An Out-of-Season Wind Throws the Blossoms into Disarray

Ji Zhijie is quiet, steady, solitary, and poisonous.

He has been secretly in love with someone for years, but when she was twenty, she announced to the whole world that she already had someone in her heart and was married.

Eighteen-year-old Ji Zhijie couldn't accept it and asked several times who that person was.

All he got in reply was, "Get lost."

*

Dan Nan is boisterous, cheerful, and far too enthusiastic.

She was forced to claim she was already married to protect herself. Her family thought she was worthless, so they let her wander wherever she wanted.

At twenty-seven, Dan Nan is doing just fine on her own when she suddenly runs into the old-fashioned childhood friend who lived next door to her family.

Seeing how grown-up he has become, Dan Nan feels the relief of meeting a familiar face in a strange place.

She also thinks that after bullying him for so many years, she deserves to hear a few harsh words from him.

Sure enough.

He asks, "Is your husband dead? Is that why you've gotten so thin?"

Dan Nan: "...Fine, you can take out your grudge on me instead."

*

When Ji Zhijie learns that Dan Nan doesn't have a husband now, he acts before he can think.

He rushes up to her and asks her to marry him.

Dan Nan can't make sense of him. "Are you sure you have the right person?"

Ji Zhijie: "I'm not nearsighted."

Dan Nan: "...Everyone knows I've been married."

Ji Zhijie: "You bullied me for so long, and now my family is pressuring me to get married. This is what you owe me."

Dan Nan knows he's got a point, but she's still annoyed and deliberately says, "I've been married."

Ji Zhijie insists they go register their marriage. He doesn't care how many times she's been married before.

*

A little scene:

A few months after the wedding, Second Treasure is far more considerate than anything a so-called marriage contract requires.

Dan Nan suspects something. "Don't tell me you've liked me for ages?"

Ji Zhijie gently bites her earlobe. "Only just thought to ask?"

*

Younger man, older woman. She's two years older.

Both leads are virgins!

Next up, a collection of short stories! Each sweet little story is under fifty thousand words!

One story: Miss Xu Decides to Take Action.

After her closest friend, who grew up with her in an orphanage, dies unexpectedly, Miss Xu helps carry out her friend's final wishes one by one.

Find a home for the big orange cat she's been feeding for days.

Tell the flower seller at the end of the street that she'll buy flowers in her friend's place from now on.

And tell... that author to hurry up and finish his book, then burn the rest of the words for her.

Miss Xu reads that wish several times, then gets to work the very next day.

*

Mr. Zhang is frustrated because he can't write. Lately, he has been working at a cafe near his home.

After a day or two, he notices a girl sitting closer and closer to him.

Eventually, she sits across from him and quietly passes him a note.

[Hello. Could you burn your novel for me once it's finished?]

Mr. Zhang is an author, but he still can't make sense of the sentence.

The girl passes him another note.

[I have a friend waiting. It's very, very urgent.]

Two stories: Mr. Qi Decides to Take Revenge.

It starts when he discovers that his childhood friend has had an arranged marriage fall through, and that the other party's infidelity has made her the target of ridicule.

Mr. Qi is very unhappy about the situation.

He decides to take revenge.

As everyone gossips, he personally leads his people to propose marriage.

The wedding is just around the corner.

He decides to ask the internet for advice and makes a post.

[My childhood friend is being mocked by lots of people for not being able to find a husband, so I decided to take revenge on her by marrying her.]

[How should I take revenge on her after that?]

Commenters: ??? Are people really this shameless about showing off their love now?

Mr. Qi stubbornly asks again: [Now I want to teach her how to fulfill her duties as my wife. For example, I'm currently having dinner with a female client, and it's almost dark. How do I hint that she should contact me right away and even ask for my location?]

Commenters: What the heck???

Three stories: Miss Zhao Is Hired as a Nanny.

Why should she marry this stiff, old-fashioned man and have his children?

Miss Zhao can't figure it out from the moment she enters the marriage registry and receives the marriage certificate to the moment she leaves.

After all, they were married. She feels a little at a loss, and spends a long time thinking of how to say goodbye with dignity once she leaves.

He, on the other hand, gets straight into the car as soon as the driver opens the door and doesn't even look back.

Watching the car's exhaust, Miss Zhao says, "OK, fine," and gives him the universally understood friendly gesture.

*

That night, just as she's getting ready to spend her divorce settlement, which has a whole lot of zeroes on the end, her ex-husband suddenly calls!

His tone is still cold, but what he says is urgent.

"The children say they won't eat unless they can see you. It's already been half an hour past their usual mealtime."

He can clearly hear the noisy commotion on Miss Zhao's end.

"Also, may I ask where you are?"

Miss Zhao quickly finds somewhere quiet, borrows a phone, and coaxes the children to eat properly and go to bed on time.

Once they're done, her ex-husband suggests a solution.

"Since you probably won't find a job right away, and the children are still young, how about this? I'll pay you an annual salary of five hundred thousand to come back and be their mother."

Miss Zhao: ???

He has always been direct about what he wants. "You won't need to do any housework. You just have to be there in the morning and evening when they leave for school, until they come of age."

For someone about to face unemployment: Miss Xu Decides to Take Action.

So she goes.

Not long after, she can't take it anymore and throws back the covers. In front of her is the man deliberately lying there without a shirt.

"Employer, would you mind explaining why you're always in my bed?"

Miss Zhao, in dire straits, is just too tempting.

So she goes.

Not long after, she can't take it anymore and throws back the covers. In front of her is the man deliberately lying there without a shirt.

"Employer, would you mind explaining why you're always in my bed?"

What a long blurb, hehe.

It's probably a collection of three short stories, each under forty or fifty thousand words. Just writing some sweet fluff!

Theme: Peace! Peace and love