The Everyday Life of a Social-Climbing Secret Marriage

1.

At fifteen, Zhou Mian learned that she was the long-lost second daughter of the Zhou family, and was finally brought home.

Compared with her older sister, Zhou Nuan, she was utterly ordinary.

In her parents' eyes, she couldn't compare to Zhou Nuan in either looks or talent. Even the other young people in their circle ostracized her as a "barnyard chicken" who had barged in halfway through.

Only Xu Yanze, the young master of the Xu family, was willing to spend time with her.

He thought he was special to her, until one gathering, when she returned from the restroom and accidentally overheard someone ask if he liked Zhou Mian.

Xu Yanze casually lit a cigarette. "Come on, don't be ridiculous. I think of her as a little sister. I only spend time with her because I feel sorry for her."

Zhou Mian finally understood that unrequited love never led anywhere, even when she had lowered herself to the dirt.

She came to her senses and left the city, heading north to the capital. Three days later, she got a marriage certificate with a man she barely knew and left that suffocating environment behind for good.

Years later, when Xu Yanze called her drunk and confessed his feelings, all she said coldly was, "Too late."

2.

Zhou Mian met Chen Yuanyao in a hotel room.

At their first meeting, he was impossibly fussy. He not only demanded that the corners of the room be cleaned over and over, but even made her go out to Wangfujing in the middle of the night to buy him takeout.

Even someone as easygoing as Zhou Mian couldn't take it anymore. "Do Beijing's rich young masters really think they're all that?!"

He only smiled at her without answering.

She later learned that he wasn't a difficult guest, but an investor who had come to inspect the property.

Their marriage had been a matter of mutual convenience from the start, with no real feelings involved. She needed someone to help her deal with her family, and he could get her registered as a resident of the capital. That was all.

But later, when she was sick and being unreasonable, he held her all night and told her the most childish fairy tales just to get her to sleep.

When an unusually heavy snowfall hit, the roads became impassable. Late that evening, the man in a black wool coat bent down and carried her on his back. His shoes and socks were soaked, but he still turned around and smiled to reassure her.

★ Marriage first, love later; seven-year age gap, 22 and 29; the male lead falls first.

★ Cold, domineering young master X sweet, obedient girl

Theme: Saving each other and learning to see the beauty in the world.