Trial Marriage

[I'm writing this to get back into the groove. I'll try to update daily, but I can't guarantee the time.] [A silly comedy! A silly comedy! A silly comedy! A short story about a goofy couple, dumb at first and sweet later.] Also known as: "The Fall of the Big Shot" Before meeting Gu Lan, Qin Xiuran was the sort of big shot who could make hundreds of millions vanish with a snap of his fingers. Elegant, noble, handsome, perfect. Everything went his way. No one could stand against him. Until the year he turned thirty, when he returned from the United States to inherit his family's fortune. Before coming back, he imagined his life would be all wealthy-family power struggles and crushing his rivals with a snap of his fingers. But on the day he returned to China, he met Gu Lan. For her, he squeezed onto a bus during rush hour, rode a tiny three-wheeled vehicle, and got blasted in the face with a high-pressure water hose. When he finally stumbled out of the police station, a complete mess, he ran into his mother, who looked at him with concern and said, "Xiuran, why don't you find a partner? Maybe you'll get better." At the time, he swore that the next time he saw her, he'd make her pay. Instead, the next time they met was at a blind date. By a twist of fate, they let go of their grudges and decided to try living as a married couple. On the first day of their trial marriage, Qin Xiuran lay in bed listening to Gu Lan snore, hugging a pillow and thinking, "I'll never marry this woman." A month into their trial marriage, Gu Lan knocked out his second younger brother, who'd come to steal the company seal. Standing behind her, Qin Xiuran thought, "The only thing we'll ever be is brothers." Six months into their trial marriage, Gu Lan suggested winning the business war by posting inappropriate content on his competitor's app and reporting it. Looking at her wise, confident eyes, he smiled fondly. "Wife, you're so clever. I'll go post those flyers right now." [P.S.] 1. To tell the story properly, this is a standalone novel, not part of any series. Don't bring in any plot points from my previous works. 2. This is a story I wrote to get back into the groove while recovering. I'm a little rusty, and modern romance isn't my comfort zone, so please don't set your expectations too high. 2. It had been so long since I wrote the original blurb that I couldn't recapture the light urban-comedy feeling. So, while keeping the heroine's original character and the basic framework, I changed it to an exaggerated, silly-comedy style. As an apology, I'll send red packets to everyone after the first three chapters. They'll all be sent at 20:00 on November 17. If you don't like it, you can still pick them up. Sorry about that. 3. I made up the business plot as I went along. The logic is absurd, the style is strange, and I don't know whether it'll make you happy in the end. [Next story available for pre-order] -> "The Canglan Path" Before she turned nineteen, Jiang Yinqiu was a famous young woman from a family of renowned physicians in Jiangnan. She had a gentle, courteous fiancé, Jiang Shaoyan, and kind, generous parents. Her future seemed predictable and peaceful. Until she was nineteen, when soldiers stormed her family estate. Every man in the household was executed, and the women were exiled. In prison, she waited desperately for her only hope, believing Jiang Shaoyan would clear her name and rescue her from this ordeal. She waited and waited, but all he brought her was a dagger and a packet of poison. Jiang Shaoyan told her that the road to the border was long, and that she should remember to remain faithful to him. So, holding the dagger, she turned back at the very moment before leaving the prison. To take revenge, she disfigured herself, took the place of a condemned prisoner, and fought her way through bloodshed until she entered the Office of Inspection under an amnesty for condemned prisoners. The day she went to meet her superior was also the day news reached the Eastern Capital that her stand-in, "Jiang Yinqiu," had died in an accident during exile. That night, the Third Prince Jiang Shaoyan, newly returned from among the common people, set up a memorial tablet for his dead wife in his manor. Meanwhile, Jiang Yinqiu, covered in blood, knelt in the courtyard and heard the cold voice of the Commissioner of the Office of Inspection, a man revered as a god despite being mortal. "Now that you've entered the Office of Inspection, you belong to me, Xie Heng. State your name." Jiang Yinqiu slowly closed her bloodied hands around the badge on the ground and raised her clear, blade-bright eyes. "Your subordinate, Liu Xiniang." Theme: Enjoy every day of life.