Slowly, Like Bitter Tea

[Main Story Complete] [The neighboring novel, A Dream in the Capital, is currently updating with plenty of sweet romance!!!!]

The Xu family of Jing City is the most mysterious and unfathomable family around.

Yet, of all people, they had a reckless scion: he had the refined, cool face of a nobleman, but loved playing with dangerous and perilous things.

So, when Xu Youyan turned twenty, the Old Master Xu kicked him off to the mountains.

Unexpectedly, he came back with a little girl of just over ten.

From then on, he reined himself in and grew more mature.

The Old Master Xu was overjoyed. He kept Chen Tu in the family and gave her the Xu surname.

==

Xu Tu's transition from a little girl in the mountains to a rich heiress was smooth and seamless, without the slightest inner turmoil.

Bright, beautiful, carefree, and languid.

She had countless admirers trailing after her.

Bearing the title of the Xu family's young lady, she agreed to the marriage alliance arranged by the Old Master Xu.

The second son of the Shen family courted her passionately, and the two quickly went from dating to discussing marriage.

On the eve of their engagement, people in their circle gathered for a small get-together.

The second young master Shen wore a beaming smile as he raised his glass to the man seated at the head of the table and called out warmly, "Fourth Brother."

"After tomorrow, I'll be calling you Fourth Brother too, just like Xiao Tu."

"Oh?" Xu Youyan swirled his wineglass, the smile at his lips deepening even as his eyes turned cold. "My little sister's tricks for deceiving people are getting better and better. How come I didn't know she was getting engaged?"

The second young master Shen gave an awkward smile, at a loss for words. "Mr. Xu, you really know how to joke."

Xu Youyan glanced up. Shen Ling was so frightened that he took a step back. "Xiao Tu is a playful girl. If anything goes wrong in the future, Second Young Master Shen, please be understanding."

Then he stood up and left, leaving everyone else in the circle holding their breath, afraid to make a sound.

==

Xu Tu had a couple too many drinks at the party. When she got home, her whole body was burning hot. Without turning on the lights, she fumbled to take off her coat.

But a hand with long, well-defined fingers reached out and clasped her slender waist.

Her startled cry was swallowed by his lips.

"Xu Tu, I brought you home, so of course you're mine."

=

Ten years ago, Xu Tu had held Xu Youyan's life in her hands and made him take her away from the fate she'd been born into. She knew then that such immense wealth came at a price.

That price was that she could never be with the person she loved.

#Nine-Year Age Gap#

#Mutual Salvation#

#Both Are Each Other's First#

Capital's Powerful Tycoon VS Cunning Fake Princess

Note: The male and female leads are not related by blood, nor are they in an adoptive relationship. The heroine is the adopted daughter of the hero's relative. There are no intimate scenes while they maintain their false cousin relationship, and the heroine will return to her original name later in the story.

==Please add the neighboring upcoming novel, A Dream in the Capital, to your reading list==

1.

The first time Xu An saw Lu Mingqi was when she delivered a set of priceless Ru ware porcelain on behalf of her master.

Behind a folding screen, a figure was half-hidden. His voice was low and hoarse, and he reclined lazily in a rocking chair.

With just one remark, "Put it there," Xu An lost her whole heart.

As a porcelain maker, she was utterly unable to resist such perfection.

When she got back, she tried to keep her girlish feelings in check and ask her master about him, only to hear that no one should entertain thoughts of Mr. Lu of the Lu family.

2.

They met again at her master's retirement banquet.

No one expected Mr. Lu to come.

The journey from Jingchao to Rucheng was a long one.

Xu An had drunk a little too much. Her already pale, delicate face flushed, and her eyes grew dewy.

Lu Mingqi leaned against the doorframe and asked with a soft laugh, "Do you like me?"

Xu An nodded, emboldened by the alcohol. The smile on his face deepened as his long-fingered hand stroked the top of her head. "I think you're interesting too. But it's fine to like me, just don't take it seriously."

3.

Lu Mingqi gave her a spell of romance.

Everyone knew that the mysterious Mr. Lu of Jingchao had taken in a charming young woman who made porcelain, and treated her with the utmost tenderness and patience.

But Xu An always knew that a springtime dream must eventually end.

So when she left, she was calm and composed. She looked up at him with those same dewy eyes.

"Mr. Lu, I liked you, but I never took it seriously. I don't like you anymore, so naturally, I'm leaving."

4.

On the first day after Xu An left, Lu Mingqi only felt that his house at Beiqing Yanzhai had grown a little quiet, much like the rows of Ru porcelain.

Later, he began to find the porcelain glaring and deeply irritating.

At last, when Beiqing was blanketed in snow, he flew across the ocean. He watched the girl he'd raised blossom into a striking young woman, only to find wariness and distance in her eyes. He could only let out a soft sigh. His voice was still as low and hoarse as it had been at first.

"Xu An, I took it seriously."

The girl was pure and solitary, the sort who could easily stir an impure desire for tenderness in a man like him.

Tenderness turned into love, and in the end, he gave her his whole heart.

Powerful Capital Tycoon * Female College Student

Seven-year age gap

Both are each other's first

Happy ending

Theme: Learn to love yourself before you can love others