Crane by the Northern Border

*Complete *Seventy percent of the novel is protected against unauthorized reposting. Reposted versions may differ from the original, so please support the authorized release! The third Miss Zhao of Minggang had been married for two years and had never laid eyes on her husband. The first thing she did after returning from her studies abroad was defy her father and travel to a remote, marshy region in the north to personally put an end to her ridiculous two-year marriage. At first, she found the vast, damp, desolate wetlands tiresome and dreary. Then, one evening, as the sun sank low, a handsome, refined man bent over on a marshland meadow glowing in the sunset, feeding a white crane. The bird spread its wings and lightly stepped forward, its graceful neck curling around the man’s long fingers. The fiery glow of dusk spilled across the horizon, and Zhao Jiayi felt as if she were dreaming. That very night, she waited on the man’s way home and reached out to him for the first time. “May I know your name?” The man lowered his eyes, handed her the divorce text he had received twenty-four hours earlier, and told her: “Gu Yunsheng.” Later, everyone assumed that the third Miss had returned after getting divorced. At her father’s birthday banquet, the man she had waited ten years for finally confessed his feelings. But in the next moment, Gu Yunsheng emerged from the shadows. He wrapped an intimate arm around Zhao Jiayi’s waist and looked at the man. “You should know that she walked out of my room this morning.” (2) Gu Yunsheng was as upright as a pine. Steady from childhood, he seemed above worldly concerns, just like his father: a proud, refined gentleman, as noble and self-possessed as a crane spreading its wings. But only Zhao Jiayi knew that he only wanted people to see him that way. That night, Gu Yunsheng kissed her in a storm of passion, as if he meant to break her in two. His eyes bloodshot, he stole her breath. “You’re mine, and you can only ever be mine!” [The aloof, noble gentleman with a hidden dark side × the spoiled heiress] [Married first, love later / older man / falling hard / healing] Reader’s note: * One man and one woman, both virgins, daily updates, a sweet little romance. * The story of the heroine’s older brother is Southern Elephant. It’s complete and in the same series. Visit the author’s page to read it. * This novel is entirely fictional, including its cities. Any resemblance to real people or places is coincidental. >>>The next book will be another story in the same series, The Whale Sinking off the West Coast. Please add it to your wanted list! >>> Blurb: [Puppy-love romance / reunion after years apart / younger man / sweet romance] (1) By the lake at dusk, the wind tousled Shen Que’s hair. Chen Zhao had seen that face a thousand times, yet now it seemed unfamiliar. He was tall and young, like a glacier beneath a snow-covered Milky Way, standing firm in the bitter cold of winter. Chen Zhao remembered when he had been only a thin boy she brought back from the grasslands years ago. (2) As the eldest daughter and heir of the Chen family, Chen Zhao had been strict with herself since childhood, cool and decisive, all so she could take over the family empire from the old madam and make it flourish. But three years ago, she did the most outrageous thing of all: She slept with Shen Que, who had always treated her like an older sister. That day was Shen Que’s twentieth birthday, and the first time she had ever surrendered to a young man’s body. Shen Que clung to her from behind, smelling faintly of mint. His expression was docile as he said, “I was planning to…” Before he could finish, Chen Zhao got up and dressed, her tone calm. “You know there’s no place for you in my life plans.” Shen Que gazed at her with deep, wet eyes, his lashes fluttering slightly. Before that, Chen Zhao had thought of Shen Que as gentle, obedient, considerate, like a mild, pure spring breeze sweeping across the grasslands. He had lived under someone else’s roof, never showing temper or sharp edges. Only later did she learn that the real Shen Que was bristling with dangerous spikes, a beast racing beneath the glaciers. Three years later, before the Luda Glacier, flocks of seagulls circled overhead as hundreds of humpback whales leaped from the water to court. Shen Que stood in her way, his eyes blazing. “If you dare say yes to his proposal, I’ll dare tell everyone that you slept with me. Don’t believe me? Try it.” With that, he suddenly pulled Chen Zhao underwater. She sank into the deep sea, choking for breath, until Shen Que drew her into his arms. Oxygen passed from his burning lips… [Cool and restrained vs. sweet and obedient, with a wild side] [My sea, where the tilted dreams of whales float] Theme: Protect animals