After Marrying the Scum on a Contract

To secure his family's standing, Lin Yuchen was forced into a marriage alliance with Xu Cheng'an.

Before the wedding, he flirted with everyone; after the wedding, he didn't change his ways.

Xu Cheng'an, however, didn't care. He was focused solely on building his career.

Lin Yuchen had assumed his partner was nothing more than a dull block of wood, a spouse in name only.

That was until he unexpectedly ran into him at a party.

Xu Cheng'an had just finished playing tennis. His fair face was flushed, and his pair of dreamy, peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, making anyone who saw them itch with desire.

He was captivating, an embodiment of beauty without equal.

From that day on, nothing was the same.

*

After the party, Xu Cheng'an noticed that Lin Yuchen had suddenly started acting strangely. He was always hovering around him and inexplicably going out of his way to please him.

Yesterday, he sent over a sports car. Today, he handed him the keys to a villa.

Xu Cheng'an simply smiled and remained unmoved, paying no attention to any of it.

Lin Yuchen couldn't figure it out. He'd spent years playing the field and had always believed there wasn't anyone he couldn't win over.

He never expected to stumble this time.

Until one day, he found a photo of an unfamiliar man in Xu Cheng'an's room...

You're a playboy, and my heart belongs to someone else. What a match made in heaven we are.

[Playboy top]× [Cool CEO bottom]

[Content warnings]

1. Bittersweet romance: 70% sweet, 30% sour.

2. The top has an extensive romantic history before marriage, but doesn't cheat after they marry.

3. The bottom has an ex, and his old flame returns from abroad.

4. At first, theirs is a contractual marriage with no feelings involved, just a transaction.

5. Marriage first, love later; pursuing his spouse after marriage; powerful partners joining forces; replacement romance.

6. 1v1 throughout, happy ending.

Coming soon: A Limited Forecast of Sunshine

Jiangcheng had been battered by torrential rain for eight straight days. After an overnight investigation, the meteorological bureau finally pinpointed the center of the storm:

A dessert shop, and its rather unhappy owner, Wen Sheng.

After three months of secret observation, the meteorological bureau had no choice but to accept an absurd fact:

The weather in this city didn't depend on air pressure or monsoons. It depended on the mood of the pastry chef, Wen Sheng.

When he smiled, the skies turned clear.

When his eyes reddened, the rain fell without end.

When he dreamed of something sad in the middle of the night, the weather bureau issued twelve thunderstorm warnings in a row.

The night someone stood him up, Jiangcheng was hit by the worst hailstorm in seventy years.

To prevent the next bout of extreme weather, the meteorological bureau secretly launched the “Artificial Sunshine Plan.” The person in charge was its star weather presenter, Ji Chiye.

The mission was simple: Get close to Wen Sheng and cheer him up.

Ji Chiye skimmed the file and raised an eyebrow. “How hard can it be to cheer someone up?”

Later, he was the first to lose control.

*

All Wen Sheng knew was that the entire city had suddenly become exceptionally kind to him.

His favorite coffee shop had a buy-one-get-one-free offer every day, always because of some System error.

The construction crew outside made a point of avoiding his lunch break. Even the drills seemed to know when to quiet down.

And then there was the weather presenter who showed up every day just as the shop was closing:

He ate the cakes Wen Sheng couldn't sell.

He helped him look for his lost cat.

He took him to see the earliest sunrise in Jiangcheng.

Wen Sheng was full of questions. “Presenter Ji, do you always have this much free time?”

Ji Chiye leaned on the counter, smiling brightly. “I'm not free. I'm observing the weather.”

Wen Sheng: “Outside the window?”

Ji Chiye: “Right in front of me.”

Before long, Wen Sheng started looking forward to seeing him.

Jiangcheng had seven consecutive sunny days.

The first time Wen Sheng took his hand of his own accord,

sunset set half the sky ablaze.

When Ji Chiye kissed him until the tips of his ears burned,

a sun shower fell over Jiangcheng.

The city's twenty million residents had no idea that the two were secretly falling in love in the weather forecast.

Until Wen Sheng saw the “Artificial Sunshine Plan.”

“So you only got close to me to complete a mission?”

Rain poured outside the window. Ji Chiye stood in the rain and didn't deny it.

“Getting close to you was the mission.”

“Loving you wasn't.”

He handed Wen Sheng his umbrella along with a signed resignation letter, leaving himself drenched from head to toe.

“Wen Sheng, you can be unhappy, you can be sad, and you can make it rain over Jiangcheng for an entire month.”

“You don't owe anyone a sunny day.”

“All I ever wanted wasn't to make you happy forever. It was to be there with an umbrella whenever it rained.”

Later, their relationship was unexpectedly exposed.

Wen Sheng thought the whole city would blame him. Instead, he received hundreds of thousands of messages:

[Cry if you need to. We'll remember to bring umbrellas.]

[It's okay if the weather is bad. Just take care of yourself.]

[Presenter Ji, we'll give him back the weather. You keep your love for him.]

At the end of the livestream that evening, Ji Chiye looked into the camera and announced, one word at a time: “Today's forecast for Jiangcheng: light rain turning to sunshine, with rainbows in some areas.”

He looked toward the person behind the camera and smiled.

“Love follows the heart. Sunshine or rain, that's up to you.”

[Sunshine-bright, sweet-talking, cheerful and passionate presenter top]

[Gentle, soft, innocent, carefree pastry chef bottom]

[Reader's guide]

1. 1v1, both chaste, each other's first love.

2. Happy ending, lighthearted and healing sweet romance, sweet throughout, no melodrama.

3. All the settings serve the plot and romance. Research enthusiasts, please don't overanalyze.

Theme: You have to be yourself first