02
The temperature in Hangzhou remained unstable even in April. Just when it had been warming up steadily in the past few days, a single "drizzling rain during Qingming season" sent it plummeting back to chilly weather.
On the last day of the Qingming holiday, Ruan Yu headed out to meet Shen Mingying. The moment she stepped out of her apartment, she shivered from the cold rain hitting her face. She turned back to grab a thick coat before descending again, finally arriving at the café and pushing open the door, shaking off her umbrella.
The dampness clinging to her eyelashes slowly dried.
Inside the private booth, Shen Mingying had already ordered coffee. The moment she saw Ruan Yu’s mismatched outfit of a cotton T-shirt and wool coat, she didn’t hold back: "You’re getting more and more careless. Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you can dress however you want, okay?"
"Be grateful I even washed my hair for you. It’s not like I’m here to walk a runway."
"Single people should always be prepared for a potential romantic encounter." Shen Mingying shot her a sidelong glance and pushed her laptop forward. "Alright, hand over the USB drive. Let’s see what this stubborn, melodramatic writer has come up with."
Ruan Yu pulled a white USB drive from her bag and passed it over, then picked up a latte and started scrolling through Weibo, occasionally sharing funny posts with Shen Mingying.
At first, Shen Mingying responded with amusement, but soon she became completely absorbed in the screen, silent.
"What’s going on?" Ruan Yu set down her phone and asked.
Shen Mingying slowly looked up from the WPS document. "This story… it might actually blow up."
"Last time you said—"
Shen Mingying cut her off with a gesture, like a talent scout who had just discovered a hidden gem. She was so excited she needed a moment to compose herself before speaking. "What I meant before was stories that are so Mary Sue they’re detached from reality. But this one feels like it’s set in a real high school, something readers can relate to."
Ruan Yu had based her story on Suzhou No. 1 High School, so of course it felt realistic.
She leaned forward eagerly, like a child asking for candy. "What else?"
The other thing was, whenever Ruan Yu got into the flow, her writing had a certain magic to it. After five years in the industry, among writers with similar experience, her achievements stood out.
A senior author once described her work like this: "With just a few words, she unearths decay from romance, then transforms that decay into brilliance. This girl’s writing is too sharp."
Shen Mingying summarized it simply as "masterful prose" and scrolled through the document, sighing. "Writing from personal experience really hits hard, huh? Impressive—a classic case of pouring your heart into it."
"Stop teasing me!"
"Who was it that wouldn’t stop talking about Xu Huaisong back in the day?"
Ruan Yu muttered under her breath, "Everyone has their cringey teenage phase."
"So," Shen Mingying studied her, "you’re completely over him now?"
Ruan Yu nodded.
If not for that old diary, she might not even remember Xu Huaisong anymore. Even though she’d recently revisited all her memories of him to immerse herself in writing, all that remained was a faint sense of melancholy.
It was similar to the nostalgia she felt when visiting her hometown.
Still in love? After eight years apart—was anyone really that devoted?
She added, "If I hadn’t moved on, wouldn’t writing this book just be self-torture?"
"Fair point." Shen Mingying clicked her tongue. "But aren’t you worried the real person might find out? That’d be awkward."
Ruan Yu said it wouldn’t happen. The novel was mostly from the female lead’s perspective and had been fictionalized and adapted. After so many years, how could anyone recognize the original inspiration from vague impressions?
Besides, she doubted Xu Huaisong had ever even matched her name to her face back then. And would someone like him—aloof and untouchable as an immortal—even read romance novels?Just as they were talking, Ruan Yu's phone rang.
Shen Mingying noticed she had changed her ringtone to a piano piece and suddenly remembered the scene she had just read—where the female lead hid in the school flowerbeds, eavesdropping on the male lead playing the piano.
A realization dawned on her. "It's that song, After the Rain , isn't it?"
Ruan Yu nodded while answering the call. "Mom." After a few brief responses, she finally said, "I'll be right there."
"What's up?" Shen Mingying asked.
"My mom suddenly dropped by my apartment."
"Then you should head back first."
She packed her things and stood up, adding before leaving, "Probably here to lecture me about going on blind dates again."
"How do you plan to dodge it this time?"
Ruan Yu scrunched her face. "With this cold, rainy weather, she came all the way from the suburbs. This tactic is probably unavoidable."
With that, she grabbed her umbrella and hurried out.
Shen Mingying, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, smirked mischievously and called after her, "Remember to livestream the blind date for me later!"
After Qingming Festival, the lingering spring chill finally subsided, and Ruan Yu's new novel, I Really Want to Whisper in Your Ear , began serializing on Jinjiang Literature City.
Shen Mingying, a former editor at Jinjiang, had a sharp eye for quality. Sure enough, after a year of silence, the pen name "Wen Xiang" once again made waves in the online literature scene.
By the end of April, the novel was officially published and skyrocketed to the top of the Golden Rankings overnight.
Not long after, a film production company reached out to the website.
