Unable to Break Free

As Chen Yu's fiancée, Tang Tang had to deal with the cutthroat schemes of the wealthy, handle his endless string of rumored love interests, and put up with Chen Yu's constant sarcasm.

Tang Tang quietly put up with it for three years.

Everyone thought Tang Tang was madly in love with Chen Yu, and Chen Yu thought so too. After a while, even Tang Tang almost believed it.

Then Chen Yu met the girl he wanted to cherish above all else and took control of the Chen family. Tang Tang stepped down after completing her mission and gave back her place as his fiancée.

In the heart of the city, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, she opened a café and became a charming, glamorous proprietress.

Chen Yu visited once. He saw the woman he had hated with her hair grown to her shoulders, wearing a long dress that brushed the floor. She lifted a hand to tease a black-and-white cat, her voice soft as she called, "An'an."

He watched her strum her guitar and sing softly in the café, dimples appearing at the corners of her lips.

Only then did he realize that, from beginning to end, Tang Tang had only ever loved his late eldest brother, Chen Li'an.

That was why she endured his mother's deliberate snubs without complaint.

That was why the countless rumors about him never stirred the slightest emotion in her.

That was why, even when he deliberately spoke cruelly to her, all she did was smile.

All along, the one who couldn't let go was him.

P.S. Both leads have had no prior relationships; groveling-to-win-her-back romance.

My next story will be A Long Marriage Must End in Marriage.

[Posting January 10]

Shu Yu and Fu Xici got married entirely because of their families.

Before the wedding, they'd only met once, and it was a full-on car-crash-level encounter.

A year after Shu Yu married Fu Xici, a friend asked her to describe married life.

She thought about it, then gave an eight-character answer: "No feelings, just technique."

One is an AI with no emotions.

The other is a sharp-tongued little troublemaker who hides a dagger behind honeyed words.

They're practically different species. How are they supposed to fall in love?

*

Shu Yu had wanted a child of her own for ages, so she was always eager to get started on making one.

Fu Xici said expressionlessly, "Could you, as a woman, show a little restraint?"

After Fu Xici spent half a month working overtime and sleeping at the office, Shu Yu finally lost patience and went to confront him. She launched into a lecture about how a man staying up late while trying to conceive would lower the quality of his genes, leaving their baby as nothing but a pretty fool who had inherited her good looks!

Fu Xici fell silent for a long moment. "Video conference."

Shu Yu's heel slipped, but the next second she tucked her hair behind her ear and turned gentle enough to melt. "Are you tired, honey? You've worked so hard!"

When Shu Yu learned that children born to parents who didn't love each other tended to be unhappy, she gave up on trying for a baby. Fu Xici could work overtime or go on business trips all he wanted.

But from then on, Fu Xici started coming home early and leaving late. Shu Yu was exhausted in body and mind, and cried out in embarrassment, "Where's your restraint?!"

Fu Xici pulled her into his arms. "We're legally married. Who do I need to show restraint for?"

Theme: Live as yourself