The Stars Shift in Their Courses

If there really were a genie who could grant wishes,

I would want the power to move the stars and turn back time,

to protect you.

On the first day Yu Minxing returned to his old school, he already had a headache. The new transfer student looked all right, but he didn't seem too bright.

He bothered him after class while he was trying to sleep, and the first thing he said was that they were childhood friends and that he would take him home.

...Go get help.

And there was something even more maddening.

Homeroom teacher: Why does your handwriting look so much like Bai Yu's?

Bai Yu raised his hand. “Teacher, we practiced together when we were kids.”

Friend: Can't you see he doesn't even want to talk to you?

Bai Yu played dumb. “Does he? I can't see it.”

Yu Minxing: You like picking fights?

Bai Yu looked surprised. “How did you know I like you?”

·

When Yu Minxing went to a temple to pray for a safety charm, all he could think about was one night he would never forget for the rest of his life.

That night, someone released fireflies into the spring air because of his love.

And beneath the hem of their clothes, their fingers had secretly hooked together.

That person said to him,

“Xingxing, you and fireflies have two things in common.”

Comparing him to a bug? Yu Minxing thought.

“One is that you both shine.”

But Yu Minxing never got to hear the next thing he had to say.

That summer came to an end. Their meeting was like two stars caught by gravity and sent crashing into each other. From then on, the hyperbolas of their fates were forcibly bent.

·

“What is there in the sky? A field of white elms, clear and bright.”

An old man at the temple told him that the ancients used “white elm” as an elegant name for the stars.

“Who can say for sure who you're really praying for?”

Perhaps because he could never forget, or perhaps because their fate was not yet spent, Bai Yu found the star that fate had hidden away.

The pain in his heart came later than the sight of those trembling hands, so shaky they could barely hold a safety charm.

·

Snow fell outside the window. Yu Minxing leaned against Bai Yu and brought up the rainstorm on the day Bai Yu left.

“Because you left.”

“You're my sunshine.”

Later, he remembered the answer he never got all those years ago and asked what the second thing they had in common was.

Bai Yu lowered his head and kissed his eyes.

“The second is... it's been so long.”

◎A seme who doesn't understand plain speech and only wants love * a sickly uke with a high attack and low defense, all bark and no bite

[Reader's Guide]

1. Both leads are each other's first and only love, with a pure 1v1 romance and a happy ending.

2. Includes mild amnesia and mental illness.

❗(Depictions of psychosomatic symptoms, mental health issues, medication, and episodes of illness may be distressing. Please don't push yourself to read on.)

3. Not suitable for readers with extreme character preferences.

6. A slow-burn, everyday romance (readers who prefer a fast pace, please proceed with caution).

7. Sweet with a tang, and some heartbreak along the way.

◆If it's not for you, please stop reading instead of forcing yourself.◆

Theme: Love is a bitter medicine