Third-Person Singular

In the third month of living together with her boyfriend, Qin Zheng sleeps until evening after a night of typhoon weather.

After showering, she pulls on her boyfriend's shirt and goes to the kitchen to cook noodles, the tips of her hair still dripping wet.

As soon as she reaches the living room, she sees someone sitting on the sofa, folding the clothes scattered across the floor. They are the clothes she and her boyfriend took off while watching a movie together that evening. Now they're neatly folded on the coffee table.

It's her boyfriend's former roommate, the computer genius everyone talks about.

Jin Cong senses her gaze and looks up. His eyes linger for a moment on her wet hair and bare legs before quickly shifting away.

"I came to pick up some old things," he says, continuing what he's doing. "Your clothes were all on the floor."

Qin Zheng nods and pulls her collar together. The conversation feels awkward.

-

Later, her boyfriend travels for work frequently, and Jin Cong occasionally comes by to pick things up. He always stays by the door and never says much.

As autumn deepens, Qin Zheng comes down with a fever one day and drifts off to sleep on the sofa. When she wakes up, there's warm water and medicine on the coffee table, and a man's umbrella by the front door.

Later, after someone gets her drunk at a work dinner, Jin Cong takes her home.

He smooths back her hair and asks quietly, "Do you remember that night?"

Qin Zheng pretends to be drunk and says nothing.

Jin Cong smiles and whispers in her ear, "Your boyfriend doesn't love you that much, actually."

-

Even much later, Jin Cong still remembers that damp evening. A small kitchen light was on, and her shadow was faintly visible through the steam.

He never expected to have anything to do with her.

But as he left that day, a flicker of curiosity suddenly stirred in him:

What would it feel like to be loved by someone like Qin Zheng?

Notes:

1. This is a boyfriend-stealing romance. The male and female leads didn't know each other before, and when they meet, she's already someone else's girlfriend. Does that count as stealing her away by any means necessary?

2. Planned for winter break or 2026.

Theme: Love has no first come, first served