Falsely Sweet

[Signed for publication in simplified Chinese. For details, visit the author's Weibo: @Yi Shui Shisan]

When Li Yuan first saw Ming Can, she was in a dark alley, pinned to the ground by debt collectors. The eighteen-year-old girl was covered in bruises.

He turned to leave, but she grabbed his trouser leg with such force that it startled him.

The girl looked up and gave him an innocent, pitiful smile.

"Sir, could you take me home?"

One day, people in their circle were astonished to discover that the usually cold and heartless business tycoon Li Yuan had picked up a mysterious young girl from the street.

He provided for her, sent her to school, paid off her debts, and gave her the kind of affection every woman in the capital envied.

Rumors sprang up everywhere.

When someone brought them up, he merely lifted his eyes, nonchalant. "I just took in a pet."

Everyone understood. They all said Li Yuan was only interested in her because she was young and fresh, and that he would lose interest before long.

When the rumors reached Ming Can, she smiled obediently and said nothing.

Later, when news came that Li Yuan was engaged, she left behind a bank card loaded with a huge sum of money as thanks and walked away without looking back.

*

Years after they parted, they met again.

Backstage at an auction, Li Yuan pinned Ming Can against a wall.

He had shed his usual aloof pride. His eyes lowered, his voice hoarse, almost pleading. "Let's go home, okay?"

*

"You are my salvation and my deepest hope."

Sweet on the outside, ruthless within, a seemingly well-behaved orphan girl X an elegant, abstinent demon king

- Both leads are sexually inexperienced. One-on-one romance, happy ending. The engagement was a rumor.

- A story of a man trying to win back his wife. Ten-year age gap.

- Please don't scrutinize the industry details. All settings are the author's own inventions and imagination, purely in service of the plot.

[Blurb for the upcoming novel Night Talk]

On a rainy night, Chen Yanchuan tossed Lu Zhizhi a bag of bread as he walked out of a convenience store.

The girl was a complete mess. She casually crushed the soda can in her hand and grinned, baring her teeth. "Thanks, Uncle."

The next morning, he saw her again outside his home.

Gathering up her clothes, which lay damp on the ground, Lu Zhizhi yawned. "Morning, Uncle."

Chen Yanchuan said nothing and led her inside.

-

Lu Zhizhi fell in love with her friend's uncle.

She knew he was a loner, gentle, and unable to say no. So a stray dog like her could stay by his side simply by acting a little pitiful.

He would take her into his arms rather than let her sleep on the sofa, indulge her when she made a mess in his studio, and praise her as the best model.

Lu Zhizhi craved his warmth, his breath against her hair, and most of all, his endless indulgence and gentle smile.

So she carefully played the little girl who needed looking after. Afraid he'd discover her subtle feelings, she still couldn't help wanting more, her possessiveness taking root and growing like a vine.

She wanted him to fall in love with her of his own accord.

-

But she never knew.

On the walk home from the convenience store that day, when Chen Yanchuan heard footsteps following behind him, the corner of his mouth curled into a secretive smile.

Time to close the trap.

-

"You should remember forever that I'm the only artist you have."

"So you can only belong to me."

-

Both leads are sexually inexperienced. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

A sweet-seeming, dark-hearted artist X a gloomy young woman. Eight-year age gap.

An unconventional romance, but it should be a sweet story.

Theme: There is light in the abyss