Melting the Iceberg Heart

*An overly confident/experience-seeking/slightly amnesiac young miss X a cold and aloof older beauty Zhan Qiu works at a convenience store, where a new customer frequently visits. The customer dresses elegantly, her demeanor reminiscent of midday after a light snowfall—briefly warm yet captivating. Zhan Qiu is sure this woman has a crush on her. Every time she pays, she says something odd. Like, "You look familiar. Have we met before?" Zhan Qiu can't help but smirk. "I don't think so. Someone as striking as you—I wouldn’t forget even after just one glance." Shen Qingci’s gaze turns icy. — Half a year ago, during her travels, Shen Qingci met a woman. Under a sentimental moon, dissolved in the damp, shadowy rainy season, their repressed desires and pleasures surged like a tempest. One stormy night, before the woman left, Shen Qingci lent her an umbrella—one of great personal significance. Afterward, her beloved umbrella vanished without a trace. Six months later, they meet again. She expects an explanation, an apology. Instead, she hears: "Hello, it’s member day—buy one, get one free." — Shen Qingci can’t believe it, but Zhan Qiu genuinely doesn’t remember. Half a year ago, she experienced shock-induced amnesia. The doctor said forgetting things was normal. "How about we exchange contacts?" "I’ll help you look. Maybe someday I’ll remember where I put it." One way to recover memories is to recreate past experiences—a tacit understanding between the two. An attempt to return to that endless rainy season. — "Today’s member promo: buy strawberry milk, get the prettiest shop assistant as a freebie." "Requesting an account deletion." Soon enough, her words come true. Zhan Qiu returns the umbrella, resolving to "delete" Shen Qingci from her heart. "Requesting a re-registration. Premium membership, please—daily member promos." *Lighthearted fluff *Age gap (Zhan is younger) *Synopsis finalized on 2024.10.19

The long, tedious days of high summer stretched on, the moonlight so faint it tasted like plain water. Yun Huizhi lazed around town, acting as a self-appointed ambassador through her photography and articles. One day, she paired a landscape shot with an unhinged caption: "Amateur tour guide here. If you're thinking of traveling and want a short-term girlfriend on the side, consider me. Price negotiable (pretty women only)."Someone slid into her DMs to ask what her standard for "pretty" was. Yun Huizhi decided to be difficult: "Send a bare-faced selfie." She thought that would kill the conversation. To her surprise, the person actually sent one.Yun Huizhi's dignity evaporated on the spot. "From now on, my sole reason for living is waiting for you to get here."—When she finally picked up the client, Yun Huizhi thought, What the hell—the woman was even more stunning in person. No way she was short on travel buddies. "Why me?""Just got divorced. Came to heal. Your photos are decent." The woman turned the question around. "Why do you do this?"Yun Huizhi answered, "Family's poor. Earning tuition."She played the part of the perfect guide. By day, she showed her client the sights—drinking, eating, biking after the sunset. By night, the town's moonlight swayed, burning hotter than the sun as they toyed with each other, with the wind, with the moon.Half a month of absurd bliss. Then the other woman left without a word, leaving money behind. Yun Huizhi stayed on in town, killing time.—At the pre-semester training, the new teacher introduced herself as Yun. Her partner homeroom teacher, dressed conservatively and buttoned-up, acted as if she had amnesia, addressing her formally as "Ms. Yun."Yun Huizhi walked back with her to the faculty apartment like they were old friends. "I just found out—Ms. Chu has always been single."Chu Ruoyou gave a cold laugh. "Someone who pretended to be a broke student to make money has the right to ask?"Yun Huizhi's attitude was impeccable. "You paid too well. I had no choice but to chase after you and keep working for you."The lie shattered. The town's moonlight fell into the late summer night, and the deliberately buried memories came flooding back."You're such a bastard.""But you said you wouldn't leave a bastard. I believed that part."

The new neighbor is quiet, well-mannered, and strikingly beautiful. She cooks well, often knocks on the door with food and drinks. She’s even willing to join in on bedtime relaxation exercises. After one such session, the neighbor asks, “Do you need a girlfriend?” Sheng Qi shakes her head. The neighbor calmly puts on her clothes, leaves her home, and returns in the evening to cook her favorite dishes as usual. Sheng Qi thinks, *This neighbor would actually be perfect for a relationship.* *If only she hadn’t kicked me away once before.* Back in their teenage years, this woman was already her neighbor—the school’s undisputed top student. Brilliant, beautiful, aloof, and indifferent. The only thing she couldn’t stand was Sheng Qi’s aimless, idle life and her pack of troublemaking friends, stubbornly trying to set her on the right path. Later, the girl who once kissed her as a reward for studying coldly said, “Your life is yours to waste. Fly away like a bird or rot like a flower in the mud—I don’t care. Just don’t let me see it, don’t let me know how stupid I was to ever believe you could change.” Sheng Qi became that bird, traversing mountains and rivers, gone for years. Her neighbor never mentions the past and never minds her hot-and-cold attitude. Calm at last, Sheng Qi decides to end the absurdity. “Why are you being foolish again?” “*I* was the true fool back then.”