All Chapters of The Sakura Between Us: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

The ink wouldn’t move.Lin Xiuying sat on the cold floor of her small apartment in Chengdu, knees drawn to her chest, staring at the sheet of white rice paper spread before her.It had been there for three hours.The inkstone was ground. The brush was wet. Her hand should have known what to do.But the paper remained untouched.Blank.Like her.Three days ago, she had been Lin Xiuying, one of Sichuan’s most promising young ink painters. She had a fiancé she had loved for five years, a best friend she trusted like a sister, and a confirmed place in a prestigious spring exhibition in Tokyo—the biggest opportunity of her career.Now she wasn’t sure she had any of them.It had happened so quickly.She had gone to Jian’s studio early that morning with jianbing from the street vendor he loved. His door was unlocked.Before she entered, she heard laughter.A woman’s laughter.Familiar laughter.Li Mei.Xiuying had pushed open the door.Her best friend since university was standing there wear

THE SAKURA BETWEEN The brush dripped.Xiuying held it above the white paper, wrist suspended exactly as her grandfather had taught her.Elbow raised.Shoulders loose.Breath steady.Heart quiet.At least, that was how it was supposed to work.A bead of ink gathered at the tip of the brush.Heavy.Ready to fall.Xiuying pulled the brush away.Again.She had accepted Ren’s challenge.One hundred paintings in one hundred days.It sounded ridiculous now.At seven o’clock, with Ren standing across from her and anger still burning beneath her skin, it had sounded like a challenge.Two hours later, it sounded impossible.He had left almost immediately after their agreement.No instructions.No inspirational speech.No hovering over her shoulder.Just one expectation.“Eight o’clock tomorrow morning. I see painting number one.”Then the gate had closed behind him.It was now 9:13 p.m.Painting number one did not exist.Xiuying stared at the paper until the white began to hurt her eyes.She t

THE SAKURA BETWEEN USCHAPTER 5: THE ENGAGEMENTPainting number eleven was ugly.Xiuying loved it.She had painted through most of the night after returning from the restaurant.No Jian.No Mika.No expensive private room.Instead, she painted the untouched bento that had sat in front of her.Perfect grilled fish.Perfect white rice.Perfect pickles arranged exactly where they belonged.Then, across the center of everything, she painted one long black hair.One flaw.One lie.Enough to ruin the entire meal.At the bottom, she wrote a single English word:PERFECT.Ren arrived at eight the next morning.On time.Shoes off.No surprises.Xiuying noticed.She didn’t mention it.He entered the studio and stopped in front of painting eleven.For almost a minute, he said nothing.Xiuying crossed her arms.“Well?”Ren crouched.“The hair is disgusting.”“Thank you.”“The fish looks expensive.”“It was.”“The composition makes me uncomfortable.”“Good.”Ren glanced at her.“You are learning to

THE SAKURA BETWEEN USCHAPTER 7: ONE HUNDREDThe engagement was postponed.Officially.The Sato family statement used six sentences to say absolutely nothing.Due to private family considerations, the engagement ceremony between Mika Tanaka and Jian Lin has been postponed. Both families request privacy during this time.Tanaka showed Xiuying the statement on his phone the next morning.She read it twice.“That’s a lot of words for Mika doesn’t trust him anymore.”Tanaka took his phone back.“The Sato family is very talented at using many words to avoid the truth.”“Is that an official family skill?”“Passed down through generations.”Xiuying smiled.She was beginning to like Tanaka far too much.“What happened after we left?”Tanaka hesitated.“Do I want to know?”“No.”“Tell me.”“Mika questioned Jian.”“And?”“Jian blamed you.”“Of course.”“Then Chairman Kenji questioned Jian.”Xiuying raised an eyebrow.“And?”“Mr. Jian discovered that being questioned by Chairman Kenji is signifi