At the Moment of Marriage

[My new novel, Heartbeats Are Hard to Resist, is complete! Read it in my profile!]

[The man who couldn't win her back, the second male lead takes the girl]

Ruan Ran had been dating Shen Yao for five years, but he seemed never to have cared about her.

On their fifth anniversary, the Ruan and Shen families planned to discuss an arranged marriage. But Shen Yao was absent all evening, choosing instead to attend his childhood sweetheart's birthday livestream and letting the whole internet ship the two of them.

The next day, despite her father's objections, Ruan Ran decisively broke up with Shen Yao.

At first, Shen Yao thought Ruan Ran was just saying it in the heat of the moment.

When he realized she'd moved all her things out of the house, he hurriedly took to Weibo to distance himself from his childhood sweetheart, hoping Ruan Ran would forgive him.

He posted: I have been in a stable relationship with @Ruan Ran for five years, and we'll be getting married soon. Please stop spreading rumors that I'm dating someone else.

Ruan Ran replied: @Shen Yao We broke up.

Shen Fusheng reposted: @Ruan Ran We're married.

The whole internet was in an uproar.

*

As the youngest person ever to take control of the Shen family, Shen Fusheng had a pair of alluring, affectionate eyes, but was utterly cold-blooded, domineering, and driven by profit. No one in their circle dared cross him.

After he announced his arranged marriage to Ruan Ran, everyone pitied her as a victim of a family alliance and wondered when she'd lose her usefulness and be discarded by Shen Fusheng.

At an awards ceremony, the host's crew went backstage with a camera to livestream interviews.

But the moment they opened the door, they saw the aloof, distinguished man kneeling on the floor. He gently held Ruan Ran's ankle as if it were a precious jewel, carefully warming her feet with a steaming towel.

Everyone: ??? What happened to the business alliance???

*

When Ruan Ran was sixteen, she met a young monk at Lingquan Temple on Cangshan Mountain. Though he was a monk, he was unruly and rebellious, often leaving her utterly exasperated.

Even so, he was a ray of moonlight in her darkest, loneliest moments.

Later, the young monk disappeared without a trace, leaving her confused and lost.

Ten years later, she found a string of prayer beads she'd made by hand in her husband's personal belongings.

-

*Cold and aloof x scoundrel

*The male lead was never really a monk

-----My new novel, Heartbeats Are Hard to Resist, is currently updating. Please add this sweet modern romance to your reading list-----

[How the aloof beauty gets tricked and wooed]

Jiang Banxia fell in love at first sight with a cheerful, curly-haired guy at her company. It was only through the help of his good friend Pei Yan that she managed to get his WeChat.

But the good times didn't last. Jiang Banxia soon discovered two things:

First, the curly-haired guy on WeChat was as cold as ice and impossible to pursue.

Second, for no apparent reason, Pei Yan had become the biggest obstacle in her pursuit of the curly-haired guy.

She asked the guy to see a movie, and Pei Yan announced a team-building event.

She pretended to have period cramps, and Pei Yan handed her a heat pack.

She even went looking for the curly-haired guy to have dinner, but never saw him. Somehow, she ended up sitting with Pei Yan in a newly opened underwater restaurant.

The deep blue water rippled quietly as colorful schools of fish swam past.

Jiang Banxia was completely bewildered. "Where's the curly-haired guy?"

Pei Yan: "Taking care of his gravely ill great-aunt's husband."

Jiang Banxia: "???"

-

Later, after Jiang Banxia and Pei Yan got together,

their coworkers went out for a meal one day and split the bill. Jiang Banxia joined the group chat to pay, noticed the curly-haired guy had a strange profile picture, and casually asked, "Did you change your WeChat account?"

The curly-haired guy looked confused. "No? I've always had this account."

Jiang Banxia: "?"

"So who was that block of wood I spent months trying to flirt with?" "I'll video call you on WeChat. Are you brave enough to answer?" "What is Mr. Pei plotting this time?" "Great-Aunt's Husband has been in the ICU for two months." "Hope he's okay.jpg"

-----Coming soon: Loving You, Even If It's Unfair, a secret crush come true. Please add it to your reading list-----

Shen Beitan was born a favorite of heaven and had no shortage of admirers, yet no one could ever figure him out.

A friend joked with Yu Chao, "Good thing our Chao is rational and independent. She won't fall for him so easily."

Yu Chao nodded, then discreetly touched the pearl stud in her right ear.

It was proof she'd had a secret crush on Shen Beitan for thirteen years.

Everyone who knew Yu Chao thought she was quiet and aloof, like a lonely patch of cold light in a theater.

No one knew.

She was the one who punctured Shen Beitan's tires so he would stay in North City one more night.

She was the one who changed the phone number on Shen Beitan's business card so other women couldn't contact him.

She was also the one who took cold showers until she developed a high fever, then casually brushed his hand when passing him something.

Later, when her actions were exposed, Yu Chao forced herself to stay calm under Shen Beitan's unfathomable gaze.

The man asked with an enigmatic smile, "Didn't you think about the consequences before doing all that?"

Instead, she quietly looked at him.

"Are you going to punish me?"

Shen Beitan was silent for a long moment, then let out a soft laugh.

Everyone thought Shen Beitan was born to be loved and would never fall for anyone in his life, until one day...

Yu Chao went away on a business trip and didn't come home for a few days. Her friend watched as Shen Beitan called her over a hundred times.

He complained nonchalantly, "You got what you wanted, and now you're neglecting her. Chao, that's not how this works."

Cold and obsessive x heaven's favorite

Secret crush comes true

The blurb may be revised, but the heroine's characterization won't change

Theme: Don't be arrogant or take other people's efforts for granted.