Delusion

[Completed]

Ji Mian had known from an early age that a pampered heiress like her, a pretty face with nothing more to offer, would eventually be married off to a family that could benefit her father's business.

She had behaved herself for over twenty years, but for the first time, she wanted to fall in love.

Then she met Lu Yuanheng, forever a solitary, brilliant, icy star amid the press of the crowd.

From then on, Ji Mian pursued him openly and secretly.

But Lu Yuanheng remained a moving iceberg, impossible to melt, devoid of feeling.

Even after they got together, it still felt like a one-woman show for Ji Mian.

Under pressure and exhausted, Ji Mian asked to break up.

Lu Yuanheng's dark eyes were like raven feathers. He looked at her and said quietly, "Mian Mian, can you stop fooling around?"

"I'm not fooling around," Ji Mian smiled. "I'm serious. You see, you never liked me."

When everyone around them thought Ji Mian would never be able to leave Lu Yuanheng, she dusted herself off and walked away without looking back.

*

The Ji family company was about to be taken over through hostile means. With no other options, Ji Mian chose to negotiate, only to find Lu Yuanheng, who had risen from humble beginnings to become an industry tycoon.

Ji Mian pleaded, "A-Heng, please give me a way out."

Lu Yuanheng toyed with the fountain pen he'd used for years, his eyes lowered. "You can choose between a way out and a dead end."

"How do I choose?"

"Come to my side."

Yu Xi and Tang Zeyan were childhood sweethearts, perfectly matched in status.

Tang Zeyan liked girls with long, straight black hair, the delicate white-lily type, gentle as water.

Yu Xi smoothed away her sharp edges and became exactly that.

For seven years, she waited, only to see him confess his love to another girl in front of the whole world. She became a laughingstock.

Yu Xi couldn't even be bothered to cry.

Every white dress in the house was burned to ashes, and her straight black hair was curled into big waves...

Everyone thought she'd been driven to extremes and was behaving irrationally.

Tang Zeyan was pressured by his elders to come back and apologize. He stood on the other side of the door and said with anguished sincerity, "Xixi, it's not worth doing this for me."

Inside the room, Yu Xi's lips were red and flushed from being kissed by the man holding her by the nape of her neck. "..."

*

Yu Xi was known in entertainment circles as a pretty face with no substance.

The only person whose reputation could rival hers was Pei Du.

Pei Du was ruthless. He'd seized power while his own father was gravely ill, and the women by his side came and went. He had a heart of ice.

The very first day they got together, everyone in their circle predicted the ending: sooner or later, Pei Du would toy with Yu Xi until she was completely under his thumb, then cruelly abandon her.

Tang Zeyan thought so, too.

He believed Yu Xi had gotten together with Pei Du because he'd hurt her too deeply.

After seeing another side of Yu Xi, he immediately turned around and begged for her forgiveness, hoping to rescue her from a life of misery.

That day, Tang Zeyan went to the apartment building where Yu Xi lived.

He saw Yu Xi get out of a Bentley, lean against a tree, and cry, "Oh no, President Pei, I twisted my ankle."

Her acting was barely convincing.

Pei Du glanced at her. His usually cold gaze held a rare trace of tenderness. He walked over and swept her up in his arms, then gave a faint laugh. "You little liar."

Theme: Even if it's only a fantasy, I still want to reach out and pluck the stars