Flowers Bloom When the Lanterns Shine

Sunny, innocent, and a little oblivious x obsessive, unhinged, and razor-sharp

His white moonlight and her black lotus.

When Chu Mingshe was six, a handsome older boy moved in next door.

He never went out or spoke, and his pale, gloomy, beautiful face was always hidden behind the lattice window.

The children in the alley all said he was a mute cripple.

Her parents told Mingshe to look after their neighbor, so every day she crawled through dog holes and climbed over walls, persistently pestering him.

Only later did she learn that he wasn't mute; he simply no longer wanted to speak to anyone. His own father had broken his leg with his own hands.

"It's okay. I'll make you a wheelchair, Sheshe!"

Mingshe rolled up her sleeves and worked hard to learn carpentry from her father.

She used the wheelchair to knock open the handsome boy's door, and his tightly closed heart along with it.

Pei Zhaoxue had once been hailed as a heaven-blessed prodigy by everyone in the capital. At eleven, he had just passed the entry-level imperial exam, but his dazzling future came to an abrupt end.

He was falsely accused of injuring his younger brother and branded cruel and heartless.

His own father publicly punished him according to family law, personally breaking both his legs.

His own mother tearfully sent him to a country estate, leaving him to fend for himself.

He shut himself in his room and sank into a lightless night.

But a ray of light stumbled in, grabbed him, and pushed him out into the world.

"How about I help you stand again?" She crouched before his wheelchair and looked up at him like a little cat, her eyes shining like stars.

"...All right," he answered hoarsely.

The years slipped by. At sixteen, Pei Zhaoxue suddenly heard that his mother had died, and was summoned back to the Chu family.

Before he left, he promised Mingshe that he would return when the camellias bloomed.

But he never expected to be detained in the capital. When he finally returned to Lanternflower Alley, the lanterns were out, the flowers had withered, and the place was empty.

They met again five years later. He had become the sharpest blade at the emperor's side, while she was exchanging betrothal letters with someone else.

"You want to compete with me?" He chuckled, his fingertip gliding over the cold blade.

"Then die."

*

1. Five-year age gap. Each other's first love, and both are chaste. The male lead's legs will recover. Their romance begins only after their reunion, going from childhood sweethearts to a lifelong vow.

2. With the female lead keeping an eye on him, the male lead is "bad" within limits.

3. The female lead has her own family, friendships, career, and growth arcs. She's no helpless little victim who lets others bully her.

4. The male lead is possessive and has a dark side, but the female lead is incredibly oblivious and endlessly patient with him. She always manages to calm him down when he's on the verge of losing it. A very reassuring dog leash (not really).

Spring comes to the southern tower, the snow melts away,

And the lantern season stirs the promise of flowers.

Theme: Love makes people brave