An Itch in My Heart

[Complete. My new ensemble mystery set in the martial world, I Don't Want to Roam the Martial World Anymore, is now open for follows.]

[I'm an obsessive reviser. Thanks for supporting the official version. There's a difference between official and pirated copies, so if you read a pirated copy, please don't comment.]

Shen Jiang was born breathtakingly beautiful, yet naturally cold and unsentimental. All she cared about was winning and losing, gains and losses. Her family had worried since she was a child that she would end up alone.

Sure enough, Shen Jiang made it all the way through medical school without ever having a relationship. When her father mistakenly thought he was gravely ill and had little time left, he resorted to arranging a marriage alliance so Shen Jiang would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life. He expected her to refuse, but to his surprise, she glanced at her prospective match and agreed.

After half a year living together, with their wedding just around the corner, her intended's first love, the woman he had treasured in his heart, returned. The man wanted to break up. Shen Jiang looked at him and agreed again.

**

Tan Sixuan came from one of Jinghai's most prominent families and held the lifeblood of its highest echelons of wealth and power in his hands. Yet he was aloof and refined, as distant and untouchable as a deity, untouched by worldly concerns. Everyone in their circle knew he kept himself chaste only because he had an unrequited first love deep in his heart.

They had thought this untouchable man would remain pure and wait for his first love forever. So when they heard he was going to form a marriage alliance with the Shen family, everyone shook their heads and sighed. "A cold beauty meets a heartless Buddha. There could be no greater tragedy."

Unexpectedly, the two got along steadily and soon moved in together, seeming very much like a couple who would grow old together in harmony.

Someone curiously asked Tan Sixuan if he had fallen for Shen Jiang. He answered coolly, "A Shen is going to marry me and spend her life with me. I can't give her love, so it's only right that I treat her well."

Later, his first love returned, and Tan Sixuan and Shen Jiang broke up in the blink of an eye. Everyone shook their heads and sighed again. As expected, there were no real feelings in a marriage alliance.

But before long, someone captured this scene. In a private room at a club, Tan Sixuan cornered Shen Jiang at one end of the sofa. He had completely lost his usual composure, the corners of his eyes red and his voice almost plaintive. "A Shen, did you ever have feelings for me? Even just a little?"

**

Tan Sixuan had always thought Shen Jiang was with him because of their marriage alliance. That is, until he found the tiny diary Shen Jiang had lost, wedged between the sofa cushions. Each page held only two short lines.

- I've fallen for him. I'm happy.

- He got a girlfriend. I'm unhappy.

- I tossed a pebble. Happy, unhappy.

- She left him behind and ran off. Very happy.

- I'm going to marry him. Happy.

- He kissed me. Happy, unhappy.

- His first love came back. Very unhappy.

- He asked if I ever had feelings for him. Very unhappy.

- I've loved you for ten years, and no one knows. But I, Shen Jiang, have never lost.

- He said he loves me. I won. Very happy.

[Love is mutual respect. Love is about conquering each other.]

[Loving you is a war I'm fighting alone.]

[A Shen, you loved me for ten years. I'll give you the rest of my life.]

As a surname, Shen should be pronounced "Shen." The nickname Chench en, A Chen can be pronounced "Chen."

Theme: Pursue an equal love.