I am starting to write an MM book
I'm starting to write an MM book, but English isn't my first language. I hope you guys can give me some feedback after you read it. Thanks! 🙏 I might probably be updating my novel chapter by chapter here.
Book’s name: After Winter
Story: A misunderstood university professor, forced to resign after being reported by an ex (his student), has lost all faith in love. A banker, accustomed to healing everyone else, is too terrified to open up again after a deeply painful, unforgettable heartbreak. Through repeated encounters and drawing closer to one another, they slowly learn how to trust again—and how to find their own shared light after this seemingly endless winter
The first chapter : Winter is long
Winter. Early evening.
Lin Yu'an lay alone on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. His mind felt both entirely empty and suffocatingly crowded, a weight pressing down on his chest. Thoughts drifted in and out, dissolving before they could ever take shape. He no longer knew what he was supposed to think about, let alone where those thoughts might lead him.
He hadn't been to work in days. The university had suspended him weeks ago. And today, on the seventh day of his suspension, they had finally scrubbed his faculty profile from the official website. His photograph remained, but his name was gone. He opened the webpage and stared at the empty space for a full ten minutes before letting out a low, hollow laugh.
"Good," he murmured to himself. "Maybe it's better this way."
His gaze drifted over to the dining table, where empty takeout boxes and disposable paper cups were piled high. For some reason, the clutter reminded him of himself. Once desperately craved, now discarded without a second thought.
His mind wandered back to that PowerPoint—more than a hundred slides, each one painstakingly prepared by his ex, who had also been his student. To Yu'an, that file had felt less like a work assignment and more like a love letter. Yet the moment it landed on the desks of the university administration, it had somehow mutated into the very evidence that destroyed everything. He could not fathom how the man who had once been so inextricably bound to him could now hate him with such absolute finality.
He picked up his phone and stared at the screen for a long time before finally composing a message to Zhan Xu.
Two years ago today, I used up all the luck I had that winter just to be with you. I still believe everything happens for a reason. I’ll be waiting beneath the largest plane tree on Peace Road at eight tonight. I’ll stay there until you come.
Lin Yu'an shot to his feet. Throwing on his overcoat and hastily wrapping a scarf around his neck, he rushed down to the underground parking garage. But the car, as cold and unresponsive as the winter night itself, refused to start no matter how many times he turned the key. Left with no choice, he hurried back upstairs to grab a face mask. He couldn’t bear the thought of being recognized by some stranger. Then he hailed a taxi, which soon dropped him off beneath the giant plane tree on Peace Road.
He rubbed his hands together and breathed into his cupped palms. The winter felt exceptionally bitter this year. He paced back and forth under the tree, stamping his feet against the creeping chill. An hour slipped away, yet the sidewalk remained stubbornly deserted. He checked his phone. Read.
Ever since the scandal broke, Zhan Xu had blocked him on every single social platform. Yu'an no longer wanted to place blame; he only wanted an explanation. Tonight, all he needed was a reason—one honest answer, one small gesture that would allow them both to step back from the edge of the cliff. If Zhan Xu would just give him that, their love might still have a path forward.
But the long, freezing night of waiting would unfold nothing like he had imagined.