[Sweet romance + older man/younger woman + long-laid plans + powerful man humbles himself + intense push and pull]
A wealthy young heiress who pretends to be sweet and obedient x a supposedly heartless but secretly flirtatious, powerful man from Beijing’s elite circle
Xie Guanlan, the ruler of Nangang, is worth trillions and comes from an exceptionally prestigious family. Yet he’s disciplined and proper, cold and aloof, and never gets close to women.
People have long been betting thirty million on who could make him descend from his pedestal.
But no one expected Shen Qingfu, nothing more than an unloved daughter of a declining wealthy family, to be so bold as to mistake him for someone else and flirt with Xie Guanlan.
Everyone in Beijing’s elite circles waits to see her make a fool of herself.
After all, Xie Guanlan may hold a string of prayer beads, but he has always been ruthless and decisive, with not a trace of mercy.
Shen Qingfu knows this well, so she has no choice but to pretend she’s devoted to him, pretend she loves him.
But as she keeps up the act, Xie Guanlan believes her, and she’s the one who panics.
At night, she’s terrified Xie Guanlan will come home.
So much for being cool and chaste. It was all a lie!
Later, she tries to run.
For the first time, his eyes redden. “If you’re going to deceive me, then do it for the rest of your life.”
*
After breaking his vow of restraint, Xie Guanlan goes wild.
He changes the water seven times in one night before finally slowing down a little.
Shen Qingfu’s lips are swollen. She slaps him across the face, but he only smiles, wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth, and bends over her again. “Baby, that slap wasn’t as hard as yesterday’s.”
*
At a family banquet, Shen Qingfu and her parents are thrown out of the Shen family in front of everyone. Abandoned by all and bearing one indignity after another, she stands in the cold rain of the night.
A large umbrella opens over her head.
Xie Guanlan’s expression is calm as he speaks, each word deliberate: “From this day on, there will be no more Shen family in Beijing’s elite circles.”
Only then does the Shen family realize that Shen Qingfu has found herself this powerful a backer.
Not one of them dares ask Xie Guanlan for mercy.
As Shen Qingfu leaves, she faintly hears their stifled sobs of regret.
She sneaks a glance at Xie Guanlan, bewildered.
What is it about her that keeps making him break the rules?
But she doesn’t know that she has been part of his life from his youth into adulthood.
All he has ever wanted is to keep her, possess her alone, and hide her away.
