May We Never Forget Each Other

The Two Intentions You Have for Me is ongoing. A groveling husband, a size difference, face-slapping, and romantic push and pull. Blurb below.

Never Forget Each Other: Blurb

With a father who is the current prime minister and a mother who is the emperor's most favored eldest princess, Bai Jinyao lives a charmed life in the capital.

Someone warns her, "You can be as wild as you like, but there is one person in this capital you must never touch. Xia Jianian is the Bai family's political enemy and sworn rival. Understand?"

Bai Jinyao gazes back with innocent eyes. "I'll stay as far away from him as I can."

Then, at their first meeting, she accidentally knocks him into a ravine. Remembering her family's advice, she turns tail and runs.

Someone else tells her, "Xia Jianian has no interest in women. Maybe he's got a hidden ailment, so be careful not to offend him."

Bai Jinyao is shocked. "I promise I won't even look at him!"

Later, while half asleep, she mistakes his thigh for a chicken leg. She not only grabs it, but takes a bite, too. When she wakes, she is both grateful and embarrassed. "Thank you... I mean, I'm sorry..."

Later still, disaster befalls the Bai family, and everyone tells her, "Xia Jianian is ruthless. Run as far away from him as you can!"

With tears in her eyes, Bai Jinyao declares firmly, "I'd rather die than surrender to that scoundrel!"

Then she moves into Xia Jianian's villa.

Xia Jianian sighs helplessly and holds her by the waist. "My lady, when will you let your husband see the light of day?"

Bai Jinyao gives him a vague answer, her skin glistening with sweat as she struggles to push him away. "Soon, soon. We have more important things to do first..."

Her next words are drowned out by their ragged breathing. Xia Jianian kisses her lips softly. "I can do two things at once..."

Lately, people in the capital have been gossiping. They say Xia Jianian has been utterly bewitched by a mysterious woman. Everyone has their own guess about her identity, but no one knows for sure.

"No one can guess who she is! But it definitely can't be a Bai girl! There is absolutely no way those two could ever be together!" Everyone agrees.

Bai Jinyao wholeheartedly agrees, nodding again and again. "Exactly. Political enemies can only ever be political enemies... right?"

The man beside her snorts and strides away. Bai Jinyao catches a strong whiff of jealousy and realizes she is in trouble. She hurries after him, calling, "Husband, listen to me..."

The Two Intentions You Have for Me

A groveling husband, marriage before love, a size difference, and a hero whose boasts are repeatedly proven wrong.

Her perspective:

Lin Meizhu is a concubine-born daughter, yet she is betrothed to Shen Changfeng, a notorious playboy and heir to a noble title.

On their wedding night, the jade ruyi used to lift her red veil knocks her phoenix crown askew. Shen Changfeng looks at her with cold mockery.

Lin Meizhu knows her low status and doesn't dare hope for his affection. She only hopes he will gradually change his opinion of her. All she wants is a stable, peaceful life.

At the Qionglin Banquet, deep in a bamboo grove, a beautiful woman blocks Shen Changfeng's way. Tears streaming down her face, she demands, "How much longer are you going to stay angry with me? That night, the emperor named the wrong person. Why didn't you say anything? When are you going to divorce her?"

Only then does Lin Meizhu realize he married her because of something he said in a fit of anger. She is like a clown in their play, toyed with and made to look ridiculous.

She had poured her heart into a man who didn't deserve it. Lin Meizhu finally sees the truth: he probably never liked her at all, and now he is cruelly stripping her of the last shred of dignity she has left.

Her childhood friend, who has come from afar, watches the two of them locked in a tug-of-war and asks, "Is that your husband?"

Lin Meizhu looks away, her expression cool. "Not for much longer."

His perspective:

With the Prince of Dingbei for a father and the current emperor's eldest princess for a mother, Shen Changfeng has been a favored son of heaven since birth.

At a palace banquet, the old emperor, bleary-eyed with drink, chooses a disreputable concubine-born daughter to be his wife.

Shen Changfeng resents it, but has no choice but to accept.

After their marriage, Shen Changfeng discovers that his wife is nothing like the rumors claim. On the contrary, she is talented and beautiful, gentle in nature, and skilled at managing a household. He gradually falls in love with her. At one point, he thinks that if they ever have a daughter, he hopes she will be as gentle and quiet as Lin Meizhu.

One afternoon, he unexpectedly learns that his wife had a sweetheart before their betrothal, a man who has just earned the third-highest score in the imperial examinations.

He doesn't care. So what? Her heart and eyes are full of me now.

He thinks he is the real winner in life.

The winner in life decides to meet his former rival in love, only to witness the entire scene of their clandestine rendezvous: the man's hand gripping the armrest, veins bulging; the woman's shoulders bent low and trembling with restraint; and the two of them hurriedly throwing on their clothes and fleeing when they realize someone is approaching.

