[Gifted, proud, radiant artist older sister × confident, bold, brooding superstar younger brother who knows how to play hot and cold]
The first time Quan Zhilong met Jiang Minglin, her school-bully younger brother had him pinned against a wall. Just as he was feeling utterly humiliated, a lazy voice cut in: "Jiang Zhihao, what are you throwing a fit about now?"
He looked up and met a pair of beautiful, clear eyes. She was gorgeous and aloof, like a flower growing on a cliff. She didn't spare him a glance, only calmly told her brother, "Apologize. Now."
His most humiliating moment and his first moment of falling in love happened on the very same day.
Afternoon sunlight fell on the paint-stained fingertips of her freshly finished painting, making them dazzling.
He was still just a trainee. In the face of such brilliance, even the mere fact of his crush seemed ridiculous.
Jiang Minglin was an artist adored by all, famous from a young age and blessed with extraordinary talent. Her world was bursting with color. She'd heard her brother call him "that really cool friend," and heard that he was known in the entertainment industry as G-Dragon, but promptly forgot, never even committing his name to memory.
Later, Quan Zhilong would become a dazzling top-tier star, famous to everyone. Confident and flamboyant, he repeatedly appeared at Jiang Minglin's side, radiating stardom and skillfully playing hot and cold. But she never gave him more than a passing glance. Her world held painting, art, and a boyfriend, but not the boy who had once watched her from a corner.
She thought of him as just a somewhat unusual younger brother's friend. She called him "Zhihao's friend," polite and distant, never giving him a second look.
Until that night, when the party ended and she was hazy with drink.
As the guests left, Quan Zhilong leaned against the sofa and tipped his head back to take another drink. Amber liquor trickled from the corner of his lips. Jiang Minglin returned, glanced at him, and casually wiped the drink from his mouth with her fingertip, as if brushing excess paint off a canvas.
"How did you get so drunk?" she said carelessly, looking down at him. "You look so pathetic, like a little puppy."
His Adam's apple bobbed. Just as her fingertip was about to pull away, he caught it between his lips. His warm, damp tongue brushed over it gently before he took it in again, his lashes lowered so she couldn't see his expression. He stubbornly refused to let go, nudging her knuckles with his nose, wanting her to look at him.
Only then did Jiang Minglin deign to glance at him. He raised his eyes.
The boy had grown up. His brows were sharp, and his eyes... really were beautiful, their corners tilted slightly upward. Her reflection shone in his dark pupils. He looked fragile and broken, but deep down lurked a dangerous obsession that instantly piqued the artist's interest.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and pressed her fingertip against his teeth, slowly tracing them. She felt him tremble faintly beneath her finger. His breathing suddenly grew heavy, but he stayed perfectly still and let her tease him, dark emotions churning in his eyes.
"You're pretty fierce," she said with a quiet laugh, her voice rising at the end, playful and condescending, as if toying with an interesting work of art. "You put on quite a convincing act."
He's clearly a wolf. Why pretend to be a puppy?
This story includes an older woman-younger man romance with a three-year age gap, a love triangle, non-virgin characters, a touch of dark obsession, a resentful-husband vibe, and a brooding secret crush. Please check the tags before reading.
Written March 20, 2026.
Theme: Strive with determination and never forget your original aspirations.