On a Thursday evening in early May, after updating the latest chapter, Ruan Yu headed to a restaurant downtown for a blind date.
The meeting was forced upon her, but she understood her family's concerns. Her parents weren’t desperate to marry her off—they were just worried about her current lifestyle.
Four years after graduation, she hadn’t dated once. Since diving into writing, she had nearly cut off all social interactions. Over time, her family grew concerned about her mental well-being.
After all, social anxiety wasn’t exactly rare these days.
So, while framed as a blind date, the real purpose was to get her out socializing. If she happened to meet someone compatible, all the better.
Unable to refuse, Ruan Yu treated it as a chance to gather material.
Considering it was their first meeting, both sides opted for the main dining area instead of a private booth to avoid awkwardness.
Her date, surnamed Liu, was three years older than her. With clean, pleasant features softened by the restaurant’s golden chandeliers, he seemed easy on the eyes—though equally inexperienced, stiff and nervous throughout.
Before the food arrived, they sipped tea and exchanged stilted small talk. Once the dishes came, both seemed relieved to focus on eating.
Surprisingly, the atmosphere grew more relaxed.
The restaurant served elegant, delicate portions. As Ruan Yu took a few bites of her main course and leaned down to sip her chicken velouté, Liu Mao asked about her hobbies.
She set down her spoon, her shoulder-length hair swaying slightly with the movement, and answered briefly. Out of courtesy, she casually inquired about his profession: "I heard you’re a partner at a law firm—quite the impressive achievement for someone so young."
Liu Mao loosened up at the topic, replying modestly, "Not that impressive. There are four partners at our firm, and I’m just the junior one. The real powerhouse is a senior partner who’s based overseas—he’s the one handling the major work."Ruan Yu wasn't familiar with the legal profession and had run out of things to say. To avoid an awkward silence, she steeled herself and followed his lead: "If you're settled abroad and not doing practical work, then what do you do?"
Liu Mao smiled sheepishly. "Financial support, I suppose."
This actually made Ruan Yu chuckle.
Liu Mao's gaze swept over her crescent-moon eyes and the deep dimples on her cheeks, and he suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He quickly shook his head, indicating it was nothing—he couldn’t very well say she was so sweet-looking that he’d been momentarily stunned. Just as he was floundering, his phone rang, saving him.
"Excuse me," he said, picking it up and stepping out. He crossed half the restaurant to a quiet corner before answering, "Huai Song?"
A male voice came through the line. "Yeah."
Liu Mao glanced at his watch. "Isn’t it almost 4 a.m. there? Something urgent?"
"I need some documents. You didn’t reply."
"Ah, sorry about that. I’m out on a blind date tonight. I’ll have someone handle it right away."
Just as Liu Mao was about to hang up, the other end hesitated. "...Blind date?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That’s still a thing in China?"
He laughed. "Sure is. Enjoying the peace in California?"
The other man chuckled. "Has nothing to do with location. Just age."
"..."
After delivering that deadpan jab, the caller told him to get back to his date and hung up.
Liu Mao twitched his lips, then called a subordinate to handle the work. After finishing, he set his phone down and headed back, intending to apologize to Ruan Yu again. But she was also on a call, her expression suggesting something was wrong.
Seeing him return, she gestured an apology and lowered her voice to ask the person on the line, "Is that true?" A moment later, she added, "I’ll head back right away."
When she hung up, Liu Mao quickly asked, "Is something wrong, Miss Ruan?"
"I’m sorry, there’s a work issue. I need to return to my apartment."
"No problem, work comes first. Let me drive you."
Ruan Yu declined, but Liu Mao insisted, so she didn’t refuse further.
At this hour, downtown traffic was a nightmare. She had no choice but to pull out her phone in the backseat and log into her Jinjiang account.
Earlier, Shen Mingying had called in a panic, saying someone had posted anonymously on Jinjiang’s forum "Bishui Jiangting," claiming that Whisper in Your Ear bore an uncanny resemblance to another ongoing short story on the site, Her Eyes Smile . The post listed eleven overlapping plot points in just the first half of both published works.
The color-coded comparison was a mess, glaringly obvious. The conclusion? Wen Xiang’s Whisper was accused of "melting tropes" and plagiarism.
In under an hour, the thread had over 2,000 replies.
A few overlapping tropes weren’t alarming—what was alarming was a chain of them. Even worse? The other story had been published before hers. At first glance, it really did seem like she’d have a hard time clearing her name.
What’s more, the original poster seemed well-prepared. Before making the thread, they’d filed a report with the site’s complaint center and only posted half of the comparison, holding the rest in reserve.
Ruan Yu had a clear conscience and initially stayed calm, saying she’d check it out after the date.
But Shen Mingying had pressed, "You’d better deal with this fast. I just looked—those eleven details are a perfect match. Even the school setting is identical, and a lot of the dialogue is similar.""The most obvious difference is that your story is from the female lead's perspective, while theirs... adopted the male lead's viewpoint."
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