[Marriage first, love later | Stealing someone’s love interest | Secret crush | Long-planned pursuit]
[Self-disciplined, principle-bound kingpin of the capital x Cool, stubborn cultural relic restorer]
1
Song Zhishui never imagined she would discover her arranged-marriage partner cheating at their engagement banquet.
That same day, on impulse, she agreed to marry someone else instead.
Her new arranged-marriage partner was Shen Zhuoyuan, the eldest son of the Shen family.
The Shen family was a distinguished clan at the pinnacle of power in the capital, and Shen Zhuoyuan was the brightest jewel in its crown.
He had a face like polished jade and an air of effortless grace, yet his methods were as swift and forceful as thunder.
Outsiders praised him, but they also feared and respected him.
Song Zhishui had called him “Brother Zhuoyuan” since childhood, following the example of her older siblings. But she knew they came from different worlds, and she had never dared to presume on their relationship as her siblings did.
Then the scandal surrounding her arranged marriage broke at the banquet.
Song Zhishui became a laughingstock, and even her older siblings kept their distance.
Her palm, slick with sweat, could only reach the edge of Shen Zhuoyuan’s jacket.
Her voice barely audible, she learned to address him as her siblings did, her face burning with humiliation and helplessness.
“Brother Zhuoyuan...”
The man turned around. His clear, luminous eyes seemed to look straight into her heart.
Song Zhishui panicked and let go, only for him to clasp her hand tightly.
The scent of sandalwood curled around her nose. Along with a soft whisper by her ear, it stirred ripples in her heart, gentle and warm.
Shen Zhuoyuan said, “He’s the one who doesn’t deserve you, Xiaoyu. Marry me, will you?”
2
She had thought their marriage would simply be a matter of mutual convenience, but it turned out to be unexpectedly hard to escape.
After a passionate night together, Song Zhishui, still dazed, became Shen Zhuoyuan’s personal assistant.
A cartoon lunchbox made especially for her was placed in the back of his black Maybach every day.
When they went out for business dinners, Shen Zhuoyuan personally stepped in to take the drinks offered to her.
Song Zhishui, cared for to an absurd degree, could hardly tell anymore:
Which of them was the assistant?
She secretly glanced at Shen Zhuoyuan, who was witty, funny, and even more gentle and devoted than she had expected.
Song Zhishui couldn’t help wishing that their marriage would last a lifetime.
Until her former fiancé showed up, clinging to her with a “win-your-wife-back-after-she’s-gone” script.
That night, Shen Zhuoyuan acted strangely impatient.
A silver bracelet encircled Song Zhishui’s wrist like a prisoner’s shackle.
The usually detached, dignified corners of Shen Zhuoyuan’s eyes were hazy with drunkenness.
“He cheated on you, and you’re still talking to him?” His straight, cold nose pressed against the hollow of her neck. His voice sounded unexpectedly vulnerable.
“Song Zhishui, you can only look at me.”
[Extra scene]
On the day Song Zhishui agreed to the arranged marriage, her fiancé was secretly taken to Shen Zhuoyuan’s estate.
Shen Zhuoyuan gave him a disdainful look from head to toe, then flicked cigarette ash into his face.
Shen Zhuoyuan said, “You have one day to get out of her life.”
[Calling your name in the wild of the night is the whole of my love and desire to possess you.]
Both are each other’s first and only.
Message: Only by staying true to your original intentions can you see things through to the end.
