★ Alluring, sweet-faced schemer with a hidden dark side × playboy who turns over a new leaf, only to get played himself
| Two top students + intense push and pull + a battlefield of romantic rivals |
"The most perfect hunter often enters the game disguised as prey."
"Take a guess: how much of the affection in my eyes is real?"
Blurb:
Everyone knows the province's two star students are complete opposites: one lives a carefree, decadent life, while the other is innocent and well-behaved.
On a rainy night, in a dark alley, Lin Xiyin spotted him holding a girl whose eyes were red from crying. His white shirt snapped in the wind as the boy said coldly, without a trace of feeling, "It was just a game we both agreed to play, sweetheart. There's no point in clinging to me."
Everyone knew that Jiang Chi, the heartthrob of No. 1 High School, was a dangerous yet fascinating presence: a rich, carefree heir to the heavens whose relationships never lasted more than two weeks. But Lin Xiyin refused to be deterred and insisted on playing with fire.
She orchestrated chance encounters, deliberately left behind a hair tie, and even rushed into his arms on a rainy day, clutching her rain-soaked uniform.
"Lin, if you're going to date me, you have to be able to handle it." The boy casually crunched on a mint, spinning a metal lighter between his fingers so fast it blurred. Jiang Chi wore an amused expression. "Three rules: no promises, don't take it seriously, and we can stop whenever we get bored."
Lin Xiyin's gaze fell on the second button of his collar. As her fingertips brushed his Adam's apple, she heard his breath suddenly stumble.
The girl tilted her head back and drained the wine he offered her, then smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "Sure."
Everyone thought Lin Xiyin had won this relationship by clinging to Jiang Chi, but they had no idea that every smile of hers that reached his eyes was a meticulously crafted act of revenge, calculated down to the last detail.
The night the truth came out, the rooftop wind whipped the blue flames. By the time Jiang Chi stubbed out his seventh cigarette, the kiss marks Lin Xiyin had left on his neck the night before were still there.
She leisurely smoothed the wrinkles from Jiang Chi's collar, her red lips curling as she made her announcement: "Young Master Jiang, the game's over."
"You used me and now you want to run?" As Lin Xiyin turned away, the boy's trembling hand clamped around her wrist. His grip was so tight it almost crushed her bones. She looked back and saw that the boy, usually so laid-back and arrogant, had bloodshot eyes. "Lin Xiyin, how much of your affection was actually sincere?"
She smiled as she pried his fingers loose, taking off her good-girl mask. The ice in her eyes had been there for years. "Jiang Chi, there's no point in clinging to me."
Just as they had agreed, it was only a game of romance, and whoever fell first would lose.
[Reading Guide]
1. Lin Xiyin (pronounced Yin)
2. One-on-one romance, both leads have no prior sexual experience
3. A revenge story about a sweet-faced schemer with a dark side. The male lead is a genuine playboy in the beginning, then later suffers through an arduous pursuit to win his wife back.
Theme: Study hard and keep striving.
