Peering at the Stars: Marriage Before Love

[Please add my upcoming novel, The Old Engagement, The New Promise: The Person I Like Is the One I Want to Break Off My Engagement With! Synopsis below.] Shu Ran was cheated on. When she broke up with the jerk, she threw a cup of coffee at him, and her boss, Shen Yu Jing, happened to see it. The man sat in his car, his long, clean fingers resting lazily outside the window, his gaze unfathomable. The next time they met, he made her a request. “Shu Ran, do me a favor.” “What is it?” “Help me get married.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a casual smile, and his eyes held a glimmer she couldn't quite read. As light and shadow mingled, Shu Ran found herself agreeing as if under a spell. . After their whirlwind wedding, Shu Ran still treated him like her boss. She worked diligently at the office and behaved herself at home. She carefully handed him a document. “Mr. Shen, would you like to look over the plan I revised?” Shen Yu Jing had just finished working out. Beads of sweat slid down his sharply defined abs and disappeared beneath the V of his hips. Shu Ran hadn't expected to walk in on this scene. Her lashes fluttered as she tried to retreat. The man braced an arm against the wall, blocking her way. His warm breath, edged with laughter, brushed her ear, seductive and suggestive. “Shu Ran, you've had a good look. Don't you think you should give me a proper title?” “…” . At the annual gala, Shen Yu Jing was the center of attention, with every industry bigwig there reduced to a supporting player. From several rows away, Shu Ran watched the lazy, distinguished man. His shirt collar was slightly open, revealing faint red marks. She had left them there the night before. Someone finally worked up the courage to ask if he had a girlfriend. The room fell silent. Shen Yu Jing's gaze slowly settled on her. “No.” Shu Ran's hand trembled, spilling a little red wine on her white dress. Then she heard him add, “I only have a wife.” “…” After the event, Shen Yu Jing stepped off the stage and walked through the rows of seats to her. He stopped the man beside her, who was about to offer her his jacket. “Thank you,” he said with a polite smile. “I'm taking my wife to the dressing room.” As the entire room stared in disbelief, Shen Yu Jing led Shu Ran away by the hand. Little did anyone know how long he had been waiting for this moment. I watched the stars across the river of time, and at last, one fell into my arms. *Marriage first, love later + workplace romance *One-sided pursuit; secret love comes true *The leads work in AI development, including multimodal generative AI The Old Engagement, The New Promise Lu Huai Chuan was devastatingly handsome, with a perfect face and figure. He was also the third son of the Lu family, whose business empire spanned the globe. A bona fide heir to a wealthy family, he was the darling of the elders. But he was rebellious and defiant. On the very day he returned to China for Old Master Lu's birthday, he went out clubbing. A friend asked, “Didn't your grandfather arrange a marriage for you? How are you still out partying?” Lu Huai Chuan lit a cigarette, his handsome face hazy behind the smoke, his manner careless and cocky. “What is this, the olden days? Arranged marriages are so old-fashioned! Whoever wants to marry that bookworm can have her. I'm not interested.” Their engagement had been arranged when they were children. He'd only seen her once, when she was born. Then he moved overseas, and he barely remembered her. The few times he heard about her from friends, she was described as a rigid, boring bookworm. The first thing Lu Huai Chuan did after coming home was look for a way to break off the engagement. . Tang Wan Yin came from a family of scholars. The men in her family had been professors for three generations, and she had grown up in a cultured household. Her favorite pastimes were reading, drinking tea, and arranging flowers. She was very unhappy about the fiancé her grandfather had chosen for her. Especially when she heard that he had returned to China and gone clubbing instead of attending Old Master Lu's birthday celebration. Tang Wan Yin looked down on that kind of spoiled playboy even more. She, too, looked for every possible way to break off the engagement. . On Lu Huai Chuan's first day back in China, his friends threw him a welcome-home party. At the party, he spotted a girl. She was lovely as a lotus emerging from the water, spoke gently, had an elegant air, and played the piano beautifully. He fell in love at first sight. Lu Huai Chuan pursued her with everything he had. “Once I break off that arranged engagement, I'll marry you.” Tang Wan Yin smiled. “Sounds good.” But on the day Lu Huai Chuan went to call off the engagement, he saw Tang Wan Yin sitting obediently beside the elders and froze. #Three-year age gap# #Life is a play, and all you need is good acting# #The person I like is the one I want to break off my engagement with# Theme: Become your best self within a marriage