Fan Linghao was at an age where it was time to discuss marriage. To put the elders in her family at ease, going to meet her parents with her new boyfriend was something she had no choice but to do.
She just never expected to run into Zhu Jike, whom she had not seen in many years.
At the dinner table, someone joked that he should call her sister-in-law. One icy glare from him was enough to silence them.
Everyone knew how bad-tempered the young master of the Zhu family was. The banquet was about to end on an unpleasant note, so Fan Linghao made an excuse to go to the restroom and escape.
The sound of running water between her fingers drowned out the noise and laughter outside. She raised her head and met Zhu Jike's cold gaze in the mirror.
"Fan Linghao, long time no see." He pressed closer with every step, backing her against the cold marble counter. "When you left without a word all those years ago, did you ever think we'd meet here?"
The warm sensation brushing against her ear and cheek made Fan Linghao instinctively clutch his collar. Her boyfriend's footsteps had already stopped outside the door. Zhu Jike gripped her wrist and pressed a kiss to her collarbone, biting down.
Her vision gradually blurred, and Fan Linghao closed her eyes.
Time seemed to return to that winter, when snow fell thickly and she pushed open the front door, facing a bashful young man holding out a love letter to her.
But now, he was taking revenge on her for leaving without a word.
"Fan Linghao, didn't you say you felt sorry for me?"
"If you're going to marry, you might as well choose me instead of him."
Fan Linghao herself had no idea how she came to believe Zhu Jike's lies.
She thought that after all these years, Zhu Jike had long since forgotten the simple affection he felt as a boy, and that he had asked her to register their marriage only to help her out of a desperate situation.
She had forgotten how awful he could be now.
Until one night, Zhu Jike pinned her down on the sofa and said they should fulfill their marital duties.
· Taking by cunning and force | Marriage first, love later | He has a secret crush on her
[Reading Guide]
① The male lead is sexually inexperienced and she is his first love. (He was sexually inexperienced with everyone who dated the female lead.)
② Marriage first, love later (female lead's version). The male lead has always liked the female lead. The female lead is not a perfect character, and she is free to do whatever she wants.
③ This blurb was archived on July 1, 2026.
Theme: Only sincere feelings matter
