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//A reserved, seductive older man with a great body x a ravishing little temptress / six-year age gap // a sweet, steamy romance~ Hehe /
1.
"Bright Candlelight" is a wildly popular entertainment-industry romance novel.
While readers unanimously favor the male lead, Liu Mei is an exception. She likes the villainous actor, rumored to come from a poor background and too afraid to confess his feelings to the heroine.
She boldly posts in the comments:
-- "Huo Tan looks like the kind of man who'd be at dinner with a group of people while you flirt with him under the table. You could rub his leg until yours goes numb, and he'd still carry on chatting and laughing without reacting at all.
But the moment his friends leave, he'd pin you against the door, grip your chin, and feed you red wine."
The ultimate example of a man who's reserved on the outside but passionate underneath.
2.
After transmigrating into the book, Liu Mei becomes the daughter of a second-rate wealthy family and an unknown actress in the entertainment industry.
An entertainment newspaper describes her like this:
-- "Liu Mei is just like her name: alluring and seductive, yet never vulgar. Her eyes look like springs that would gush with a single touch.
An actress like her would make a production far more enjoyable to watch, even if all she did was stand in the background."
So Liu Mei uses her family's power and influence to swear she'll successfully seduce a villain of such rare quality.
She even takes minor roles in the actor's productions, and never gets tired of it.
For example:
The personal maid by the side of an ascetic young master.
The bewitching widow taken in by a saintly monk.
The domineering consort by the side of an emperor for the ages.
The vicious, beautiful stepmother of a disabled young master.
The oblivious fiancee of a male cultivation protagonist.
The spoiled princess who dresses as a man to tease a scholar.
3.
One day, the paparazzi release a video that sets the whole internet ablaze.
In the video, beneath the dim streetlights, Huo Tan pins Liu Mei against a wall. She hooks a finger through his tie, speaking to him suggestively.
"I hear you don't like women?"
"I specialize in curing men who don't like women."
The suited actor delivers a master class in the art of looking like a refined scoundrel fresh from a spring dream.
His dark eyes flicker as he leans down to meet Liu Mei's gaze.
"Oh, really? I look forward to it."
Huo Tan moves close to her ear, his voice low and enticing. "I'm looking forward to seeing... how you deal with me."
Comments from across the internet:
-- "Every look Huo Tan gives her says he desperately wants to possess Liu Mei."
-- "All that's left in the air is the charged tug-of-war between a grown man and woman, thick with tension. The mix of defiance and desire is enough to make your face flush and your heart race."
-- "What show is this? I really want to watch it! Is Liu Mei still just a background extra?"
-- "The actor's performance is incredible!"
The management company, already panicking, suddenly realizes: Wait, we don't need to do damage control?
The internet thinks it's all acting?
4.
Liu Mei realizes she's been getting more and more exhausted lately, and her scenes keep piling up.
It turns out Huo Tan has been persuading the director to add bed scenes, kissing scenes, and suggestive scenes to the script, all under the most respectable-sounding pretexts.
Liu Mei tugs at Huo Tan's arm, trying to butter him up. "Brother Tan, can we talk? I'm so tired, and my back hurts..."
The upright, serious actor the public knows smiles with roguish ease. He leisurely rolls up his sleeves and traps her in his arms.
"I'll rub your back for you. Then we'll get back to filming."
Theme: You have to fight for love yourself.