A Burning Kiss

[A battle-scarred, devoted tycoon x a proud, cool beauty like a white camellia] Returning to high school marks a major turning point in Mu Xueli's life. With a single thought, she sets her resolve and stubbornly boards the bus to school. She escapes a family that favors sons over daughters, avoids the fate of dying in a mudslide, and meets Lin Gui, the rebellious boy she would otherwise never have crossed paths with. Lin Gui leads her out of a world without light, yet always treats her coldly, bristling with thorns that keep her at a distance. During a student exchange program, they become deskmates, ostensibly to help each other out. Mu Xueli is trapped by her reading difficulties, repeating the same passage over and over. Lin Gui, who's been dozing beside her, lazily twirls his pen and props his chin on his hand, grinning audaciously. “I'm feeling charitable, so I'll help you. Beg me, bro.” The girl gazes at him with shining eyes and answers without hesitation: “Please.” [An insecure school bully x a stubborn moonlight girl] Lin Gui's eyes flicker as he snatches her book away. “Come here. I'll read it to you.” Years later, at a class reunion, someone suggests sharing the most precious thing from their high school days. Lin Gui, now a powerful man, falls silent for a moment, then takes out two crumpled slips of paper. “Two IOUs.” “Your cup is red, so I marked it for you. Don't take the wrong one.” “And your voice is lovely. Will you keep reading to me?” Everyone laughs. No one understands why the mighty tycoon of Country A treasures two scraps of paper. Across the glass, the little beauty in the corner meets his devoted gaze. Out of place among all the objects on the table is the half-slip of paper Mu Xueli is clutching in her palm. That afternoon, the boy unexpectedly draws an ugly rainbow in her workbook, taking care for once. And on that tipsy night, the tycoon rumored to shun women pins her against the wall and gently kisses her forehead. She turns over the slip of paper in her hand. Written on it is a confession. “You promised you'd come home with me after graduation, you little heartless thing. When are you going to be with me?”