Trapped in a Tangled Romance [Beijing Circle]

【Steady, commanding capital powerbroker x gentle, clear-eyed red rose】 Age gap | Old flames reignited | The powerful one bows his head Zhouhai City saw its heaviest snowfall in nearly a decade. Jiang Qingyu left the newspaper office where she was interning and waited at the bus stop for an hour without seeing a bus. Instead, a discreet black sedan pulled up. The rear window rolled down, revealing a man with a distinguished air and a cool, refined face. She froze for a moment. “Mr. Liang.” Liang Yiheng's deep gaze settled on her. His voice was low and measured. “Would you like to get in?” From the first day Jiang Qingyu met Liang Yiheng, she knew they were worlds apart. His family was powerful and prominent. With a mere movement of his fingers, he could turn the capital upside down, while she was just an ordinary person. At their fourth meeting, he handed her a document and asked calmly, “Miss Jiang, do you have a boyfriend?” He needed a fiancée in name only to deal with his family's plans for an arranged marriage, while she was mired in trouble, with her mother's illness the last straw. She agreed, making only one request: “I want to work at the Jingzhou Times.” He raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone easy. “All right.” He never hesitated to spend money on her. If she so much as glanced at a piece of jewelry in a magazine, it would appear on her desk the next day. A mansion in the suburbs of the capital, a million in savings: she didn't even have to ask. He gave them to her without blinking. She knew it was only a game, but her feelings crept through her heart like spreading vines. Later, the game ended. To keep her, he threatened her with her mother's life. The bedroom was dim. A red mark from her slap showed on his face. “Liang Yiheng, I hate you.” A mocking smile touched his lips. His features were obscured by the dim light. He said, “You win, Jiang Qingyu.” They met again by the sea in Zhouhai. The blue twilight sky was deep as a dream. They talked as if they'd only just met. She thought they had both moved on, but he suddenly leaned close, his hot breath brushing her neck as he murmured seductively, “Jiang Qingyu, could you love me just once?” She stepped back, lowering her lashes. “I'm sorry. I have a boyfriend.” Ignoring her attempt to get away, he cornered her at the end of the bench. “Have you ever watched a soccer game?” “Having a goalkeeper on the field doesn't mean you can't score.” A few days later, he met that “goalkeeper.” Jiang Qingyu appeared at a bridal shop with her arm linked through his. Everyone around them praised how well they suited each other, a perfect match of talent and beauty. As Liang Yiheng looked at them, the steady, reserved mask he wore hid a moment of panic and confusion. He managed to trap her in a fitting room. Faced with her cold words, he lost the composure he'd always maintained. He ground his lips against hers, forcing her to cry for him, only to receive a resounding slap in the end. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. “Jiang Qingyu, could you look at me, just once?” 【Extra Scene】 After Jiang Qingyu left, Liang Yiheng forbade anyone from entering the villa where they had once lived together. Her bedroom became off-limits, too. He would often spend an entire day there, without eating or drinking, and without answering anyone's calls. The sachet she left behind became his only keepsake. He hung it in his wardrobe so its scent would cling to his clothes. He slept in the bed she'd once shared with him, clutching her pajamas, as if nothing had ever happened. “Is love a sin?” “Worse than a sin. It's a mistake.” “Love Disguised as a Monologue” 【Reader's Guide】 1. The hero appears old-fashioned and celibate, but the heroine is the exception. 2. HE! Both are each other's first love, and both are virgins. He is six years older. A bittersweet romance. The hero isn't a scumbag, and he never harmed the heroine's mother. 3. The “goalkeeper” line comes from the internet. 4. Set in an alternate world, with many fictional details. Don't compare it to real life; approach romance rationally! Theme: Love is a moment outside the bounds of order