Beaded Thread

Unrequited love / one true love / pseudo-incest / broken, then reunited / yearning and tension

[The main story is complete. A twisted relationship and a profound love]

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When Xu Sui first came to live with the Xue family, her mother had died and her father had remarried. She was all alone, with only a little dog named Corn to keep her company.

Then Uncle Xue introduced her to a clear-eyed, handsome boy and told her to think of him as her older brother from then on.

Her brother?

That word felt like a raft to someone drowning. Little by little, she let down her guard and came to rely on him. She pouted and acted spoiled like any other girl, and began to develop feelings she shouldn't have had.

But the boy was so bright and upright. She thought he saw her only as his little sister.

Then an accident when she was eighteen brought them together in a way they shouldn't have been. At last, their charade of being a perfectly proper brother and sister came to an end.

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One is a poor girl who juggles one part-time job after another and has a gentle, easygoing nature.

The other is a proud, well-born young man who casually discusses projects worth tens of millions.

They should have been two parallel lines that would never meet.

But nobody knows that the first message he sends after returning to the country, and the first person he embraces, are always her.

-

Xu Sui was the one who ended their relationship, where a brother wasn't really a brother and a sister wasn't really a sister.

She doesn't regret it.

Five years later, after graduating from her master's program, Xu Sui joins a medical equipment company called Mingtu, where she runs into Xue Siyang again.

Now, he's a successful young investor at the company, at the height of his career.

And she's just a newcomer to the workforce.

The first time they meet again, they act like complete strangers.

Until one night, she comes home from a date after midnight and finds a man waiting by her door in the dim light. He toys with a lighter, his handsome face half in shadow.

"Little sister, you've been bad."

"Going on a blind date with another man behind my back."

The lighter clicks open and shut, and Xu Sui slowly replies:

"Mr. Xue, we're not brother and sister. I hope you'll stop interfering in my private life."

Coming soon: Knowing the Small, Winning the Heart

Marriage before love / secret love comes true / arrogant childhood friend / enemies-to-lovers

Blurb:

Not long after Qiao Zhiwei's job finally settled down, her mother started pressuring her to go on blind dates.

But why were all the men she met such weirdos and losers?

Just as she was about to persuade her mother to let her stay single for the rest of her life, her former childhood friend and nemesis handed her a marriage contract.

The man raised his chin slightly, his voice haughty. "Marry me, Qiao Zhiwei."

Qiao Zhiwei: ?

The man before her looked arrogant, but the tips of his ears were faintly red. "Be my wife in name only and help me deal with the older generation. I'll give you anything you want."

"And, of course, I won't have any other intentions toward you..."

Her eyes lit up. "Sure! When do we get married?"

As if she'd turn down a windfall, even if it came from her nemesis.

*

She assumed married life would be just like their agreement: they'd leave each other alone.

Until one day, in the middle of a torrential downpour, Qiao Zhiwei saw the man coming toward her against the current, holding an umbrella.

His cold, large hand gripped hers tightly, as if he were afraid she'd slip away. "Didn't you know there was a typhoon? You didn't answer your phone, and you didn't even bring an umbrella..."

Qiao Zhiwei tilted her head. Seeing the raindrops on the man's eyelashes, she broke into a smile.

Maybe her childhood nemesis wasn't so annoying after all.

But the warm moment lasted only a second.

After they got home, Qiao Zhiwei stared at the empty balcony and the neatly folded underwear in her closet. Her cheeks flushed bright red.

Who could tell her why the president of a major corporation was folding underwear and carefully smoothing out every bit of lace?!

Author's notes:

1. They're physically attracted to each other.

2. They lived under the same roof as brother and sister, but only for three years. They weren't on the same household registration, so it's only half a pseudo-incest setup.

3. Updates Monday through Friday, with bonus chapters dropping at random on weekends.

Theme: Again and again