The Moon Is Sleepless Tonight, Too

[Insecure, sensitive girl who overthinks everything] x [Melancholy, aloof, laid-back senior]

Actually: [Soft girl with an incredibly active inner monologue] x [Proactive, teasing bad boy who draws you in]

#BittersweetSecretCrush #GirlAndDogLiterature #TurnsOutYouLikeMeToo

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Sang Qie has had a crush on Tan Zhou for three years, but has never found the courage to confess. Even as she takes one step after another toward him, the distance between them only keeps growing.

At first, Sang Qie only thought the languid, fair-skinned boy had somehow opened a crack in her heart, after the hazy moonlight dazzled her.

Just as she was torn up over these feelings, the boy happened to pass by. The wind lifted the hem of his shirt, and when he turned his head with a faint smile, his round puppy eyes sparkled.

That only made Sang Qie more certain: she definitely liked Tan Zhou.

On the day Tan Zhou graduated, Sang Qie curled up alone on the rooftop and quietly cried, grieving over her bittersweet crush that would never have a happy ending.

Then a message suddenly popped up on her phone.

Zhou7: Where are you right now?

*

In a narrow stairwell, the boy's suppressed panting mingles with the wet sound of their mouths exchanging saliva. Sang Qie is held in Tan Zhou's arms, his tongue wrapped around hers as he peppers her lips with kisses.

During a brief pause to catch their breath, Tan Zhou bites her soft, tender cheek and grumbles indignantly.

"I practically put a dog collar around my own neck. How are you still not getting it?"

Dazed from the kiss, Sang Qie stares at him. "So you like me too?"

*

"Why Do I Keep Falling More and More in Love with You?"

"Turns Out the Guy I Had a Crush on Was Flirting with Me All Along"

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[Blurb saved on July 7, 2025]

[See the author's note in Chapter 1 for specific content warnings]

Theme: Nothing is impossible if you're willing to work for it