Bound by Tenderness

-1- The day Li Xingruo fled her engagement banquet, heavy rain fell over Ruijin City. Dressed in a perfectly tailored qipao, she watched her slender waist tremble in a puddle beside the bus stop. A black Rolls-Royce slowly pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing a young man with a fair, handsome face. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses. His long, sharp eyes softened as his refined features relaxed, leaving him warm and enticing. "If you're running away from your wedding, you might as well make an entrance," Gu Zongming said, tapping his knee unhurriedly. "This car isn't too shabby." "Of course, it would still be a little cheap for a wedding car." "What do you think, A Ruo?" "..." Li Xingruo glanced at the line of Rolls-Royces parked beside them, then nodded firmly. -2- Sheng Huaiqing had always thought Li Xingruo couldn't live without him. The Li family went bankrupt, and their pampered young lady, who had never lifted a finger, lost the support she once relied on. The childhood betrothal arranged years ago became the Li family's lifeline. A delicate, fragile dodder vine, Li Xingruo had never mattered to Sheng Huaiqing. When he was in a bad mood, he would snap at her. Sarcastic remarks were commonplace. After all, he didn't like her. On the day of their engagement banquet, Li Xingruo, who had always been gentle and timid, threw photos in Sheng Huaiqing's face in front of every guest. In them, he was holding hands with and embracing his one true love, kissing her passionately beneath the moon. Even then, Sheng Huaiqing thought Li Xingruo wouldn't leave. She was a rich little bird trapped in a cage. How far could she possibly fly? Only later, when that plain, unassuming girl made him fall for her like a madman, did Sheng Huaiqing forget all about his company teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and beg Li Xingruo for a chance. Li Xingruo smiled brightly, brushing the hem of her skirt where he had touched it with her slender fingers. Her voice was still gentle and full of pity. "Sheng Huaiqing, another name for the dodder vine is the deadly noose." Delicate and tender, gently binding, fatally strangling. The man on her arm was refined and elegant, his gentle bearing just like Li Xingruo's. Gu Zongming lowered his head slightly. A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes as he looked at Sheng Huaiqing. "Young Master Sheng, you can't take care of her." "That's why she won't bloom by your side." #A Gentle Trap, Bound to Me for Life# ◎ Li Xingruo x Gu Zongming ◎ Feigned gentleness x sweet on the outside, dark on the inside ◎ The male lead pursues his wife | Second male lead takes the lead (the second male lead is the male lead!!!) | Secret love comes true | Both are each other's first | Older woman-younger man romance | A little angst Blurb to be revised 2022.2.16 Theme: ..