Rekindling Things with My Archenemy [Showbiz]

Li Xian entered the entertainment industry alone at seventeen. She could sing and write songs, though she had no idea how good she was, and in just a few years became the most popular female singer around.

Qin Zhengyu was born into a musical family, aloof and refined. He made a name for himself in the classical music world as a teenager, but later suddenly entered the entertainment industry.

No one knew when they became enemies. They fought on Weibo for a thousand and one nights, their devotion so touching that even their fans turned into CP shippers.

Li Xian: Hearing @Qin Zhengyu's songs makes me feel like there's no point in living.

Qin Zhengyu: Hearing @Li Xian's songs makes death seem less frightening.

Fan One: Their daily warm greetings. Fan Two: So basically, they're madly in love with each other. Fan Three: Keep acting, you two.

At a class reunion, a friend who knew the story teased Li Xian: "I really admire you. You left without saying a word back then, and drove someone so taciturn to argue with you in public."

She didn't explain, but Qin Zhengyu cornered her and gripped her wrist. "Now you remember how to hide from me? Why didn't you think it was a problem when you provoked me back then?"

She didn't dare look at him. "Are you still holding a grudge against me?"

He leaned close to her ear and chuckled softly. "A grudge? You're giving yourself too much credit."

But no one knew that when he was seventeen, he was the youngest concertmaster, while she sat below, gazing up at him amid a crowd of people. Someone told her that their only chance of being together would be if he lowered himself to meet her, so she chose to accept her fate and not be selfish.

What had been a hazy, unrequited crush that never came to fruition turned, through years of misunderstandings and obsession, into a passionate love story that had the whole internet eagerly waiting for more.

At last, Li Xian couldn't take it anymore. "Didn't you say you weren't holding a grudge?"

Qin Zhengyu toyed with his phone, his expression calm. "If you want to keep playing this boring game, I can play along for the rest of my life."

Warm and resilient X aloof and obsessive. Both each other's first love / mutual pining / mutual salvation / rekindled love.

A bonus scene:

After they went public with their relationship, Li Xian worried, "We've been insulting each other for so long. Will our fans find it jarring if we suddenly announce we're together?"

Qin Zhengyu handed her his phone.

Fan One: Didn't everyone know this already? Is it really newsworthy? Fan Two: They've been fighting for 1,314 days. Let me see how they're going to explain this away. Fan Three: We knew it was all an act. Glad they finally stopped pretending.

Li Xian: ...

Upcoming novel: Reverse Submission

At a movie's wrap party, undercurrents swirl. The leading actress, Duan Tangli, handles herself with grace, but a late-arriving investor steals the spotlight. The man casually takes the seat of honor, so refined and distinguished he looks like an award-winning actor attending a ceremony.

The producer signals for her to offer him a drink. Gu Yi looks up, and the listlessness of the whole evening finally lifts. That night, the two businesspeople hit it off and agree to a marriage of convenience.

Used to being in a position of power, Gu Yi summons her and announces coldly, "Miss Duan, I expect you to honor the terms of our contract. Don't get any ideas beyond that."

Duan Tangli smiles and agrees. "Great. The price is thirty million. I'll transfer five million as a deposit. Starting tomorrow, you'll be my protector."

Only after years in business does President Gu belatedly realize: Wasn't I supposed to be the one in charge?

Duan Tangli thinks the money is well spent. Gu Yi is a thoughtful gentleman, and his name alone is enough to help her resolve any problem.

What's more, he's generous: a villa in the capital, luxury jewelry, film investments... He gives her hundreds of millions at a time without batting an eye.

When she tries to refuse, he presses a fingertip to her lips, his smile impossible to read. "When you do business with someone like me, you should be a little greedier."

Later, they act their parts so convincingly that the man grips her slender waist, and even their pillow talk is impossible to distinguish from reality.

Duan Tangli presses her lips together and reminds him, "President Gu, I expect you to honor the terms of our contract."

Gu Yi kisses the corner of her mouth. "I'm just teaching you how to play Mrs. Gu."

Everyone thinks they're simply using each other, until entertainment reporters photograph the couple having a spat.

Duan Tangli takes off her sunglasses, her red lips vivid. "Name your price, and stop bothering me."

Then she speeds off, finally confirming that this marriage of convenience isn't quite what everyone expected: the balance of power between them is rather different.

The reporters refuse to give up and follow them all the way beneath the hazy moonlight. They see the cool beauty's indifferent gaze. "We're only in a contract relationship."

The man, known as the Smiling Yama, looks at her with deep affection and tenderly kisses her fingertips as he coaxes her: "Then use me one more time."

On that early spring night, thick fog blanketed everything. The person in power thought he was steering the way, but had long since lost his way with no way back.

Clear-eyed celebrity X refined scoundrel CEO

Theme: Grow toward the sunlight and become a better version of yourself.