Mist

[Size difference / forceful pursuit / six-year age gap / both leads are virgins]

[Powerful Beijing-circle tycoon x female university student]

[Next novel: Feigned Surrender [Rekindled Romance]: a proud daughter of heaven x a rowdy puppy]

Ji Wu first meets Lian Cheng at a cocktail party she attends with her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend is networking with businesspeople, and Ji Wu isn't good at making conversation, so she can only play the role of translator beside him.

After smiling for so long, her face starts to stiffen. She goes to the restroom and splashes water on her face to clear her head. Just then, someone offers her a handkerchief, and a cool, deep voice says, "Here, wipe your face."

She takes it and wipes her face. When she turns to return it, he's nowhere to be seen.

When she returns to the center of the party, she sees him again.

Her boyfriend introduces them, and she learns that the man is Lian Cheng, who works in the cutting-edge electronics industry.

The whole point of the party is for everyone there to make his acquaintance.

At the time, Ji Wu thinks he's the rich son of some big-company owner. Only later does she learn that his family lives beside the red walls and yellow roofs of the capital, and that his background is so powerful that ordinary people aren't even qualified to mention it.

They meet again when her boyfriend's startup runs into trouble. The chip they designed is suspected of copying Yaoxing's product.

And Yaoxing belongs to Lian Cheng.

Lian Cheng's people take her boyfriend away, and Ji Wu has no choice but to go find him.

When he sees her, Lian Cheng casually stubs out the cigarette between his fingers. "I can let him go, but you stay."

Ji Wu knows what he means and says bluntly that she already has a boyfriend.

But Lian Cheng replies, "How can Miss Ji know which one is best if she hasn't tried anyone else?"

At the man's predatory gaze, Ji Wu takes a step back.

Later, her boyfriend's company's troubles are resolved. When he comes to see Ji Wu, Lian Cheng happens to catch them together.

Watching the couple reluctant to part, Lian Cheng's usually calm eyes take on a sinister look.

That night, when her boyfriend calls again, Ji Wu is about to hang up, but Lian Cheng presses the answer button.

All their feelings intensify in that moment. Lian Cheng presses his lips to her ear and says, "Tell him, which of us feels better?"

When Ji Wu realizes Lian Cheng is serious about her and plans to propose, she pathetically runs away.

She applies to the German section of the LCE and successfully earns her entry certificate. Six months later, she receives a notice that her work location will be Vienna.

Working under the United Nations has always been Ji Wu's dream. She has no hesitation and manages to leave while Lian Cheng is away on a business trip to Germany.

When Lian Cheng returns to China, he discovers that the obedient girl he's known all this time has run away, leaving him nothing.

Once he finds out where Ji Wu is, Lian Cheng rushes over to catch her.

On the day before Ji Wu is about to begin her new job and start a new life, she sees a familiar man outside her apartment.

The man pins her against the doorway and smiles. "Wuwu, I've caught you."

[Bonus Scene]

One day, while tidying her wardrobe, Ji Wu finds a scarf her ex-boyfriend gave her. Just as she takes it out and wonders whether to throw it away, Lian Cheng appears.

He walks over to Ji Wu, takes the fabric from her hand, and turns to pin her between himself and the wardrobe door. He glances at it. "Why are you still keeping this?"

Ji Wu explains, "It's just an old accessory. I don't have any feelings attached to it anymore."

Lian Cheng lowers his eyes to the scarf, a heavy, cold look covering them. He bends down and kisses her fiercely, his pent-up jealousy and obsession wrapped around her, as if he intends to crush every trace of the people from her past.

When the kiss ends, he says, "Everything you carry, every memory from your past, every place in your heart that could make room for someone else, can belong only to me."

Lian Cheng has spent years restraining himself, and he's used to presenting an easygoing, polished image in public. Only with Ji Wu can he no longer hide his selfish desires.

[Reading Guide]

1. 1v1, both leads are virgins. The male lead is completely devoted and scores full marks in virtue. The female lead has an ex, but they only ever held hands.

2. The female lead is 22 and the male lead is 28, a six-year age gap. The male lead is not a good person.

3. There are many fictional elements. The novel's setting does not reflect reality. It's an alternate world, and everything is fictional.

Theme: Hard work and perseverance create happiness