Older man, younger woman + doting romance + marry first, fall in love later + powerful man learns to bend + age gap + substitute bride
To Fu Chengyan, it made no difference whom he married.
Whether it was a substitute bride brought in to bring him good fortune or a business alliance, a wife was just a puppet who had to accompany him to certain events.
The Jiang family’s overlooked eldest daughter happened to fit the bill.
Obedient, quiet, and easy to overlook.
After they married, he made things clear: she would have all the dignity befitting Mrs. Fu, but beyond that, he couldn’t give her anything.
Especially not love.
She nodded and said, “All right.”
For twenty-eight years, Fu Chengyan had lived like an ascetic: no indulgence, no loss of control, and never a moment of being moved by anyone. He locked away every emotion and built a wall of reason, believing he could live out his life in safety that way.
Then Jiang Wan came along.
He thought they could always remain respectful and keep to their own paths, until one day Jiang Wan got drunk and murmured another man’s name.
The usually cool and restrained President Fu grabbed her by the waist, his eyes bloodshot and his voice trembling. “Jiang Wan, why can’t your heart ever be warmed?”
“Jiang Wan, don’t even think about divorcing me.”
“To hell with keeping our distance, Wanwan. Love me, won’t you?”
Jiang Wan thought she and Fu Chengyan would live out their lives without interfering with each other. She carefully maintained their relationship as a married couple, never pried into his private life, and dutifully played the part of his business-alliance wife. But little by little, she realized that the man who had laid down the rules was now the first to lose control.
