Delayed Claim

What reunion after a long separation? It was all carefully planned from the start.

*

Chen Qingshi first met Gu Meisheng amid the smoke and flames of war.

At his business partner's request, he had come to bring his daughter home.

Gu Meisheng's gaze was cold, her manner distant and guarded. She asked with a sarcastic smile, "Sir, could you give me ten thousand Damask roses?"

The land where they stood had once blossomed with the most dazzling roses.

Chen Qingshi gave a faint, mocking smile and refused.

Just before the plane was due to take off, the mischievous Miss Gu slipped away and ran off the plane that was supposed to take her home.

Watching her retreating figure, Chen Qingshi said coolly to his subordinate, "A pampered little princess needs to experience blood and fire."

In other words, that girl needed to be taught a lesson.

*

The second time they met, Chen Qingshi saved Gu Meisheng's grandfather's life.

By unspoken agreement, they both forgot their unpleasant first encounter.

Miss Gu haughtily handed him a black-and-gold card as thanks. Her words were casual and dismissive: "I can fulfill any wish you have."

Her eyes shimmered, her gaze holding intoxicating springtime warmth. She had only just come of age, yet she was already putting on the coquettish airs of a grown woman.

Chen Qingshi pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Back then, he thought the Gu family had a proper upbringing, and couldn't understand how they had raised a girl like Gu Meisheng.

He couldn't quite describe her. Generally speaking, she wasn't likable.

*

The third time they met was at a gathering arranged by Gu Yanxin. He was trying to find a match for his daughter, and beckoned her over. Gu Meisheng emerged through a side door, swaying with alluring grace.

Chen Qingshi frowned instinctively.

Gu Meisheng smiled, her bright features full of life. "The first time I met you, I fell in love with you at first sight, Mr. Chen."

Clearly, she hadn't remembered him from either of their first two encounters.

At their families' insistence, they started dating.

Naturally, Chen Qingshi proposed.

He knelt on one knee and offered the ring to the haughty Miss Gu.

Gu Meisheng didn't take it. With regret in her voice, she said, "I'm a committed believer in staying unmarried."

They parted on good terms.

The night they broke up, Chen Qingshi spent the whole night smoking on the balcony.

At the time, he thought that if he turned around and pursued Gu Meisheng again, he would be debasing himself.

Later, not only did he pursue Gu Meisheng, he also quit smoking.

Because Gu Meisheng didn't like it.

There was nothing wrong with debasing himself, as long as he won Gu Meisheng's heart.

*, *, *, *, *

New serial: False Devotion

The first time Jiang Jin met Xie Rongyu was in a dimly lit private club. Amid the clamor of the room, only he sat quietly with his eyes lowered, savoring his tea, utterly out of place and coldly alone.

She knew his family was on the verge of bankruptcy, and his mother was gravely ill with little hope of recovery.

She walked over and sat beside him. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Jiang Jin's way of helping him was to offer him a marriage contract.

"I'll help you make a comeback, and I'll divorce you when the time is right. Sign this agreement, and a brilliant future will be yours for the taking."

Golden light seemed to cling to Xie Rongyu's lashes, giving him a saintly air. "Why are you helping me?"

Jiang Jin gazed steadily at his face but didn't answer.

*

Everyone in Licheng's upper circles said that Miss Jiang had gone crazy. She'd spent a fortune buying a wolf in human clothing, who would surely repay her kindness by sinking his teeth into her one day!

Jiang Jin alone didn't care.

She loved his features, loved seeing him in white shirts and black trousers, and loved the woody fragrance he wore.

On the day of their divorce, Xie Rongyu had already made his comeback. He wore a black shirt, and the scent around him was no longer a gentle woody fragrance.

Seeing how he was dressed, Jiang Jin frowned slightly and said gently, "That doesn't look good on you."

Xie Rongyu gripped her wrist and asked coldly, "Because it doesn't make me look like him, is that it?"

Theme: Love is an eternal romance