Second-Rate Goods

Capital-Circle Elite Family | Secret Love Turns Real | Bittersweet Romance | Redemption

Flirtatious, wicked social butterfly × aloof, brooding female CEO

Fake playgirl, fake everyone’s darling, four-year age gap

Some themes and character traits may be sensitive, so please check the content warnings.

01.

Zhou Heyuan had broken up with someone again.

This time, it was a young heiress who had just bought a property in the new district of Hongcheng.

She had sold off the heiress’s vintage sports cars and designer handbags, making off with tens of millions.

Night had fallen, and neon lights flickered all around.

At the party on the top floor, the usually arrogant and rude heiress had cried until her eyes were red.

“A Yuan told me she loved me just yesterday. Why did she suddenly dump me today? Wasn’t everything I gave her enough?”

The people around her had seen it all before.

Zhou Heyuan was a notorious heartbreaker in their circle. She usually dated someone for three months, then immediately broke up and disappeared with their money for a while.

She was a practiced liar and actress. But even those who knew how awful she could be only mocked and despised her to her face. Deep down, they all longed to be the one she chose.

“Come on, you know what she’s like. I refuse to believe anyone could get the better of her.”

The woman’s dangling high heel swung as her gaze casually swept the room. Then she suddenly froze.

“M-Ms. Hua.”

The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.

Beneath the murky blue lights, smoke drifted everywhere.

Hua Wan sat on a sofa in the farthest corner, her figure swallowed by the shadows, her expression impossible to read.

As the one and only figure of her stature in the capital’s elite circles, Hua Wan’s presence at a party like this was enough to shock everyone.

Once she realized she had been spotted, Hua Wan said nothing and left.

It wasn’t until the party ended that the heiress who had just been dumped realized that the selfie she carried of Zhou Heyuan had been stolen by someone.

02.

On a bone-chilling, rainy day, Zhou Heyuan was cruelly abandoned by the roadside.

Just the day before, everyone had discovered that her identity and background were entirely fabricated.

In a single night, she became a public pariah, hated by all.

Rain soaked her from head to toe. Zhou Heyuan clenched her jaw and stared fixedly at the puddle swirling at her feet.

Suddenly, a pair of black heels stepped into view.

A black umbrella covered her completely, leaving her trapped in the embrace of the person before her.

A Rolls-Royce was parked by the roadside nearby.

Zhou Heyuan looked up in astonishment.

The woman, usually quiet and cool in public, rarely softened her voice.

“Miss Zhou, would you like to come home with me?”

Zhou Heyuan put on a stern face, pretending to be strong. Her tone was unfriendly.

“What’s in it for me if I go home with you? Don’t think you can pity me. I don’t need it.”

“What’s in it for you?”

Hua Wan chuckled softly and silently tilted the umbrella toward her.

“Whatever you want, I can give you.”

Zhou Heyuan froze.

Those eyes were like vines silently growing beneath dark waters.

Without her noticing, they had already left an indelible mark on her.

Zhou Heyuan knew she had only one choice.

She had to leave with Hua Wan.

There was nowhere else to run.

--

The blurb may be revised and polished later, but the story will remain essentially the same.

Content warnings:

1. She has had many relationships, but at most they involved holding hands and hugging. Nothing else happened. Her partners only enjoyed the prestige her beauty brought them and never truly cared about her. They were all pretending, so they deserved to be dumped.

2. The CEO has a crush on her in the early story, but she is quite afraid of the older woman. She is stubborn and defensive, and avoids her because she doesn’t want to get herself into trouble. The CEO only manages to win her over later, after using every trick and scheme at her disposal.

3. When they are together, they are faithful to each other in both body and heart. The CEO has always been exclusive and has no exes.

4. She isn’t really a wicked woman. There’s a reason for it.

5. I’ll add more later. This is all I can think of for now.

Theme: Escape the cage and find yourself again.