73 Sunset Boulevard

Straight-A Cinderella x Heir to a Powerful Family

[Brothers' love rivalry] [The powerful one bows his head] [Cohabitation romance]

Xu Lezhi's life studying in California was cobbled together from endless shifts at work and one deadline after another.

She got up at five in the morning to work her way through school in the campus cafeteria, rushed to class at noon, and worked part-time at a coffee shop in the evening. By the time she got back to her cramped shared apartment, it was usually the middle of the night.

Shen Ye was a star in the business school and the second son of the Shen Group. Arrogant and untouchable, he was always dressed in a crisp white shirt, completely at odds with her apron-clad self.

The two of them should have had nothing to do with each other. But after Xu Lezhi was forced to leave her shared apartment, she became his cook and maid.

"Xu Lezhi, you left your notes with me. Bring them over."

"Xu Lezhi, sweet-and-sour ribs. Eat with me."

"Xu Lezhi, let's go see the ocean in Santa Monica this weekend. I need a guide."

Xu Lezhi tried to hold her temper, but when he cornered her at the kitchen door one day, she gripped her dishcloth and looked up at him. "Shen Ye, are you just bored out of your mind, or do you really enjoy bossing me around?"

He didn't answer. He only lowered his gaze to her. His eyes, caught in the afternoon light of California, were deep as if they held the entire Pacific Ocean.

Then he spoke, his voice very low. "Because the person who stole my first kiss at that Halloween party was you."

*

Later, Shen Ye founded a company and naturally brought her into the fold.

What he didn't know was that the company responsible for Xu Lezhi's father's death was Deep Dimension Tech, controlled by his own father, Shen Zonglin.

And so Xu Lezhi went from being his temporary housekeeper to his most capable subordinate, working by his side day and night at 73 Sunset Boulevard. They handled work together by day, and when she was exhausted, she curled up on the sofa for a light sleep late into the night.

That night, he leaned down and kissed her awake as she slept after working overtime. Amid tender, lingering kisses, he let all the love he had kept buried pour out.

Afterward, still lost in passion, he rested his forehead against hers, his voice husky with a laugh. "Xu Lezhi, are you satisfied?"

She opened her eyes. There was no dazed abandon in them, only a clear, burning ambition. Her fingertips traced his collarbone lightly as she spoke, each word crisp and firm:

"Shen Ye, I'm not satisfied."

"I want a stake in Deep Dimension Tech, too."

The evening breeze along Sunset Boulevard stirred the curtains. Looking at the girl before him, both gentle and sharp, he suddenly laughed under his breath.

His little maid had never been just a little maid.

His girl was ambitious, and yet he was willing to give her everything.

Reader's guide:

1. Both leads are each other's first and only.

2. He's a young master in the beginning and a boss later on.

3. This is not solely focused on the couple. There are plenty of rivalry scenes between the male lead and the second male lead.

4. Except for the place names, the university setting is entirely fictional and should not be taken as a real-world reference.

Coming soon:

"People, the Gods Love You (GB)"

Confident goddess takes the lead x aloof, devoted young man

In ancient times, the gods had no form. They were born from thought alone.

Shen Qingci had watched over the world for countless millennia. She had seen into the hearts of men and could discern every desire in the world. She had roamed the mortal realm without ever making a mistake.

That was until she met Xie Xun.

The young man was covered in frost and snow, with white hair and pale skin, an albino from birth.

He was so beautiful he seemed an immortal descended from the heavens, yet he was cold and silent. In all the countless millennia Shen Qingci had existed, he was the only person whose thoughts she could not read, and the only one without a trace of selfish desire.

Her competitive streak stirred. She drew closer step by step, determined to take that pure soul into her hands.

*

Xie Xun was a tragic soul, orphaned from childhood and afflicted with a terminal illness.

On a rainy night in his youth, as he lay near death, a god once paused before him for a fleeting moment.

At nine years old, he heard her say with his own ears, "Your life is short. You'll live no longer than twenty."

That one glimpse lasted an eternity. He kept her image in his heart for ten years.

Later, at nineteen, Xie Xun made a pact with Shen Qingci:

She would use her divine power to share the pain that gnawed at his bones;

He would use his mortal body to let her experience every human emotion and desire.

[Bonus scene]

Moonlight flowed like water. Shen Qingci lounged against the bed, casually twirling a strand of Xie Xun's white hair around her finger.

"Does your chest still hurt?" she asked languidly.

Xie Xun's back was ramrod straight. His voice was as clear and cold as frost. "No."

A lie.

Their pact connected them. She could clearly sense the lingering pain in his body.

Shen Qingci chuckled softly, reached up, and held him by the nape, pressing him against her chest.

"Then listen for me," she said slowly. "Is it beating fast in here?"

The young man's white hair fell loose. His cheek rested against the thin fabric of her clothes, and his breathing suddenly faltered.

Shen Qingci looked down at him, her smile deepening as his ears turned red.

How could anyone like him exist in this world?

Even when he fell in love, he was impossibly pure.

She leaned close to his ear, her voice as soft as a sigh. "Xie Xun, what are you holding back?"

The young man's lashes trembled. At last, he raised his eyes.

Desire surged like a tide in his pale eyes, held back by sheer restraint. Even so, she could read it: a yearning that was almost reverent, and burning hot.

"You already know," he said.

Theme: Study hard and keep improving every day.