The Evening Star Is Like You

Don't read this one. It's really bad, TVT.

My next novel will be Moonbound. It's a marriage-first, love-later story. The blurb is below. Please add it to your collection.

Liang Chuying had liked Zhou Yiyang ever since she was little. The day she went to the Zhou home to discuss their marriage, she could barely contain her joy.

Unfortunately, before they could even hold their engagement party, Liang Chuying received an anonymous package containing intimate photos of Zhou Yiyang with another woman.

Unable to bear the shock of being cheated on, she went out alone to drink herself into a stupor late that night.

The one who came to get her was Lu Jinghuai. Dressed casually, he looked down at her where she sat on the ground, a sorry mess.

A sneer curled his lips, full of contempt. "You turn into this mess over a man?"

Liang Chuying's tears fell. Her voice trembled as she choked out, "What would you know?"

The moment she started crying, Lu Jinghuai couldn't bring himself to say anything cruel. He crouched down and hoisted her onto his back. The smell of alcohol on her was strong. He couldn't stand it, but he couldn't just leave her there either. He clicked his tongue softly. "You're really something, you know that? I must have owed you big time in a past life."

The moonlight fell over his silhouette as he carried her for a long, long time.

That day, Zhou Yiyang's current girlfriend humiliated her, splashing red wine all over her. Then a loose-fitting suit jacket settled over her shoulders, and she was enveloped in the warmth of tobacco.

Lu Jinghuai stood beside her, two buttons of his shirt undone, his manner lazy yet distinguished.

He casually put an arm around her shoulders. His air of authority was unmistakable, and his words were arrogant. "You're bullying my woman on my turf. Did your man forget to tell you, or do you really have no idea where you stand?"

The current girlfriend was dragged away by security, fuming. As she passed Lu Jinghuai, he suddenly called out, "Wait."

He picked up a glass of red wine from the display table, supporting its base with his fingers as he swirled it back and forth. His eyes rested on her ugly expression. His faint smile held no warmth, like a demon fallen into hell.

His voice was unhurried, cold and chilling, enough to make anyone tremble. "Are you going to pour it on yourself, or should I do it for you?"

After having a passionate relationship with his current girlfriend for a while, Zhou Yiyang realized that his childhood sweetheart was still the one he wanted. The day he came to ask her to take him back, Lu Jinghuai answered the door.

He was still wearing his pajamas, sleepiness lingering on his face. The marks of kisses on his collarbone were plain to see.

"What do you want?"

Those suggestive marks made it clear that Zhou Yiyang's attempt to reconcile was a joke. Unable to take the humiliation, Zhou Yiyang lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar, eyes bloodshot with rage. "You bastard."

"So what?"

Lu Jinghuai's eyes held the glee of a victor. His expression was languid, and he strutted like a proud peacock.

He pointed at the marks on his collarbone, utterly shameless.

"She's in love with me now. That's your proof."

* A homewrecker romance, with a man secretly in love with a woman

* Arrogant peacock x beautiful vase

Blurb for Moonbound:

After her family is hit by disaster, her father goes bankrupt.

In a single night, Sheng Jingyue becomes someone everyone despises. The burden of enormous debt falls on her, and in the freezing depths of winter, her relatives shut their doors to her.

Just when she has nowhere left to turn, Ji Yanli reappears in her life.

He has shed the awkwardness and poverty of his youth. Now he is refined and distinguished, with a cool, distant air that makes people afraid to approach him. But he slides a bank card toward her. His cool gaze glints behind gold-rimmed glasses. "I can help you settle this, but there's one condition."

"Marry me."

Sheng Jingyue has to admit that she agreed to become his wife because she wanted to resolve her family's problems as quickly as possible.

But she has never understood why Ji Yanli made such a demand.

Until one day, she asks him why he did it.

The man stands by the floor-to-ceiling window, straightening his collar. His Adam's apple bobs as he turns to look at her sitting on the bed. The thin straps of her camisole frame her delicate shoulders, doing little to hide the faint red marks left by last night's passion.

He lets out a quiet laugh and discreetly draws his gaze back. "What else could it be?"

"So you really do like me?"

His fingers pause as he adjusts his collar. He walks up to her and bends close.

He kisses the fading red mark on her neck. His voice is low, almost entranced. "If I didn't like you, would I have kissed you until you looked like this?"

[Bonus Scene]

After marrying Ji Yanli, Sheng Jingyue discovers that there are plenty of sly little foxes around him, waiting for a chance to seduce him. Every time she drives one away, another appears.

One day, she can't take it anymore and kisses Ji Yanli in front of one of them.

Without meaning to, she reveals who she is. "He's my husband. Please stay away from him from now on."

Later, their heated breaths mingle. On a passionate spring night, his hoarse, low voice falls by her ear. "Will you call me husband one more time?"

* Someone has loved me for ten years.

* Refined scoundrel and tender beauty

* Marriage first, love later / secret one-sided love

Theme: Love the beauty of life and cherish the time we have