Listen to Her

#Marriage First, Love Later / The Male Lead Falls First

[Main story complete. The next book is Secret Crush Echoes. Synopsis below.]

Before making her debut, minor actress Song Lu was arranged by her family to enter a business marriage. Her match was Xu Jiaqing, a newly ascendant business tycoon who had just taken over the company. From his very first day in charge, he showed a ruthless, iron-fisted hand, making everyone keep their distance.

Song Lu had only one demand for the marriage: he wasn't to interfere with her life.

In other words, they could get married and still live as if they weren't.

Xu Jiaqing smiled at her, seeming to understand the value of the arrangement too. He had no objections.

After the wedding, Song Lu made her debut as planned, but her career never took off. She only landed minor roles and spent years on the fringes of the entertainment industry.

One day, she received an invitation to walk the red carpet for a luxury brand. At the banquet, she had to sell one or two pieces of haute couture jewelry to the guests. With no one else to turn to, she swallowed her nerves and approached the man surrounded by admirers. "C-could you... buy one?"

Everyone exchanged glances.

Xu Jiaqing had a smiling face and long, narrow fox eyes that seemed to smile at everyone, but the warmth never reached his eyes. No one could ever get the better of him.

Yet that day, the man known in business circles for his cunning paid her entire bill, buying the most expensive full set of accessories at the event.

As everyone stared in surprise, he glanced at her with an amused smile and said lightly, "My wife told me to buy it. How could I refuse?"

**

Song Lu's company arranged for her to join a dating show.

She was like an impenetrable fortress on the show, not letting anyone get close. While the other contestants flirted and spread the romance, she treated the show like a training camp: changing light bulbs, fixing pipes, driving a tractor one-handed, and working hard without looking up.

The other guests: pink hearts practically bursting off the screen.

Her: ascetic and unbothered, her heart as still as water even in the face of a handsome, fair-skinned younger man.

The clueless young man asked, "Sis, are you not interested in men?"

Song Lu nervously glanced at the man seated at the venue as the sponsor's special guest, smiling at her: "..."

N-no... I wouldn't dare.

**

Xu Jiaqing had been raised from childhood to inherit his family business. He was an excellent student, shrewd, and impeccably proper, with no romantic scandals whatsoever.

The Song family hadn't gained a single advantage from the marriage alliance.

Song Lu's father was furious, cursing up a storm. He was convinced Song Lu had suffered terribly at Xu Jiaqing's hands and felt deeply sorry for her.

Song Lu, who had gotten the better of him at every turn: "..."

Honestly,

in all her life, she'd never met anyone easier to fool than Xu Jiaqing.

Song Lu: "Dad, why don't I talk to him and ask him to give you this project?"

Her father scoffed. "Would he listen to you?"

The next day, Song Lu's father received the project contract. "?"

#The cunning fox only lets her fool him#

"Cunning" fox + X + "foolish" rabbit

New business tycoon and heir + X + minor actress chasing her entertainment-industry dream

A friendly reminder:

A sweet, satisfying romance with no angst. A lighthearted little treat, so please don't compare it to real life.

A friendly reminder:

A sweet, satisfying romance with no angst. A lighthearted little treat, so please don't compare it to real life.

----Secret Crush Echoes----

Synopsis: Song Yancheng and Zhao Qingyao lived in the same building for ten years, but their lives never crossed.

One was a gifted student who could cram at the last minute and still rank first in his year. The other had to work hard or she'd immediately drop out of the top ten.

During the years she stayed up late studying by lamplight, the sight she saw most often was him leaving an internet cafe at dawn.

The aloof, rebellious boy never gave her a second look.

Only when a boy he knew teased her would he give a knowing little smile.

She was impossibly well-behaved.

He was far too unconventional.

Neither of them thought much of the other.

The year of the college entrance exams, he got the highest score in the city and entered a prestigious university in the north. His name was on everyone's lips. She, meanwhile, did poorly on the exams and missed out on the university she'd wanted.

After accidentally seeing her score report, he spoke to her for the first time in all those years. "If you dislike physics so much, why choose the science track?"

She clenched her fists, her voice trembling with nerves. "Because someone I like... really likes physics. I wanted to get a little closer to his world."

"That's all?"

She didn't deny it.

The aloof, rebellious boy let out a scornful laugh. He didn't openly judge her, but she heard his answer in that laugh.

A clever person would never gamble their future on someone whose feelings were uncertain. In his eyes, she clearly wasn't clever enough.

But he didn't know that, tucked away at the back of her desk, was a photo of him winning a physics competition at seventeen. It still hadn't faded.

*

During her four years at university, Zhao Qingyao never made a point of asking after him, but she still heard bits and pieces.

He remained the gifted young man everyone adored, while she had long since faded into the crowd.

When they met again, they were both old enough to be discussing marriage.

The people around them had already married and had children. As their elders at the table teased them, the once-timid girl didn't even look up. Scrolling through her phone, she said, "The ones you introduced last time were pretty good."

One sold phones, one ran an internet cafe, one was a programmer, and one worked in social media.

She pointedly ignored Song Yancheng, now a rising star in the tech world.

The once-rebellious boy had grown into a steady, mature man. He sat on the dim sofa without saying a word.

Later, when the conversation moved on, the cool, handsome man strolled through the noisy room and came up behind her. Bending down to pick up the cigarette case beside her, his firm chest brushed her slender shoulder blade as he asked, "Anyone but me?"

Zhao Qingyao's scrolling finger paused. "...I didn't say that."

His lips curled. "You don't like men who are good at physics anymore?"

She acted as if she hadn't heard the teasing in his voice and replied casually, "Now I like men with good bodies."

He tilted his head thoughtfully, his warm breath brushing her neck. "Compared with the men you mentioned last time, what do I lack?"

She gave him a serious once-over. "They're okay with being touched."

*

Six months later, they attended a reunion with old friends.

Zhao Qingyao and Song Yancheng sat at opposite ends of the crowd, neither looking at the other. She looked calm as usual, while he looked absolutely miserable.

Someone brought up the past during dinner. Everyone groaned. "Qingyao, do you know how long Brother Song complained about you choosing the science track? He was still complaining about it last year when he got drunk."

They heard it every year. Their ears were practically numb to it.

"So, who was that idiot who wasted your youth back then? He even liked physics. What kind of pretentious loser was he?"

Zhao Qingyao thought they had a point and nodded along. "The kind who came first in the provincial physics competition at seventeen."

The room fell completely silent.

Everyone turned in unison to look at Song Yancheng in the corner.

Zhao Qingyao smiled faintly. "But that was just a childhood thing. I don't like him anymore."

The crowd dispersed.

The cool, handsome man cornered her in a deserted alley, pinned her by the waist, and pressed his tall nose against her neck with a fierce look. "Zhao Qingyao, say that again if you dare."

A tech-world rising star who doesn't realize he's in love + X + a well-behaved "academic loser" teacher who's learned to flirt

Theme: There's always a ray of light to brighten your world