Shenggang Is a Safe Harbor

The first day Feng Manyi entered Jiang Garden, she vaguely knew it belonged to some prominent figure.

She had been warned not to look around once she went inside, to accept things respectfully with both hands, and to speak softly. If anyone asked her name, she was only allowed to say Manman.

But she didn't want to be just Manman.

A living person with no name or surname.

It was undignified, and it left her with no self-respect.

On the stone stepping-stones, each one a step toward enlightenment, Feng Manyi first caught the scent of Jiang Liangji.

It was crisp and austere, steady yet embracing.

Jiang Liangji had a refined, scholarly face. A gentle breeze seemed to bring an air of elegance with it, yet he still carried an imposing presence. Even in the plainest clothes, he was the most worldly and distinguished man there.

The first time they met, he called her Miss Feng.

He smiled and asked, "The Man in 'unfurling without branches,' and the Yi in 'admiration.' Miss Feng Manyi, right?"

In the blazing passage of time, through flower festivals and moonlit evenings,

Feng Manyi moved her stiff, uncertain fingers and reached for his hand.

At the moment their hands clasped, her voice was so soft she barely recognized it.

"Yes, Mr. Jiang."

I am Feng Manyi.

Within a few months, word that a college student had appeared at Mr. Jiang's side had spread throughout the circles of the powerful in Shenggang.

The savvy people couldn't get their gifts directly to Mr. Jiang, so they made sure each one bore the neat inscription: For Miss Feng Manyi, to open personally. If Miss Feng liked them, the business deals they sought might have a chance of going through.

Everyone knew.

Mr. Jiang had fallen for a beauty's wiles.

The beauty could do as she pleased. Even when she scolded him to his face, saying, "Old Jiang, you meddle too much," Mr. Jiang didn't get angry.

He would even say:

"Manman, you can meddle in my affairs this much too. I'll be more than happy to let you."

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last.

Only three years.

They say that just as Jiang Liangji was preparing to get married, the presumptuous Miss Feng graduated and went abroad for graduate school.

When she left, she gouged out Mr. Jiang's heart and left him with only a few words.

"As you can see, I've been using you all along."

"I hate Shenggang."

"I don't want to stay here."

One afternoon, years later, Feng Manyi was assigned by her TV station to interview a rising business star in Shenggang.

The young entrepreneur spoke confidently, then thanked the mentor with the keen eye who had recognized his potential.

He said, "I owe my success today to General Manager Jiang's support."

Feng Manyi unconsciously clenched her left hand. After the interview, she laughed and cried at once.

Jiang Liangji, watching from the shadows, could no longer pretend not to see her.

"Feng Manyi, if you hate Shenggang so much, why didn't you stay abroad? Why come back?"

"Why are you crying?"

"Are you crying because you see someone grateful, while you're an ungrateful wretch yourself?"

Feng Manyi didn't argue. She only said,

"Jiang Liangji, the food abroad was really awful."

"How did you put up with it for all those years?"

Jiang Liangji didn't understand what she meant, but his heart was in turmoil.

"Feng Manyi, do you know what you're saying right now?"

They say there's a century-old podocarpus pine in Jiang Garden, its roots and branches twisting together, symbolizing the enduring vitality of pine and cypress, ever renewed with the passage of time.

Feng Manyi didn't see it that way.

In her opinion, there should be two podocarpus pines in Jiang Garden. One was a tree, and the other was a man.

Otherwise, how could that pine still stand in the same place after all these years, waiting for her to return?

Reader's Guide:

1. The leads have a nine-year age gap.

2. The powerful male lead bows his head.

3. Both leads are each other's first and only partner | Happy Ending | Reuniting After a Breakup | Reunion After a Long Separation |

---- The following is a preview of an upcoming novel. If you're interested, please add it to your collection~

[Possessive Pursuit / The Younger Man Becomes the Other Man / Eight-Year Age Gap / Reuniting After a Breakup / You Chase, I Run]

Liao Rong x Weng Chengxian

The year Liao Rong met Weng Chengxian, she was twenty-two and nearing graduation. To apologize on behalf of her boyfriend, she downed eight cups of baijiu at a banquet without changing her expression.

The old foxes chatted and laughed, teasing Liao Rong that her apology lacked sincerity and her attitude wasn't earnest enough. They exchanged looks and made little gestures as bottle after bottle of strong liquor was brought to the table, determined to see just how far the young Liao Rong would go for her sweetheart.

Countless eyes were fixed on her, and she couldn't back down.

Liao Rong kept smiling apologetically as she looked around at everyone present, etching their faces deeply into her memory.

Then her gaze landed on the man at the head of the table, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end. She met a pair of clear, alert eyes. They scrutinized her like a falcon soaring through the sky, sighting and seizing its prey, sharp and far-seeing enough to make her tremble and retreat.

Her mind cleared as if scalded, and she resigned herself to picking up the glass. Just as the liquor reached her lips, a weary voice called for her to stop.

The man at the head of the table watched her, emanating a bone-chilling coldness, his expression calm and composed. He tapped the tabletop twice with his fingertips.

He said, "Come over and pour me a drink. If they're making you drink, I'll drink in your place."

Only later did Liao Rong learn that the man she'd met that night was Weng Chengxian. He was one of the rare self-made men among the powerful. He was best at lying low and had exceptional endurance. A man like him was too rational to show mercy. There was no way he would speak up to help a stranger.

When Liao Rong asked him about it afterward, he said, "I liked the look of you, so I helped."

"But Liao Rong, your boyfriend is such a loser. Why haven't you dumped him?"

"Dump him and give me a try."

-

Weng Chengxian could barely keep up his act in front of Liao Rong.

Every day, he fussed over his appearance in the mirror, just to look a few years younger in front of her. He even had to pretend to be as timid as Zheng Jihan so Liao Rong would soften toward him. Fortunately, she was about to break up with her boyfriend.

Liao Rong would be with him.

He wasn't the kind of man you could simply toy with and then walk away from.

[Reader Tips:

1. The female lead isn't a virgin; the male lead is.

2. The male lead's conduct falls outside conventional moral standards.

3. Happy Ending.]

Theme: Face yourself