Bright and Longing

Wen Zhao x Qi Mu

As a hospice doctor, Wen Zhao had seen death countless times and gently sent off innumerable souls. She never imagined that her professional dignity would be crushed into a stand-up routine by top-tier star Qi Mu.

A video of her calm rebuttal went viral overnight, topping the internet's trending searches.

Qi Mu scoffed carelessly. "You sure know how to ride the hype."

But fate turned around all too quickly

Overnight, he became her next-door neighbor.

And the terminally ill patient she saw that same day turned out to be his grandmother.

For the first time, the man who had always been arrogant and flamboyant lowered his head before her. His hand trembled as he grabbed her.

"Save her... in your own way."

-

One night, after a patient's family member shoved her and injured her, she searched the whole house for medicine and came up empty. She had no choice but to steel herself and knock on his door.

As he bent to search the first-aid kit, his collar fell completely open.

Wen Zhao caught a glimpse of the firm lines beneath his collarbone and immediately looked away.

He noticed something was off and drawled, "Why is your neck red?"

She forced herself to stay calm. "Could you... please get dressed properly?"

He let out a soft laugh. "That's just how this style fits."

[Gentle, healing angel x sharp-tongued, pure-hearted top-tier star]

[Next-door neighbor trope | Redemption | Mutual devotion]

Reading Guide:

1. A tribute to all medical workers.

2. The medical information was researched online. If you have higher standards for accuracy, you may want to look elsewhere.

3. Obsessive, sharp-tongued comedian x gentle, steadfast medical worker -> sensitive, devoted little crybaby x warm, healing little angel

The next book, Beyond Summer, is coming soon. Please add it to your collection.

Blurb below^

[Opening November 8]

"My crush died in the height of summer, when I was eighteen."

*

At Xinghai High School, Shen Ruining and Chen Xiyao were deskmates, but belonged to different worlds.

She was quiet and reserved, the most inconspicuous good girl in class.

He was dazzling and carefree, the darling of everyone around him.

Somehow, these two started a secret relationship during the summer vacation of their sophomore year.

It began when he casually said, "Wanna give it a try?"

But she was the first to say, "Let's break up."

Looking at him, she came up with an excuse for them both: "I know you're just playing around. So am I."

He froze in place, then finally gave her a distant "Okay."

*

They met again at a university sports meet between their two schools.

He pushed through the roaring crowd and stopped in front of her, his gaze burning.

"Shen Ruining, I like you. Give us a try?"

The wall around her heart was about to crumble under his passionate pursuit.

But on the day she went to meet him, she heard him joking with his friends in person:

"...Looks like I'm going to win."

She stood frozen, feeling the blood drain from her body.

She walked over, transferred some money right in front of him, and spoke in a voice cold enough to cut:

"I'm sorry I made you, "

"Lose."

This time, she was the one who didn't want him.

*

They met again at their high school reunion five years later.

He walked through the door, no longer boyish, but even more composed and dazzling.

Shen Ruining also understood then: some people remain an unhealed wound in your heart forever.

After the reunion, they ran into each other again at the bus stop from back then.

He stood before her, no longer wearing a flippant look.

"There's only one thing I've regretted all these years."

Her fingertips trembled. "What?"

"That I couldn't make you believe I really did like you back then."

*

"I like you, and my feelings go beyond summer."

"They lie dormant in the folds of every season, and shine with an undying light along the star paths that cross once more."

Reading Guide:

1. Happy ending, both leads' first love, rekindled romance / mutual secret crush / remorseful pursuit

2. Quiet, reserved heroine who grows over time vs. dazzling, carefree hero who sees the error of his ways

3. School life in the first half, urban life in the second

4. The leads aren't perfectly good people (please don't call the heroine a baby)

Theme: Death is not the end of life. Forgetting is. A true farewell means smiling as you remember the past that was worth crying over.