The Joy of Having You: Almost Open

[Lively, sweet-natured young lady x aloof, proud court official]

Gu Yunchu has had a secret love tucked away in her heart for years. She has never told anyone about it.

When she turns fifteen, her parents arrange a marriage for her and send her to stay with her maternal uncle's cousin in the capital until the wedding.

Desperate to escape the match, she tries every means she can think of, but each time her meticulous cousin, Lu Yuanzhen, catches her perched on the wall and casually carries her back to the residence.

Lu Yuanzhen is aloof and cold, his thoughts impossible to fathom. No one can sway him in the slightest.

To break off the engagement, Gu Yunchu puts on a show of deep affection in front of him.

At a banquet, she disregards etiquette and propriety, boldly declaring her admiration for Lu Yuanzhen. Then, on a snowy day, she kneels for a long time as she climbs the mountain to pray for a protective charm for him, all so he can have a moment of peace.

At last, even that heart of stone begins to soften.

Lu Yuanzhen wipes away the tears at the corners of her eyes and gently comforts her. "It's only a marriage arrangement. Your older brother will break it off for you."

As soon as he finishes speaking, the young girl, eyes brimming with tears, shyly leans against his sleeve. "Yunchu trusts you most in this life, Brother."

The night her engagement is called off, Gu Yunchu gets dead drunk. On a whim, she takes Lu Yuanzhen by the hand and confides in him. "Brother, I'm finally free. Tomorrow I can go find the person I've kept hidden in my heart all this time."

Hearing this, Lu Yuanzhen feels as if a needle has pierced his heart. The wine cup in his hand slips to the ground and shatters, sending fragments flying.

He grabs her wrist at once, his eyes cold with a bone-deep chill. "Gu Yunchu, look at me and tell me: who is the person hidden in your heart?"

--------------------Next Book--------------------

Coming soon: The Bright Moon Shines on Childhood Sweethearts

Blurb:

[A mischievous troublemaking young lady x a carefree, scheming scholar]

Lu Jinhua grows up in an academy alongside her elder brother, and is most enamored of the academy's aloof top scholar, He Zhisong.

However, out of consideration for her brother, He Zhisong turns a blind eye to the mistakes she makes every day.

The year Lu Jinhua comes of age, she overhears her brother secretly discussing with He Zhisong how to find a reliable family to arrange her marriage.

One day, He Zhisong wakes up to find Lu Jinhua lying on his bed in disheveled clothes, crying and demanding that he take responsibility.

He Zhisong: ?

Theme: Restraint can sometimes be a form of deep love.