Longing for You from Afar

Xi Yao: "I've loved someone, and I've kept loving him all this time."

Yu Yang: "I've loved you for a long, long time..."

---Coming next: Marriage Before Love---

At a business dinner, Yan Ningxi is cornered at a hotel. Holding half a wine bottle, she stands amid the wreckage, panicked, and looks at Gu Boyan, the business prodigy and eldest son of the Shisheng Group her colleagues talk about, the man she can't forget.

He takes the bottle from her and gets her out of trouble in just a few words.

Eight years have passed since they last met, but he's still as impeccable and distinguished as ever. She once thought they would never see each other again.

At a classmate's wedding, Yan Ningxi sees him again.

Summoning her courage, she repeats the same words: "Be my boyfriend."

Gu Boyan lightly taps his knuckles against his wineglass, his expression indifferent. His thin lips move: "I don't have time for a relationship. Why not skip straight to the end?"

She thinks that if he weren't so determined to oppose the Gu family, he probably wouldn't marry her.

Gu Boyan lays down rules for their life together: Don't touch his things; he's not used to it. Don't send unnecessary messages; he's busy!

After work, Yan Ningxi hesitates to go home and wanders around the garden alone. She accidentally twists her ankle.

Blinding headlights sweep over her. Flustered and in a sorry state, she suddenly sees a tall shadow behind her, outlined by the light. Her body lifts off the ground as two arms catch her steadily, and she leans into a solid embrace.

Gu Boyan's expression is still unreadable, but his eyes tremble as he looks at her.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming home?"

He stops in his tracks on the way home. "You don't want me to come back?"

Yan Ningxi shakes her head. Gu Boyan loosens his hold and starts to set her down.

"Don't go. I want you to come home." Yan Ningxi wraps her arms around his neck and buries her face against his shoulder.

Gu Boyan lets go anyway, then offers her an exquisite gift box from his waist. "This is for you."

Yan Ningxi gets a bonus for her work on a project and shares the good news with Gu Boyan right away.

As he listens to her chatter on, Gu Boyan's gaze gradually softens.

He pulls her toward him and gently kisses her on the lips.

Yan Ningxi blushes and says earnestly, "You don't have to be a loving husband just because of our agreement. I don't want someone to treat me well just to comfort me or because of a momentary impulse. That's not real, and it'll affect my judgment."

Gu Boyan tightens his arm around her and kisses her again.

"What about now? Is this an impulse, or are you trying to comfort me?"

Yan Ningxi looks up, her lashes fluttering. "I think... you might like me a little."

"Just 'might'? I guess I haven't made it clear enough."

A few notes:

1. The male and female leads are both sexually inexperienced and stay with each other from beginning to end. Read with confidence.

2. The heroine has a secret crush. Their relationship develops after they marry, and they barely know each other beforehand.

Theme: Love someone who is already wonderful as they are.