Black-and-White Obsession

My other novel, "After Marrying the Richest Man, I Became a Couch Potato," is a goofy, sweet post-marriage story, now available! Come check it out!

This is a story about dragging a high-and-mighty beauty down from her pedestal and into shared ruin.

After moving to H City, Yu Wanzhang was a nobody.

The first time she saw Ying Jialou was in a photograph. His features were blurry, but his bearing was otherworldly.

Back then, she didn't even know his name.

The second time was at a banquet. Ying Jialou stood out from the crowd in a crisp, perfectly fitted black suit. Everyone said he was the apple of the older generation of the Ying family’s eye.

This time, not only did she learn his name, she also got to enjoy a good show.

The third time was at the foot of Linggu Temple. Ying Jialou wore a white kasaya and looked like a handsome little bodhisattva. The jade prayer beads around his wrist were crystal clear.

Yu Wanzhang resolved to quietly put his name at the top of her list of targets.

*

Ying Jialou was frail and sickly, and his grandmother had left him to be raised at a temple from a young age.

He was mild-mannered and well versed in Buddhist teachings, seemingly a kind soul who had seen through the evils of the mortal world.

And yet he had grown into someone cold and obsessive. His clear, chilly eyes glinted with the cold light of the moon as he watched the foolishness of the world with indifference.

But in time, even he could not escape.

Someone made a home in his heart, and he was willing to leave the Buddhist path for the realm of hungry ghosts.

In the pitch-black night, he held her close and said, "I'll help you, as long as you stay by my side forever."

*

Yu Wanzhang was breathtakingly beautiful. She had pulled herself out of the mud and made her way into the Ying family.

On her first day there, beneath a bodhi tree half covered in white blossoms, she saw a young man sitting with one leg folded over the other.

The spring breeze whispered, and shadowy flowers swayed beneath green leaves.

As she looked at him, the young man happened to open his eyes. They were clear as rippling water, and a smile played in them.

A spring night, with fine rain.

The young man and woman meet beneath the white walls and black tiles of Jiangnan.

A seemingly gentle but actually cold and obsessive man X a beautiful woman who stops at nothing and only pretends to be obsessive.

The male lead is a lay Buddhist. Because of his illness, he was raised in a temple and studied Zen and the Way under his master.

Neither lead is a good person!!!!

------- Upcoming Novel -------

News that Yu Chengbai, the richest man in town, had his engagement unilaterally broken off by his fiancée spread like wildfire, setting all of H City abuzz.

There were also unreliable rumors claiming the richest man had some problems in the bedroom.

Nan Chi, a couch potato who heard the gossip: "Wow!"

Yesterday she was just enjoying the drama. Today she was having dinner with its leading man.

Nan Chi refused Yu Chengbai's proposal of an arranged marriage. She was a young university student in her prime, doted on by her parents and loved by her big brother. She could have any younger puppy or wolf she wanted.

Besides, the richest man supposedly had problems in the bedroom...

Then Yu Chengbai sat opposite her, his face reflecting the dazzling lights. He raised his eyes slightly and said with confidence and easy fluency:

"Marry me, Miss Nan, and you'll get three homes in H City, a villa overlooking the sea in Hokkaido, a 1,145-acre farm in America, and two castles in Belgium. I'll cover the upkeep. What's more, every year, for your birthday, our wedding anniversary, Valentine's Day, Qixi Festival, and Christmas, you'll get a diamond ring of at least three carats. Pick any rare leather Hermès bag you like..."

Huh? This kind of deal exists?

Maybe a sexless marriage wouldn't be so bad...

Nan Chi slowly sat up straighter. "Mr. Yu, I was out of line just now..."

On the first day of their marriage, Nan Chi was so sore and weak that she cried out for help!

*

Not long afterward, his former fiancée returned.

Everyone thought the richest man and his fiancée were about to act out a cliché white-moonlight romance, and felt sorry for Nan Chi.

Nan Chi thought so too. She began packing her bags for the divorce, figuring out how much money and how many houses she could get. Afterward, should she take her sweet young pup Tom to the Maldives, or go exploring the Amazon rainforest with her wolfish young boyfriend Jack...

She put on a show of shedding a few tears and handed Yu Chengbai the divorce papers to sign.

"I know the one you love is your white-moonlight fiancée. Sob, sob, I'll let you two be together..."

Yu Chengbai stared coolly at the contract, glanced at the divorce papers, and tossed them into the wastebasket.

He raised his perfectly sculpted brows, looking confused. "Does a secret crush count as a first love?"

Nan Chi sniffled. "I... I guess so..."

Yu Chengbai: "Oh. Then stop crying. You're my secret crush, my first love, and my white moonlight."

Nan Chi was so startled she hiccupped!

#Going from overworked office drone to couch potato often takes nothing more than a marriage certificate#

A post-marriage story, a light and sweet marriage-first, love-later romance. Sweet enough to make your teeth ache!

The man is six years older than the woman.

Character setup:

A goofy, gorgeous, laid-back university student X a man who seems mature and steady, like an old bull trudging along alone, but is actually incredibly sly and flirtatious.

Well! In some ways, the male lead really is an old ox who just knows how to huff and toil...

#Rather than watch a young man grow up, I'd rather sit and share my heart with an old man#

#Especially when that old man is pretty handsome#

#As long as the money's right, I'll happily get on my knees#

#That's how we working stiffs have no principles#

Theme: Living with resilience