Marriage First, Love Later | Childhood Sweethearts | A Clash of Equals
Reader’s Guide:
Chu Yuci and Duan Qingyu had been the kids everyone else was compared to since they were little.
They were the perfect couple in the eyes of their families, the ideal pair of neighboring pieces on the elders’ chessboard. Everyone said theirs was a fairytale in which childhood sweethearts ended up together, a model match of equal backgrounds and mutual benefit.
Only the two of them knew better.
They thought it would be a marriage of convenience in which they wouldn’t interfere in each other’s lives, until the night Chu Yuci returned home and got drunk in his car.
In a daze, I wrapped my arms around his neck and murmured, “You smell so good… better than wine.”
He took her back to his private apartment, but I hugged a bottle of red wine and left a brazen lipstick print on one of his prized bottles.
The next morning, I woke up at his place.
He slowly dried his hair. “You’re awake? I bought you some clothes. They’re over there.”
“Duan Qingyu! Why did you bring me to your place?!”
He glanced up calmly. “I’m particular about where I sleep.”
“What does that have to do with me?!”
“So I brought you back,” he said with a foxlike smile. “I’ll sleep in the bed. You can do whatever you want.”
From then on, their partnership spiraled out of control.
“The passenger seat is the most dangerous? In my car, every seat is safe. Or are you afraid of being too close to me?”
Chu Yuci snapped back, “I’m afraid your driving is terrible!”
He leaned down and spoke into her ear, his voice a breathy whisper. “Was my driving really that bad? You were already ‘riding’ me last night, weren’t you?”
The romance is a slow, delicate burn, from a marriage in name only to turning pretense into reality, with all the push and pull of two adults.
In one sentence: Childhood sweethearts become spouses. Marriage first, love later is the ultimate game.
It's very interesting. The young couple fighting against each other [sending my heart to you] author, keep writing.