A Marriage on Fire

★ Complete.

★ Upcoming novels: I Want to Soothe You and Drowning Me in Affection

★ Blurb:

The Tao and Liang families have been close for generations. The marriage between Tao Wan and Liang Jiaping was arranged by their elders when they were children. Tao Wan had never cared much about the arrangement, but seeing Liang Jiaping walk in hand in hand with Tao Xinran still disgusted her. She immediately ended the engagement, moved out of the Tao family home, and didn't look back.

That night, Tao Wan went to a bar to drown her sorrows. Her friends all helped her curse them out:

[Trash belongs with trash. Let Liang Jiaping and Tao Xinran stay together forever, so they don't ruin anyone else's life.]

[Men are everywhere. Who does Liang Jiaping think he is?]

Tao Wan listened without expression. She wasn't sad, not really. She just felt a little wronged.

As she drank herself woozy, a man in a suit walked up to her. Tao Wan looked up and caught his cool gaze. His gentle voice fell over her:

"Wanwan, let's go home."

As all her friends stared in astonishment, Tao Wan softly answered, "Mm," then took his hand and left.

Not long afterward, Tao Wan became Mrs. Fu.

Fu Shun used every resource and connection he had to promote her. He created a show just for her and got her a contract with the best record label, helping Tao Wan go from an unrecognized niche singer to a rising star in the music industry.

During an interview on a variety show, the host asked her, "Now that you've come this far, is there anything you'd like to say?"

Tao Wan replied, "I'd like to thank my husband."

After the interview, Tao Wan walked out and saw Fu Shun waiting at the door. He smiled indulgently. "How does Mrs. Fu plan to thank me?"

#TaoWan'sHusband quickly became a trending topic.

Everyone had been guessing the identity of Tao Wan's mysterious husband.

Someone dug into Liang Jiaping's past, and one certain person became so jealous that he had his assistant register a Weibo account on the spot.

Fu Shun posted immediately: My wife @Tao Wan

Starstride Technology's official account: Congratulations to our CEO! Throwing confetti.jpg

Weibo crashed that day.

No one had expected that Tao Wan's mysterious husband was the CEO behind Starstride Technology, the business legend rumored to be cold, noble, and ruthless.

★ Blurb for I Want to Soothe You:

Shen Cen is a newly hired physics professor at A University. His voice is cool and detached, his looks refined and ascetic, and his students both respect and fear him.

The first time Hang Tian fills in for someone in his class, Shen Cen catches her red-handed.

After class, Shen Cen takes her to his office.

He asks, "Why did you fill in for someone?"

Afraid he'll get angry, Hang Tian quickly explains, "No, I just like Professor Shen's class."

Shen Cen chuckles. "Is that so? I teach Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. You can come to all my classes."

To make her lie seem convincing, Hang Tian ends up sitting in on his classes for an entire semester.

At the end of term, Shen Cen asks her, "Do you still like it? When next semester's schedule comes out, should I let you know?"

Hang Tian: "…" Can I take that back now?

Professor Shen has been single for twenty-eight years, and the students at A University think he's too picky to ever find a girlfriend.

But one day after class, the usually calm and composed professor rushes out in a hurry.

He gently coaxes the woman at the door:

"I'll explain what happened that day when I get home. Don't be mad, okay?"

The students: "???"

Hang Tian: What do I do when I fill in for a friend and run into my neighbor?/Turns out my neighbor is a professor/How long do I have to keep sitting in on this class?

Shen Cen: My neighbor is so cute!

Well-behaved cartoonist x fake-cold professor

★ Blurb for Drowning Me in Affection:

1.

When Yan Le was sixteen, a quiet boy moved into the residential compound. He was taciturn and never played with the other kids. Everyone there called him a weirdo.

Only Yan Le made a point of talking to him after school every day. She used every trick in the book to bring him home, where they'd eat, draw, and do homework together...

Whenever she felt like it, Yan Le would pinch his cheek and say with a silly grin, "So soft. You're adorable."

Zhou Yibai would look at her with disdain, but he never pushed her away.

Later.

After Yan Le graduated from high school, her family sent her abroad. She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to Zhou Yibai, and cried for hours on the plane.

2.

Seven years later, Yan Le returns to China and becomes a teacher of English and American literature in the foreign languages department at A University.

One day, a film crew comes to shoot at the school.

Yan Le spots a striking young man in the crowd at once. She watches the scene from the sidelines. The boy she once knew now shines brightly. He doesn't need to say a word to become the center of attention.

Yan Le and he meet eyes. Zhou Yibai gives her a cold glance, as if he doesn't know her.

Yan Le's heart sinks.

-

One day, as Yan Le comes home from class, Zhou Yibai is waiting downstairs, his expression gloomy. The moment she approaches, he grabs her wrist and grits out a threat: "Try leaving me behind again."

3.

On countless nights afterward, Yan Le hears Zhou Yibai calling her name in his sleep. Even asleep, he holds her tightly.

Yan Le holds him close, and tears fall before she can stop them.

Theme: Giving her tenderness