Everyone in B City's upper circles knows that Zhou Qingyuan, the young master of the Zhou family, has a handsome face but has been cold since childhood. After inheriting the family business, he took his aloofness to the extreme. He keeps women at arm's length, is ruthless in his methods, and makes it clear that strangers should stay away. He seems to have no personal life whatsoever.
Nothing in this world seems able to make him bat an eye. His only leisure activities are rolling the Buddhist beads on his wrist and taking his little tortoise egg wherever he goes. He's practically someone people would put on a pedestal.
At a banquet, a friend grinned and shared some news with him. "The youngest of the Chen family is back."
"They lost the family power struggle and fled to America back then. With all this fanfare around their return, they're probably here to stir things up."
Zhou Qingyuan didn't reply. He just stared blankly at the woman in a bold black dress who had walked in. When her gaze swept over him, his hand trembled, and he nearly spilled his drink.
*
No one knew that, as a young man, Zhou Qingyuan had a woman who occupied his entire heart and mind.
To his face, she said she liked him, coaxing and teasing him. But in the end, for the sake of her own interests, she could abandon him without hesitation.
The day she left, Zhou Qingyuan was reduced to a wretched, groveling mess.
He remembered that the rain that day was heavier than on the day Noble Consort Qi was beaten to death. He was even more miserable than Yiping after she was beaten with several lashes for failing to get money.
Now that woman was back.
*
Not long after returning, Chen Tang, the youngest of the Chen family, became a darling of the financial media. The Chen family's internal power struggle was as dramatic as the battle among the nine sons for the throne. With her own strength, Chen Tang stamped out half the Chen Group's sordid dealings and seized control.
She was riding high, but before long, Zhou Qingyuan began targeting her businesses. Whatever she invested in, he went after. The media went wild with reports that the two were at odds and had old grudges, even snapping photos of them "fighting fiercely" by the roadside, both looking ready to kill the other.
The onlookers were thoroughly entertained and began guessing who would ultimately win the feud.
But they didn't know that late at night in the Zhou family's villa, Chen Tang had Zhou Qingyuan trapped between the chair and herself, forcing him to lift his head. She gazed into his restrained eyes and smiled with captivating charm. "Zhou Qingyuan, you've gotten bold."
"Are you trying to toy with me again?" Zhou Qingyuan sneered. "Do you think I'm still that gullible little brat I used to be?"
But when Chen Tang really did give a mocking laugh and turn to leave, he couldn't help panicking. He clutched her hand tightly and said in a wounded voice, "Don't go."
"...If you want to toy with me, then go ahead."
A captivating playboy who has come ashore x a proud yet lovesick puppy
The heroine has had other partners; the male lead has not.
The male lead isn't truly cold. His real personality may be a little different from what everyone expects. He's a master of tea-sipping schemes. The Buddhist beads were bought by the heroine at a street stall for twenty yuan when she was young, then tossed to him. He's worn them for seven or eight years. The little tortoise egg was also a gift from her, bought at a flower and bird market for 9.9 yuan. If it died, he'd cry for three days.
Theme: Live freely and happily.
