Wonderland

[My new novel, A Beautiful Day Dawns, is now underway! Childhood friends from two wealthy families, heir apparent x heiress, an older man with an unrequited crush. Blurb below. Please add it to your reading list!]

Reunion after years apart | Mutual pining | Clear-headed, independent heroine x possessive hero with husband material energy | Doctor x commercial airline pilot

A neighbor introduced Song Linlin to a potential match, saying he was a handsome 185 cm tall guy with a house, a car, and a job as a commercial airline captain. He was her age and had gone to her high school. In three words, it was a perfect match.

So Song Linlin reunited with her high school classmate Liang Shu at the restaurant they had agreed on.

Liang Shu hadn't changed much, except that when he looked at her, his gaze was calm and unreadable. Song Linlin didn't know if he remembered her.

She had to admit the aunt was right about the first few points, but after graduating from high school, Song Linlin had unilaterally deleted him from WeChat. There was no way this could turn into a perfect match.

-

By chance, she and Liang Shu became neighbors again, in apartments directly above and below each other.

One day, Liang Shu's college-aged cousin came to visit, and the three of them met in the elevator.

The cousin hadn't seen Song Linlin in years. He invited her over for a meal and went on at length about his brother's cooking. Unable to refuse, Song Linlin went to their apartment.

Before dinner, the cousin chatted with her. He said their grandfather had been urging Liang Shu to go on a blind date, and asked if she knew. Song Linlin nodded.

That opened the floodgates. The cousin said Liang Shu hadn't dated anyone in years, and before this, he'd always found excuses to turn down blind dates. Then he shared his theory with Song Linlin: "I think my brother's been heartbroken!"

Song Linlin offered him some sympathy. "Whoever broke his heart must have been absolutely horrible."

The cousin said, "It was one of my brother's high school classmates. They'd agreed to go to college together, but after the entrance exams, that girl dumped my brother and ran off to the south." He sounded devastated. "My brother's so handsome, too!"

Song Linlin: ?

Was he... talking about her?

-

Back then, all their friends thought Liang Shu had been dumped. He said they were just friends, but nobody believed him. Losing a friend wouldn't have hurt that much.

In fact, it wasn't until after the college entrance exams that Liang Shu belatedly realized he was in love with her.

Fate gave him no hint at the time. He was too close to see what was right in front of him, and missed his chance.

-

They had both underestimated the weight of an eighteen-year-old's feelings. Rekindling their old romance proved easier than they had imagined.

One summer night, Liang Shu flew to another city and asked her, "Will you marry me?"

Reading Guide:

1. The hero and heroine have only ever loved each other, in body and in heart.

2. Set in a modern city, with some flashbacks to their school days, but not many.

Blurb for A Beautiful Day Dawns

Childhood friends from two wealthy families | Older man with an unrequited crush | Carefree heroine x cool, devoted hero | Heiress x heir apparent | Height difference

Chi Yu'an and Ying Zeqing grew up together and became close when they were young. Though their personalities couldn't be more different and their careers had nothing in common, they had always been inseparable.

As one of their mutual friends put it, there was a bond between them that nobody else could break.

At one small gathering with friends, however, the two acted completely differently from usual. Chi Yu'an seemed awkward and ignored Ying Zeqing, even avoiding him when they crossed paths. The man she was ignoring looked as composed as ever, giving nothing away.

After the gathering, one of their mutual friends asked President Ying, as if eager for gossip:

"What's going on?"

"Did you finally stop pretending and confess, and scare her off?"

Ying Zeqing glanced at him coolly without saying a word, tacitly confirming it.

He had always been calm and restrained, adept at planning far ahead in business. But none of that applied when it came to Chi Yu'an.

He began to resent being nothing more than her so-called good brother and good friend.

When Chi Yu'an discovered the photograph in his wallet, Ying Zeqing was perfectly open about it. Looking her straight in the eye, he told her he loved her.

Shocked and conflicted, she asked if he'd gotten the wrong idea, mistaking protectiveness and friendship for attraction and love.

Ying Zeqing thought, How could I not know my own heart after loving you all these years?

In his usual even tone, he told her, "I've dreamed about having sex with you."

Bonus Scene

At their first gathering after getting together, Ying Zeqing and Chi Yu'an sat next to each other again. He even ordered her favorite dessert. Their friends knew that Chi Yu'an had been the only one giving him the cold shoulder, and now it seemed they had made up. They teased Ying Zeqing for always giving in to her. The heiress had no doubts about her own worth. "He's courting me, so of course he should treat me well." Faced with everyone's curious stares, Ying Zeqing glanced at the smug young woman beside him and readily agreed.

On the drive home after dinner, Chi Yu'an immediately tried to kiss him as soon as she got into the car. Ying Zeqing held her chin and looked down at her coolly. "What are you doing? Didn't you say I was courting you?"

Chi Yu'an stared at him in disbelief. "We've only just gotten together, and you won't even let me kiss you?"

Ying Zeqing raised the privacy partition and looked at her. "Come here. Sit on my lap, and I'll let you kiss me."

He pulled Chi Yu'an onto his lap. Between kisses, he asked, "Miss Chi, when are you going to make our relationship official?"

Dazed by his kisses, she said, "...Tonight."

-

Chi Yu'an knew perfectly well that no matter how high or how far she flew, he would always be there to protect her. They had known each other for years, like two tidally locked planets. The love she had never noticed was waiting on the far side of the moon.

Theme: The brave find happiness.