I Promise You [The Second Male Lead Takes the Lead]

My new novel, Deliberately Climbing the Ladder [Marriage Before Love], is now online ^^ A powerful tycoon x a news anchor

[Two wealthy families / slight wallflower vibes / male lead poaches her / possessive love / both leads' first relationships]

[Mad heir to a powerful Beijing family x sweet, gentle, well-behaved girl]

1/

Ying Xun is the heir to a powerful Beijing family. He seems like a refined gentleman who's easy to talk to, but in truth he's ruthless. He always wears a red string around his wrist, and won't let anyone touch it.

Xu Qingyuan is a renowned young lady from a prominent family in Beijing. Sweet and gentle are her defining traits. She has an excellent reputation and has never done anything outrageous.

No one would ever connect these two.

Yet word gets out that the Ying and Xu families are arranging a marriage between them.

Many people wonder why, no matter how beautiful Xu Qingyuan is, she wouldn't be the Ying family's first choice. Eventually, rumors spread that Ying Huai, the older brother who's said to be in poor health, likes her. His family can't talk him out of it, so they finally give in.

2/

The Ying family patriarch's first wife died young. He later remarried, and his second wife gave birth to Ying Xun.

Everyone knows that Ying Xun and Ying Huai are only brothers in name when people are watching.

To Xu Qingyuan, Ying Xun is exactly the kind of man she wants to avoid. The title of heir to a powerful Beijing family carries too much weight. No matter how many women try to get into his bed, none can hold on to him.

So when the Ying family says Ying Huai is the one she'll marry, Xu Qingyuan is relieved.

But after the engagement ceremony, that heir follows her like a ghost, leaving his shadow everywhere she goes.

When the Xu family is on the verge of bankruptcy, Xu Qingyuan means to ask Ying Huai for help. Instead, Ying Xun drags her into a room and pins her down on the bed.

He says, "Ying Huai can't protect you, but I can. Why not consider me, sister-in-law?"

Xu Qingyuan slaps him, but he only laughs more brazenly. "Again."

Her phone keeps ringing. Ying Xun lowers his eyes and smiles at her flushed cheeks. "Answer it, sister-in-law."

3/

To help Xu Qingyuan and Ying Huai grow closer as an engaged couple, the Xu family makes Xu Qingyuan move out and live on her own.

But before Ying Huai can move in, Ying Xun does.

He makes himself at home, even more comfortable than he is in his own house.

No one expects Mr. Ying, who is known for always keeping work and personal life separate and being devoted to his career, to move all his belongings and work documents into her place, as if a little animal were marking its territory.

He even resorts to the Art of War, turning every date between Ying Huai and Xu Qingyuan into a gathering of three.

When she tries to escape once again, he asks, "What? Does anyone else take care of you as well as I do?"

Later, with the red string warmed by their shared body heat, she finally asks in a hoarse voice, "Ying Xun, what do you really want?"

He smiles and presses his lips to hers, kissing away every answer.

I want you.

Your body and your heart, your name and the rest of your life.

Ying Xun isn't afraid of anything. If there's one thing he fears, it's Xu Qingyuan leaving him.

So when Xu Qingyuan tries her hardest to distance herself from him, he says, "Xu Qingyuan, do you feel guilty?"

"Then just think of it as me seducing you."

[Bonus Scene]

The heir to the Ying family is a famous smiling fox. Ever since he took over the family, Beijing's powerful families have spent every day on edge, afraid of receiving a takeover notice from the Ying family. They wait and wait, but no notice arrives. Then one day, a marriage certificate shows up instead.

The heir himself wrote it, filling it with heartfelt words, every sentence speaking for his true feelings.

But the signature at the end reads:

Witnessed and confirmed.

Groom: Ying Xun

Bride: Xu Qingyuan

The powerful families are stunned. Xu Qingyuan? Isn't she engaged to Ying Huai?

--

*Neither the male lead nor the second male lead is a good person, but both are faithful in body and heart.

*This isn't a story about an overwhelmingly powerful heroine. The heroine seems obedient on the surface but is strong inside. The male lead uses force to claim her early on, and later she trains him like a dog. No angst throughout, not in body or heart!

*Fictional setting with lots of original worldbuilding. Please don't overanalyze.