Shen Changfeng is so furious he practically takes flight. He grabs a broad saber and charges out, only to run straight into Lin Meizhu.

His wife removes the camellia from her hair and pins it into his crown herself, smiling gently. "Husband, you're even more handsome than today's third-place scholar."

After taking a deep breath, he turns his blade in another direction and pretends nothing is wrong. "My lady, let me show you a new saber technique I've been learning."

Should he forgive her?

She may have done something unfaithful to him, but she has never said a single bad thing about him, right? Right.

Men make mistakes, and women do, too. She must have acted on impulse. Right? Yes.

Then forgive her, okay? Okay.

The day after he talks himself into it, his wife asks for a divorce.

Shen Changfeng completely loses it.

Inspired by: Though he did something unfaithful to her, he never said a single bad thing about her. From The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.

P.S.

1. This is a one-on-one romance. The leads are each other's only partners, and the ending is happy.

2. Neither lead is perfect. The hero's biggest flaw is that he won't admit what's on his mind, for a few chapters. The heroine is rather weak at first, but gradually finds her strength. After she awakens, the story is all about making the lovestruck couple jealous.

3. The hero follows strict standards of conduct for men. This is important!

4. Meizhu: In folk legend, the pearl in a fox's mouth is said to make whoever wears it beloved by all. Bright, charming, and alluring are all compliments in my book.

Coming soon: When a Contract Marriage Turns to Love

Marriage before love, both leads speak their minds, the heroine is direct, the hero is tall and powerful but gets shy, a sweet romance.

Blurb:

Cui Jianing marries Qin Fang for money. Her stepmother is cruel and greedy, and she desperately needs a husband in name only to reclaim the dowry her mother left her.

Qin Fang marries Cui Jianing for appearances. He was undefeated in battle and became fabulously wealthy as a merchant, but an old injury left him with a hidden ailment, making him the subject of gossip across the land. He needs a wife in name only to fend off the wild rumors.

They hit it off and draw up a contract: three years, with business but no feelings. The day the term expires will be the day they divorce, and neither party may back out for any reason.

After they marry, little changes, except that Qin Fang turns down more and more social engagements to hurry home, while Cui Jianing finds herself spending more and more time hanging around outside Qin Fang's study.

One day, after drinking, Cui Jianing can't resist temptation and consummates the marriage with her husband in name only.

In the morning, Cui Jianing sees Qin Fang quietly pulling the covers up to hide the red marks on his body. Feeling bad, she says, "Since it happened, next time it's your turn. That way, neither of us loses out."

Qin Fang is a merchant, and merchants value fairness above all. So he gives it a try, then unfortunately passes out.

Only then does Cui Jianing remember the rumors. She pulls Qin Fang out from under the covers again and asks, "What exactly is this ailment of yours?"

Qin Fang whispers a few words in her ear. Remembering what happened on their wedding night, Cui Jianing slaps her thigh. "That's easy! I know how to cure you!"

With the best intentions, Cui Jianing pins Qin Fang down and tries again. This time, Qin Fang is fine. Qin Fang refuses to believe it. Maybe it was just luck, so he tries again. Still fine. Maybe things will be different in another place, so he tries again...

For some reason, people outside begin saying they are a loving couple. The two decide they can't keep testing it like this and add a clause to their contract: they can only treat his ailment on the first and fifteenth of each month.

Three days later, the two of them lie speechless amid the wreckage of the study, having broken their promise. Cui Jianing feels a little guilty, and Qin Fang reassures her. "It's fine. You just like treating my ailment. A doctor's heart is full of compassion."

So they tacitly ignore the new agreement and keep treating his ailment, until their treatment accidentally results in a child.

Qin Fang says again, "It's fine. Before the child is born, the choice is yours. After the child is born, you can decide what happens then, too. We have plenty of money."

Moved by that last sentence, Cui Jianing grits her teeth and gives birth to the child.

In the blink of an eye, the three-year term arrives, and the day of their divorce draws closer, but somehow the contract disappears.

Qin Fang is troubled. "Without proof or documentation, it's hard to settle anything. This is a real headache."

Cui Jianing wholeheartedly agrees. "Exactly! We should wait until we find the contract before discussing the divorce."

One day, their two-year-old folds a yellowed sheet of paper into a boat. The little boat unfortunately capsizes and sinks to the bottom of the lake.

Qin Fang, who secretly put the contract into his son's hands, lets out a huge sigh of relief. Great, now she won't leave me.

Cui Jianing, who personally sank the little paper boat with a pebble, also lets out a huge sigh of relief and thinks, Great! Now I don't have to leave him!

The child, pretending not to know anything, can only spread his hands helplessly and think, This family would fall apart without me.

Theme: Through all the years, never forget each other. Learn to cherish the person you have.