Cool, aloof actress VS spoiled young heir
Coercive pursuit / caged songbird takes down scumbags and serves up face-slapping / 10-year age gap / both leads are each other's first
"Uncle, you didn't misjudge me."
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In show business, you have to make it big young.
Zeng Linlang debuted at sixteen. In the bloom of youth, with glossy black hair, porcelain skin, and a delicate face like a crabapple blossom after a spring sleep, she was as beautiful as a flower that never faded.
She made her way on beauty alone, and at eighteen, her fame skyrocketed.
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But her good fortune didn't last. Her scandalous background was exposed, and everyone turned on her.
She went to the Zhao family in Beicheng to seek an audience with her father's lawful wife.
The courtyard house was tucked away in the bustling city. Pear blossoms carpeted the courtyard, and someone sat beneath the flowering tree, drinking tea.
A hand with fingers like jade lifted a Ru kiln celadon teapot. The Buddhist beads around the wrist suddenly snapped, and agarwood beads scattered across the ground.
Tea poured into the fairness cup. The man glanced up, looking cool and detached, his features strikingly clear-cut.
At that breathtaking first glance, she recognized the dignified, noble man before her. Not long ago, at a banquet, he had asked her to speak with him privately, but she had arrogantly refused: Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else.
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That day, she learned that the man was Zhao Mengrong, the famous heir to the Zhao family of Beicheng, and her father's wife's younger brother.
With no one else to rely on, she turned to him and begged him to show mercy.
Zhao Mengrong, cool as gold and jade, said, "Miss Zeng can follow her mother's example. I don't mistake people. You have a bright future ahead of you."
That night, the crabapple blossoms reached their fullest bloom. Orioles sang among the pink petals, and Miss Zeng became Young Master Zhao's caged songbird.
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When her scumbag father heard that his daughter had climbed into Zhao Mengrong's good graces, he came crawling back to claim her.
Miss Zeng linked arms with Zhao Mengrong, looking brazen. "You think you're worthy? Once I marry him, you can call me your brother-in-law."
Her scumbag father was so furious he raised a hand to slap her, but the man's gaze stopped him in his tracks.
Zhao Mengrong's dark eyes were deep and inscrutable. He wore a faint, amused smile, laughing at the woman's presumptuousness and foolish hope of winning him over. Dream on.
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Later, Zeng Linlang won the Best Actress award at Cannes. Holding the golden trophy onstage, she said, "Lastly, I want to thank my uncle. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. The best acting I've ever done, he taught me himself."
Fame brought out her beauty. Smiling through her tears, she was breathtaking. "Uncle, you didn't misjudge me."
Below the stage, Zhao Mengrong's face darkened. He laughed in fury, turning the gold-mended beads on his Buddhist bracelet between his fingers.
Did the caged songbird he had raised think she could fly away? Dream on.
You want to call that man your brother-in-law? I'll make it happen.
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That day, the doorbell rang incessantly. Beneath the pear tree in the courtyard, Zeng Linlang wept like a rain-soaked blossom. "Mr. Zhao... someone is here."
Zhao Mengrong's movements were rough, but his voice was gentle. "What did you call me?"
"...Uncle."
Wind and rain swept through, and pear blossoms fell all over the ground.
When the grapes ripen, Linlang fills my arms. Love arrives in its most beautiful season.
--When the Grapes Ripen
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Reading notes:
1. A 10-year age gap, both leads are each other's first. A resilient, clear-headed, independent actress VS a born leader who knows how to guide others. An innocent-looking actress with a knack for acting VS her spoiled uncle.
2. Showbiz story about a caged songbird's growth, taking down scumbags, and face-slapping. Plenty of angst and push-pull, with lots of sweet, ambiguous romance.
3. The leads are not related by blood. "Uncle" is the male lead's kinky little joke.
4. Zhao Mengrong's rong is pronounced rong. The spoiled male lead engages in coercive pursuit early on, and of course, he will suffer for it.
5. The setting is entirely fictional, with no real-life inspirations. Please don't read it that way.
Theme: Love and dreams
