Marriage of Convenience

Coming soon: "You Are Unlike Anyone Else" and "Steal My Heart." Please add them to your reading lists.

Blurb:

Before their engagement, Qiao Ruo met Tang Jitang formally for the first time.

The man wore a black shirt, his long fingers lightly tapping the table as he sat there with an air of arrogance.

Tang Jitang: "There are some things we should make clear from the start. This is only a marriage of convenience. I hope you won't overstep your bounds."

"Like the fact that you have someone you secretly love?" Qiao Ruo brushed back her hair and smiled. "Don't worry, I have someone I can't forget, too."

Later, slightly tipsy, Tang Jitang pressed Qiao Ruo's slender body against the wall, his voice low and hoarse.

"Ruo Ruo, do you like me even a tiny bit now? Just a tiny bit is enough."

Qiao Ruo pressed one finger against Tang Jitang's chest.

"This is only a marriage of convenience."

The marriage between the Tang and Qiao families once sent shockwaves through the entire city.

Some people felt sorry for Qiao Ruo: Tang Jitang had said countless times that he had someone he loved, and she shouldn't set her sights on him.

Others scoffed: As if Qiao Ruo was serious about him. She'd said eight hundred times that she had someone she couldn't forget, and people should stop coveting her.

Some summed it up: This was just a marriage of convenience.

Then one day, Tang Jitang's Moments post was "accidentally" leaked.

Tang Jitang's Ruo Ruo: What the hell is this about a secret love and an unforgettable sweetheart? Does the secret love mean his career, and the sweetheart his ideals?

Qiao Ruo liked the post and left a comment.

Queen Qiao: Mind your language. [Angry]

Tang Jitang's Ruo Ruo @Queen Qiao: Okay, honey. [Zip it]

Coming soon: "You Are Unlike Anyone Else." Please add it to your reading list.

An ambitious, calculating woman x a seemingly mild-mannered, secretly ruthless man / age gap / fake upbringing

A long time ago, a friend asked: If a rich CEO proposed to you right now, and you could leap up more than one social class, but in exchange you had to be a substitute for the woman of his dreams, would you say yes?

Xia Zhi: If I hesitated for even a second, it would show disrespect for money and irresponsibility toward my future children.

Later, Xia Zhi met Zhou Muyuan and became Mrs. Zhou.

Xia Zhi: Thank you, dream girl.

Five years into their marriage, Xia Zhi was thriving in show business, winning two prestigious awards in a single year.

Just then, the legendary woman of Zhou Muyuan's dreams returned from abroad.

Xia Zhi's haters gritted their teeth with resentment while eagerly awaiting the spectacle of her being thrown out of the house.

Instead, they got a viral Moments post from Zhou Muyuan.

Zhou Muyuan: Which big-brained genius started this rumor? It made me laugh. As if it weren't enough that I somehow ended up with a secret crush, apparently I was so poor I couldn't afford a plane ticket to chase her overseas and had to find a substitute in China. Mrs. Zhou, how about raising my allowance by a hundred this month?

A crowd of bigwigs from all kinds of industries liked the post and offered to chip in a dime out of friendship. They couldn't give more, since they were broke too.

Xia Zhi's comment appeared at the top: Seen. Approved.

*You are unlike anyone else, because I love you., Pablo Neruda

Theme: Pursue both career and love