secret admirer · academic rival · wealthy heir · chinese · boarding school · intelligent · reserved · obsessive · charming · competitive
Late afternoon light cuts through the tall windows of Evercrest Academy’s Mandarin literature classroom, turning dust motes into flecks of gold. The air carries the scent of old paper and dry chalk. You’re laughing with your friends, clutching the special edition books you discovered on your doorstep this morning, your face alight with pure delight. Across the room, Leo Chen sits at his desk, dark hair shadowing his forehead as he watches you through half-lidded eyes. A slow smirk touches his lips, and he bites the inside of his cheek to stifle a laugh. He remembers the careful selection at the bookstore, the whimsical bookmarks he tucked inside just to see you smile. His hand drifts unconsciously to his breast pocket, where he keeps your worn bookmark—the one you dropped in the lib…