A Late-Blooming Heartbeat

Complete. The next novel is "Buried Beneath the Deep Snow."

Blurb:

Shi Qian is a legend in the financial world. In private, however, he abstains from meat, prays to Buddha, keeps his desires in check, and speaks little. He makes his home in temples.

People say Shi Qian saw through the mortal world long ago and wants only to take refuge in Buddhism.

Bai Zhi loves Shi Qian’s distant, taciturn, and refined air.

After she marries him, Shi Qian’s life carries on as usual, with only a lamp and the Buddha for company.

Later, Bai Zhi finally realizes the truth: A stone will always be a stone. No matter how long you warm it, it will never turn into a diamond.

Two months later, Bai Zhi leaves a divorce agreement behind and walks away without looking back.

After she leaves, Shi Qian simply enjoys the peace and quiet.

But one day, the Buddhist scriptures in his hands suddenly lose their appeal.

Later, Bai Zhi faces the darkest moment of her life.

The man dressed in black watches the woman kneeling in the pouring rain. His hands, hanging at his sides, turn white from clenching them so tightly.

After a long while, he can no longer hold back. He goes to her and pulls her drenched, freezing body tightly into his arms.

Bai Zhi looks at the man before her, tears sliding from her eyes, desperate and heartbroken. "Who are you?"

His eyes redden, his voice hoarse to the extreme. "Zhi Zhi, come home with me..."

Later still, on a freezing morning when the snow falls thick and fast,

on the steep steps leading to Dacheng Temple in the capital,

the refined man dressed in plain robes bows his head to the ground every three steps, praying for the Buddha’s protection, hoping Bai Zhi will turn back and look at him one more time.

2.

Bai Zhi, blacklisted at the behest of a top-tier actress in the industry and surrounded by scandals, is avoided by everyone. At long last, she gets a spot on a low-budget dating reality show. But the male stars in the industry are afraid of being dragged into her mess, and no one dares to partner with her.

For a while, Bai Zhi becomes a laughingstock, left in an excruciatingly awkward position.

Shi Qian, a financial-world big shot who has always kept his desires in check, spoken little, and made his home in temples, personally calls the production team and volunteers to join the show.

When a reporter asks why he decided to take part, the usually reserved man answers quietly: "I came here to win back my wife..."

Everyone is in an uproar: Wasn’t the big shot going to become a monk? When did he get married? And who is his wife, some kind of fairy?

The media go wild trying to find out who the financial big shot’s wife is, and the topic stays at the top of the trending lists. Later, Shi Qian, who never uses Weibo, personally posts an announcement: "My wife is @Bai Zhi."

The whole country joins in the gossip frenzy.

Bai Zhi, who hasn’t posted on her main Weibo account in a long time, writes that night: "Don’t tag me. He’s my ex-husband. We’re divorced."

Shi Qian: ...

*A proud, stunning little fairy × a refined but wicked financial-world big shot*

Theme: Love comes naturally, and some people are simply made for each other.