A Carefully Planned Passionate Romance

[Coming next: a sweet reunion romance about mutual pining, The Kiss That Drowned! A sharp-tongued, obsessive doctor x a gentle, ditzy beauty. Please add it to your reading list, OvO]

1.

The news that the An family's heiress was engaged sent everyone into a frenzy.

An Ran was the country's youngest avant-garde fashion designer, with looks that put every rising entertainment star to shame. Beautiful and bewitching, with an air of aristocratic elegance, she had modeled her own haute couture gowns on several occasions. A set of magazine photos went viral across the internet.

But recently, the truth came out: the real An heiress was someone else. An Ran had been born in the countryside.

The goddess who had once seemed out of reach to countless wealthy young heirs had fallen from her pedestal. Now she was being forced into a marriage arranged as part of a business deal between the An and Luo families, to Luo Zhong, a notorious playboy despised both inside and outside their social circle.

Luo Zhong even humiliated An Ran in public, saying that even if they married, he would leave her to live as a widow. He would never give up his freedom for a fake heiress from the countryside, and would keep chasing women and enjoying himself as usual.

2.

Luo Yifeng, the man who controlled the Luo Group from behind the scenes, had been living abroad in seclusion for years. His return home attracted widespread attention, yet people searched high and low and still couldn't catch so much as a glimpse of his face.

It was said that the mysterious tycoon was a loner who always had just one male personal assistant by his side and detested women.

Then an entertainment reporter secretly took some gossip photos and accidentally captured a rare beauty.

Outside a charity auction, a slender man with long legs lounged against a luxury car. His amorous eyes glanced at the camera, full of tenderness, while the watch on his wrist hinted at an immeasurable fortune.

His personal assistant got out of the passenger seat and bowed respectfully. "Mr. Luo."

Then came an even more shocking sight:

Luo Yifeng completely ignored the cameras, pulling a girl who threw herself into his arms against the car and kissing her. Ice melted away, and the image overflowed with affection and tenderness. There was no sign of a reclusive woman-hater.

That night, a new trending topic appeared:

#Luo Group's heir apparent, Luo Yifeng, makes an appearance! His stunning wife in his arms, all passion and affection, photos don't lie!#

3.

The engagement between the An and Luo families was called off.

Everyone knew the reason: An Ran, the fake heiress of the An family, was determined to marry another man. On the night the engagement was canceled, hundreds of media outlets gathered outside a hotel, waiting to capture a sensational scene.

Half an hour later, they finally spotted one of the two people at the center of the broken engagement: Luo Zhong.

The reporters followed Luo Zhong all the way, expecting him to denounce the An family. But the camera turned, and there he was, holding a bouquet of roses and clutching an apology letter.

The woman he wanted to apologize to was just across the corridor, being cornered against the wall by his uncle.

The girl smiled with alluring eyes as she leaned against the wall and tilted her head. "Uncle Luo, I only asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend so I could end my engagement to Luo Zhong. I didn't mean to offend you."

The man lowered his dark eyes. His long, elegant fingers slowly circled her waist as he pursued his goal with calculated precision.

"But I've always wanted you to be Luo Zhong's little aunt."

Like a charming incubus with the refined manners of a gentleman, he chuckled seductively. "An'an, don't you want to give it a try?"

*Archived on 2022/4/28

*Brilliant, spoiled, flirtatious heiress x gentle, gentlemanly, calculating businessman

∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷∷

The Kiss That Drowned blurb

1.

Huo Zhi was the first adopted son the capital's most powerful family had ever taken in.

He studied medicine abroad for four years and became a pillar of one of the country's top-tier hospitals. He worked tirelessly to save lives, receiving more thank-you banners than the senior professors who had been at the hospital for decades.

When everyone else had given up, he stepped forward and saved an old man's life despite the threats and pressure. He became the lifesaver of a powerful family's patriarch, earning the esteem of the elite.

And yet this saint of a doctor, so full of compassion...

When he saw the frail, slender girl in his office, he laughed coldly and tossed aside her medical file. "I'm sorry, Miss Jiang. I don't treat people of poor character."

2.

Jiang Zao never thought she would see him again after eight years, especially not in such a humiliating predicament.

When he learned she was saddled with debts worth over ten billion, he didn't even look up, as though she were a complete stranger.

And yet he traveled a thousand miles through the rain to find her.

Jiang Zao stared at the contract in her hand, confused. "Marriage?"

"Surprised?"

The man glanced at her coolly and said mockingly, "Isn't over ten billion enough for me to have a little fun with you a few more times?"

Jiang Zao looked at the boy before her, the one who had once given her all his sincere affection. Now he saw her as something with a price tag, as though he were tired of her, as though he could discard her at any moment.

She put down the contract and agreed to what he wanted.

3.

Eight years ago, Huo Zhi was a blazing sun shining high in the sky, the most outstanding young genius E City had seen in a decade.

At sixteen, he won numerous competitions at home and abroad. At eighteen, he published a paper on ECT and was a shoo-in for the title of top scorer in the national college entrance exams.

Standing onstage to accept an award, the boy seemed to know the routine by heart. With his eyes half-lowered, he delivered a speech in which every word was precious.

No one could imagine what it would look like when the sun fell.

Until they saw him clutching the girl's sleeve, desperately trying to keep her slender figure by his side. Drunk and unable to stand, he looked as wretched as a stray dog caught in a downpour.

But the girl didn't even look at him as she pushed him away.

"Huo Zhi,"

"I was only playing with you."

[Extra scene]

After they got married, Jiang Zao realized he wasn't as harsh as he sounded. It was as if he thought of her as a vase, calling her over to look at whenever he had nothing else to do, then getting impatient and sending her away after a couple of glances.

She always thought Huo Zhi was just getting revenge on her.

Until one night, she couldn't refuse a blind date arranged by her older sister. She and her date hit it off, chatting about movies until late, and he reluctantly walked her home.

When they were still a long way from the villa entrance, she said goodbye to her date. Then, as she turned around, she spotted him beneath the sparse shadows of the trees.

Jiang Zao started toward him, but as soon as she got close, the man pulled her into the shadows without warning.

Rough bark scraped her back. Huo Zhi gripped her waist and trapped her in a secluded corner, staring straight into her eyes.

The smell of alcohol on him swept away all traces of reason.

"Jiang Zao."

His breathing was heavy. His teeth clenched as if he wanted to devour her. "Do you fucking plan to leave me a second time?"

Theme: You have to be certain of what you want to find a complete and lasting love.