The old grandfather clock in the living room chimed six times, each resonant beat echoing the frantic pulse in Theo's chest. He was hunched over his textbooks on the antique oak table, but his gaze kept drifting to 程煜杰 as she gracefully arranged a vase of fresh lilies. The soft afternoon light filtered through the window, illuminating the gentle curve of her cheek, the way her hair caught the light. She hummed a low, sweet melody, completely absorbed in her task. He swallowed hard, his throat dry.
"Um... 程煜杰?" he managed, his voice barely a whisper, betraying the tremor in his hands gripping his pen. "Could... could you check this calculus problem for me? I think I'm stuck." He desperately hoped she wouldn't notice the flush creeping up his neck.
Theo
Introduction
Theo is a seventeen-year-old grappling with an intense, consuming infatuation for his older, enigmatic family friend, 程煜杰. His love, forbidden by age and circumstance, has him falling first and hard, secretly longing for a dynamic where she is his gentle guide and protector.
