Scheming to Fall in Love

Upcoming story: Love's Fading Bloom. Add it to your collection!

Blurb: Tyrannical, possessive, and loaded big-shot sister * Rebellious, then totally smitten, top-tier star puppy younger brother

Yan Zhao had been hounded by that crazy woman, Xu Suyi, since childhood.

She gave him roses, called him her darling, and forced endless cups of steaming brown sugar water on him.

To escape her, Young Master Yan ran away in the middle of the night and even went on hunger strikes in protest.

The next day, she'd drag him to a cheap tattoo shop in a secluded alley outside school to declare her claim on him, leaving him with a high fever for three whole days...

But before long, Xu Suyi got bored of him, dumped him unilaterally, and moved overseas.

That night, his buddies threw an all-night party to celebrate. Yan Zhao drank himself into lonely misery, murmuring the same words thousands of times: I love you...

-

The final stop of the national Destiny's Key tour was about to begin, but Yan Zhao, the heir to Zhiye Entertainment, was nowhere to be seen.

In a VIP lounge backstage, the door was locked.

He pinned the alluring woman against the wall...

But she smiled radiantly, utterly unafraid. "It's been four years. You've gotten quite bold. Too bad your big sister has changed her tastes."

Yan Zhao didn't believe her. Then he saw the red marks on her smooth, fair collarbone, left by a laser. They looked just like a thorny red rose blooming from within.

He remembered the black key tattooed there.

She had once said, "I'm the only one with the key to the lock on him."

Later, the bright wall lamps in the corridor made his head spin as he tested her limits with practiced, brazen provocation.

"Still so soft..."

Tender light shimmered in Xu Suyi's eyes. "Yan Zhao! I stopped wanting you ages ago."

"You stopped wanting me..." He lowered his head and brushed her lips with a light kiss, stubborn as ever. "That's fine. It's enough that I want you!"

Later still, Yan Zhao took off his suit and shirt, wearing only the old T-shirt she'd given him, just like he had at eighteen.

He trapped Xu Suyi on the rooftop, his eyes burning with desire. "Big sister, will you give me one more chance?"

She played hard to get, seeming to refuse even as she drew him in... weaving a tight web of love around him.

She wanted him to fly into the flame, offer himself up, and let her do as she pleased.

[She's three years older than him] [Older woman, younger man romance]

Upcoming story: Love's Fading Bloom

Back in high school,

Cen Xiao was a celebrated prodigy, admired by everyone. Just like his name suggested, he was arrogant and carefree.

Yao Mi was a slender, resilient girl one year below him. She suffered from an ear condition, yet always faced the sun.

He was rebellious and reckless; she was pure and harmless. They were strangers from worlds that could hardly have been farther apart.

But one stormy day, in the pouring rain,

a chance act of kindness from him left the girl dazed, and she fell hopelessly in love with him.

Even after she worked herself to the bone to get into his elite university, in a sea of people,

he still couldn't remember her name and forgot her the moment he turned away.

Who could have guessed that after their two campuses merged, an unexpected reunion would pull them ever deeper into each other's lives?

Because she was well-behaved and owed him a favor, he suddenly got an idea. "Want to be my girlfriend?"

He specifically asked her to be his "pretend girlfriend" and fend off his admirers.

Yao Mi hesitated, then agreed in less than three seconds.

She liked Cen Xiao, but could only bury her secret and never dared cross the line.

He was a carefree playboy adored by everyone, accustomed to treating love as a diversion, a game.

"It's all just an act. Why take it seriously?" he said lazily, without a care.

He never expected this delicate yet resilient flower to keep drawing his attention.

One day, he happened to see that she had kept a memento of the person she loved, treasuring it like a precious jewel.

That's when he realized the girl had already given her heart to someone else.

The same silver hair as his, the exact same teardrop mole beneath the eye.

He was angry that he'd become someone else's stand-in, but even more jealous, because in this game of love,

he was the one who broke his own rules first, falling so deeply he couldn't pull himself out.

Later, at a gathering, he saw Yao Mi chatting happily with a senior from her department in a noisy booth.

He downed glass after glass of strong liquor, his heart aching with bitterness.

At last, unable to take it anymore, he grabbed the slender girl's wrist and vanished from sight.

In the dim corridor, the boy's gaze burned so fiercely it was frightening, as if he wanted to pull the girl in front of him into his very body.

Yao Mi's heart pounded as she pushed at him. "Cen Xiao, let go..."

"If I let go, will you let me kiss you?" His breathing was ragged as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Please like me, okay? I don't care if I'm just a stand-in!"

Theme: Love me, understand me, and know who I truly am.