*The heroine and the second male lead are in a purely arranged engagement, with no romantic entanglement or emotional foundation, and no physical contact.

*Blurb screenshotted on September 29, 2025.

--

Blurb for You Are My Favorite

[Friends with benefits to lovers / male and female leads' first relationships / poaching her from a friend / stealing a friend's wife / male lead rises from being the other man to the official partner / push and pull]

[Fake playboy x genuinely heartless]

[Powerful young man from a Beijing family x pure, radiant classical dancer]

Zhong Boxuan first meets Cen Yi at a party his friend throws to welcome him home.

At the time, Cen Yi is there as his friend's date.

Zhong Boxuan spots her at first glance: long, straight black hair, a figure perfectly outlined by a tight cheongsam, and a pure face, pale and delicate.

A friend whispers to him, "See her? That's the woman Meng Huizhou spent a fortune on. I hear she's a classical dancer. Ever since he got with her, Meng Huizhou hasn't gone to those decadent places anymore."

Another friend chimes in, "He's spent a fortune on her. They've been together for two months, and he takes her everywhere. I think Young Master Meng might finally be ready to settle down."

Zhong Boxuan is surprised. Meng Huizhou is a notorious playboy in their circle, the sort who leaves no flower untouched.

The Ying, Zhong, Meng, and Shen families are the four great clans of Beijing, and the Mengs are a prominent family. Meng Huizhou has older siblings and no family responsibilities, so he can do whatever he wants.

But Zhong Boxuan doubts this playboy has really changed. If he spent so much money to get her, doesn't that make her a gold digger? How could that end well?

As if sensing his thoughts, Cen Yi looks over, whether on purpose or not, and smiles with her eyes.

"Damn, she's incredible!" his friend says, also noticing her.

Zhong Boxuan coolly looks away and shifts his posture. "She's just okay."

--

A few months later, the friends gather again, this time to comfort Young Master Meng after his romance falls apart. Apparently, the woman dumped him.

For once, Zhong Boxuan shows up too. A friend comforts Meng Huizhou. "She was just after your money. There are all kinds of people in this world."

Before Meng Huizhou can respond, Zhong Boxuan speaks up. "I doubt that."

His friend: "?"

Zhong Boxuan: "So what if she wanted his money? Plenty of people would be happy to let her take theirs."

His friend looks baffled, then tries comforting the still-heartbroken Meng Huizhou again. "She only pretended to be pure. She must be wild behind closed doors. There are plenty of women out there. Don't be sad."

Zhong Boxuan: "You're wrong about that. She really is pure. No woman in the world can compare to her."

His friend: "? Didn't you say she was just okay?"

Zhong Boxuan: "Actually, she's very beautiful. What a shame Huizhou didn't have the luck."

The unlucky Meng Huizhou is even more devastated.

His friend: "?"

Come on, man. A few months ago, you weren't saying that. And are you here to comfort your buddy or rub salt in his wounds?

Besides, how do you know?

--

One midsummer evening, a group of rich young men race their cars down the road. Trying to help Young Master Meng get over his heartbreak, the guys take turns playing good cop and bad cop.

As they pass an intersection, they spot a black Maybach with the license plate Jing A 00000. A friend whistles. "Isn't that Young Master Zhong's car?"

Another friend grins mischievously. "What is Young Master Zhong doing parked here so late at night, huh?"

His tone is flippant, and the innuendo is obvious.

Meng Huizhou, still sunk in the pain of heartbreak, says, "Call Zhong Boxuan. Damn it, I'm miserable over here while he's enjoying himself over there."

Someone answers the call, but it's a woman's voice. "Hello." Her voice is trembling.

A few of his friends laugh. "Don't interrupt Young Master Zhong's good time."

Only Meng Huizhou is jolted to attention. Why does that voice sound so much like the ex-girlfriend who dumped him?

Inside the car, Zhong Boxuan whispers jealously into the ear of the disheveled woman pinned against the passenger seat. "Why aren't you talking? Afraid he'll recognize you?"

--

*Both leads are each other's first relationship. While the heroine is dating the second male lead, she has no intimate contact with him.

#About how I fell for my buddy's girlfriend and stole her away

#Everyday face-slapping

#The other man's status, the official partner's mindset

Theme: Love makes a cliff feel like level ground.