* Cool and aloof × sweet on the outside, cunning within
* Internet up-and-comer × obscure manga artist / strangers-to-lovers, marriage first
Chu Li and Pei Lin first met in a beautifully decorated Western restaurant.
She was there for a matchmaking date.
So was he.
As the man across from her rambled on about himself until her ears were practically calloused, Chu Li looked up and suddenly met the gaze of the man at the next table.
The second time they met, Chu Li set aside two hours to go with him to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get their marriage license.
When she posted a photo of the certificate to her social media, her friends all asked who she'd married.
Chu Li stammered. She and Pei Lin had agreed it was just a business arrangement, so she vaguely said he was an ordinary guy.
Everyone understood. He must be a man she couldn't exactly brag about.
Near the end of spring, Chu Li went to the publishing company she was working with to sign the title pages of her new book. While chatting with her editor in the break room, a sharply dressed man suddenly emerged from the conference room.
Her editor nearly spilled a cup of coffee in fright, then complained to Chu Li that the head of the group had suddenly decided to inspect the place today for some reason, and they were all too scared to even speak loudly.
Afterward, the editor offered to drive Chu Li home.
Chu Li was about to decline when she looked up and saw the very man they'd just been complaining about, standing coolly and elegantly by the door with a hand in his pocket.
Pei Lin raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Chu Li with casual indifference.
"Are you done? Can we go celebrate our wedding anniversary now?"
"An unknown spring spreads through the valley."
* An urban romance fairy tale
* Blurb revised on 2025/12/18
Theme: Live well
