[Married before falling in love + height and build difference + older man + slow-burn, heartwarming romance] Her scumbag father tries to force her to become a stepmother to the son of a balding old man. Xia Zhiqiu turns around and impulsively marries her burly lawyer neighbor.
He’s tall and imposing, with a fierce look about him. Cool and abstinent, he has eyes only for work.
Their marriage contract is for one year, and she assumes they’ll treat each other with courteous distance until it expires.
Who would have guessed he’d keep her up night after night?
He’s long since stopped being the lawyer who could remain unmoved by a beauty in his arms, and who made sure to spell out their respective obligations.
Word in their circles is that the mysterious head of the Zhao family is a vicious, ruthless brute. Any woman who marries him is sure to wish she were dead.
Xia Zhiqiu takes it as a joke, until she sees Ye Yidong’s portrait in the Zhao family genealogy in the capital.
No one told her Ye Yidong took his mother’s surname.
Just as she thinks she’s done for, he cages her in his arms and asks in a low, alluring voice, “Are you afraid of me?”
She nods again and again. Each time, he lowers his head and lands a perfect kiss on her lips.
Xia Zhiqiu thinks their marriage is nothing more than a deal that benefits them both, and all she has to do is treat him with courteous respect.
Until he traps her in his arms, eyes red, and says hoarsely, “Xia Zhiqiu, I don’t believe in marriage, but I believe in you. And… I love you.”
Bonus scene
“Did you have your eye on me from the start?” Xia Zhiqiu sits sideways on his lap, poking his chest with a finger.
“Wasn’t it the same for you?” His warm palm closes around her slender fingers.
“When the contract expires, we’re done.”
“It renewed automatically.” Ye Yidong draws her hand to his lips and kisses it.
“You’re devious,” she says, chiding him.
