Also known as Shallow Grain, Crooked Zhang
At an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town.
Three grizzled thugs leered as they closed in on a bright-eyed young woman.
“Stay back! I have a stick. I’m not afraid of you!”
“Little girl, are you going to pick our teeth with that toothpick?”
Just as things were looking dire, two young men appeared in the doorway, one burly and the other skinny.
Seeing the thugs harass the girl, the burly man wanted to play the hero, but the skinny one stopped him.
The skinny man asked shyly, “Bro, can we skip the line?”
The burly man glared at him. “You coward! I’m going to save her! What line are you talking about?”
After the girl was rescued, she asked the brothers what they wanted in return.
The burly man stared at her greedily and leaned closer, saying frankly, “I won’t accept any reward except you marrying me.”
The girl shook her head. “No way!”
“I insist.”
Part 1:
Cui Qianhe × Zhao Mingzhi (radiant, alluring pastry chef × aloof, melancholy young gentleman)
After the fall of the Qing dynasty, traces of the old society had yet to fade, while Western customs and culture were all the rage in Shanghai.
Cui Qianhe, the only daughter of the owner of Cui’s Pastry Shop, spotted a business opportunity and introduced Western-style desserts to enthusiastic market acclaim.
One day, she received an order for birthday desserts from nearby St. John’s University. Delighted, she went to deliver them, only to be publicly humiliated for her poor craftsmanship. Just as she was seething with indignation, the elegant Zhao Mingzhi came to her rescue.
From then on, Cui Qianhe kept an eye on him, making him her muse and creating several best-selling desserts.
In the hills, trees have branches; in my heart, I love you, but you don’t know. At last, she could hold back no longer and handed him a love letter at the gates of St. John’s University.
“I like you.”
“Don’t be silly.”
Part 2:
Cui Qianhe × Zhang Fa (arrogant only daughter of a Shanghai family × insecure yet conceited, rough country man)
The young woman’s brows drew together in anger. “Get lost, you country bumpkin!”
The country man in a ragged short shirt was indignant. Broad-shouldered and muscular, he seemed about to burst through the holes in his clothes. “Don’t look down on me! If I hadn’t saved you, those people would’ve had their way with you!”
The girl muttered, “I never said I wasn’t grateful!”
The man smugly jiggled his leg. “Speak up! I can’t hear you!”
The girl huffed in frustration. “Hmph!” Then she turned and walked away.
“What is it now, Your Highness?”
Theme: Arrogance and prejudice lead to bitter consequences
