly, “We used to be classmates.”

Qi Wensong, who had gone to great lengths to engineer chance encounters: “...”

-

On their wedding day,

candlelight flickered, and their sash ties became entangled. Fu Luo caught the pleasant scent of Qi Wensong.

His eyes were dark and his smile never faded. Nothing about his elegant, gentle face revealed any scheme, as if marrying Fu Luo were simply their destiny.

He cherished her, kissing her soft cheek again and again, then softened his voice:

“Are we still only classmates now?”

-

Qi Wensong was a difficult man to define.

He was fastidious to a fault, handsome as a jade tree, and always wore a false air of warmth and courtesy toward everyone.

Born into a merchant family, he was exceptionally gifted at the imperial examinations. Though his family had high hopes for him, he inexplicably gave up halfway through.

In just two short years, he had secured his position as head of the Qi family.

His elders said he ought to marry a woman of equal standing who could help the Qi family, have a legitimate son, and take a few concubines to continue the family line.

Qi Wensong listened with a gentle smile, thinking of Fu Luo, who was so single-minded she never understood the sincere feelings behind his words.

He thought of their hair becoming tangled together by accident, of her furrowed brows when they played Go, and of the earnest, clear eyes she turned on him.

That day, blood stained the ancestral hall. Before all the Qi family ancestors, Qi Wensong was as compassionate as a white porcelain statue:

“I have long since chosen the woman who will be my lawful wife. I won’t take concubines, and I won’t even have a legitimate son. I won’t let these vulgar household concerns disturb the bond between me and my wife.”

He brought his hand down with a slash, his expression unchanged and his manner as gentle as ever. “If I hear these words again, it won’t cost just one life.”

Theme: Study hard, know and obey the law. Childhood friends always have their own ideas.