Kiss Me, My Little Mute

[Announcement]: This novel will go premium on August 30 (this Friday). There will be 10,000 words posted on the day it goes premium. I hope you'll continue to support it!

Also: The companion novel, Trapping Myself, will begin updating daily on September 1!

The Jiang family has a little mute named Jiang Qingtang.

The year Jiang Qingtang was born, a fortune-teller cast her fortune and said she was a cursed lone star, doomed to bring misfortune to her father, mother, husband, and children, and destined to be alone all her life. Sure enough, her parents died one after the other, and everyone called her a bringer of bad luck.

Then she met Guan Xu.

The moment they met, Guan Xu pulled her into a tight embrace, smiling as she nuzzled her ear and asked if she wanted to come home with her.

The embrace was soft and fragrant. Jiang Qingtang buried her face against Guan Xu's chest, timidly clutching the front of her clothes with both hands, unable to let go.

"I'm... a bringer of bad luck. If you take me with you, you'll have bad luck too," Jiang Qingtang said softly, pouting as her eyes reddened.

Guan Xu was surprised. Everyone said she was mute, but who would have thought she could speak? Her voice was lively, like a nightingale's song, soft and sweet against Guan Xu's heart.

Guan Xu held her tighter. The little body in her arms was trembling, yet she warned Guan Xu even as she gripped her clothes, unwilling to let go.

"It doesn't matter." Guan Xu's heart softened. She pressed her red lips to the ear of the person in her arms and whispered with a laugh, "I've got a tough fate. I'm just the one to deal with a little jinx like you."

Guan Xu's warm breath turned Jiang Qingtang's ear red. Her whole face flushed and burned, and she buried herself even deeper in Guan Xu's arms, too shy to look up. Guan Xu laughed out loud and carried her home.

When Guan Xu was twenty, she met a little girl who was five. The girl tugged at her pant leg, blinking her big, round eyes as she tilted her head up and said in a childish voice, "Big sister, you're pretty. When I grow up, I'm going to marry you."

Guan Xu bent down and handed her the ice cream she'd just bought, smiling. "All right. I'll wait for you."

The little girl tricked her out of her ice cream, then ran off and disappeared. Guan Xu never found her again.

Who could have guessed that fifteen years later, the little girl would grow into a young woman and, by a twist of fate, be brought home by Guan Xu? Blushing, she leaned close to Guan Xu's ear and gently bit it. "See? I said I would marry you, and I keep my word."

Everyone said that Director Guan was a smiling tiger. She seemed kind, but she couldn't tolerate the slightest offense. One day, during a company-wide meeting, some fool who clearly had a death wish let their phone ring. Guan Xu's face darkened. "Whose phone is that?"

Her voice was as cold as ice. Everyone shivered and lowered their heads, not daring to breathe too loudly. Half a minute later, the secretary awkwardly reminded her, "Director Guan, I think it's your phone..."

The previous second, Guan Xu's face had been as dark as the bottom of a pot. But when she saw who was calling, her expression softened at once. She changed moods faster than turning a page, walking out of the conference room as she answered, tenderness in her eyes enough to drown someone. "Did Xiao Tang have another nightmare? Don't be scared, it's all right..."

Watching Guan Xu leave, someone whispered, "Who was that?"

The secretary replied calmly, "Director Guan's newlywed sweetheart."

Reading guide:

1. Couple: Guan Xu x Jiang Qingtang.

2. Same-sex marriage is legal in this modern alternate setting. They marry first and fall in love afterward. The top dotes on the bottom. Sweet romance.

3. There is a fifteen-year age gap, with the top older.

Companion novel, Trapping Myself, blurb:

That day, Jian Ling was splashed with wine. Looking a mess, she asked the woman next to her for a tissue. The woman gave her a plain white handkerchief. Her fingers were three shades fairer than the cloth, and a faint fragrance lingered in Jian Ling's heart. From then on, Jian Ling was bewitched.

Jian Ling wrapped her arms around the woman's neck with a hazy smile, lifted her chin, and laughed languidly. "Hey, beautiful, how about we date?"

The woman pinned her to the wall with one hand. Her voice was deliberately restrained and cool. "If you date me, it's for life. Do you dare?"

Jian Ling fled in a panic.

Later, Jian Ling saw the woman again, this time in a classroom. She behaved herself and tried to attract the attention of the professor lecturing impeccably at the front of the room. Instead, she attracted a crowd of admirers, and the professor narrowed her eyes without a word.

After class, the professor trapped Jian Ling between the door and her arm. Her voice brushed dangerously and alluringly against Jian Ling's ear. "If you belong to me, it's for life. How dare you flirt with other people?"

Jian Ling was surrounded by a captivating fragrance. She licked her lips restlessly and said hoarsely, "I-I won't dare again."

This woman was a trap. Jian Ling threw herself into it and would never get out.

Theme: Never give up your right to be loved