A Life Adrift [Rekindled Love]

Second Chance Romance | Some Coercion | Powerful Man Loses His Cool | Old Flame Rekindled | 11-Year Age Gap | One True Pairing

Powerful and influential man x female college student | Master strategist x clear-headed and independent woman

[One Glance, Unforgettable; From Then On, Her Youth Turned Her Life Upside Down]

When Jiang Wenqiu was little, her volunteer teacher asked her, "What do you dream of becoming?"

Sitting atop a tall mountain, Jiang Wenqiu gazed at the endless range before her. She thought of the red walls and golden roofs in her textbook, the heart of her homeland.

It took Jiang Wenqiu twenty years to make her way from a mountain village to Beijing.

She met Yin Dong in the autumn of her second year in Beijing.

She had just finished class and was heading to her part-time job when someone called out, "Qiuqiu!"

A black car was parked beneath a ginkgo tree. Her roommate waved to her from beside it. "Where are you going? I can give you a ride!"

A man nearby had just finished a phone call and was walking back. Her roommate hurriedly introduced him: "This is my uncle!"

Jiang Wenqiu looked over and smiled politely. "Hello."

He smiled back. "Get in."

She took the front passenger seat.

Unable to help herself, she stole glances at him in the rearview mirror.

Beijing was so vast.

She had never met a man like him before.

He was refined and gracious, a man of wealth and privilege. Even as he smiled, there was an unreachable distance about him.

Just like autumn in Beijing.

Gentle, yet profound and aloof.

Just as she was lost in thought, the man in the back, who had been looking at his phone, suddenly raised his eyes.

Their gazes met in the rearview mirror, catching them both by surprise.

From the beginning, Yin Dong had laid down the rules for their relationship.

No feelings. Each of them got what they wanted.

Jiang Wenqiu had always known what she wanted and what kind of life she was pursuing.

So she willingly stayed with Yin Dong for two years, without a name or a promise.

She might not have contributed much, but she had certainly done her part diligently.

Yet the days and nights they spent together made her greedier. She wanted more than prospects and money; she even foolishly wanted his heart.

Or perhaps she was the one who had fallen first.

In the midst of one passionate encounter, she wrapped her arms around his neck and blurted out, unable to stop herself, "Yin Dong, I love you."

He paused. He quietly looked at her for a moment, then merely wiped the sweat from her temple, his voice as gentle as ever. "Qiuqiu, you've broken the rules."

The day she drew a line between them, she got dressed and climbed out of bed. After one last look at the red walls and golden roofs in the distance, she softly made her final request: "I want to study in New York."

He was silent for a long time. He did not try to stop her. He only said, "All right."

The day she left Beijing, it was autumn again.

Like a withered, lonely leaf, she flew away to far-off New York.

After a long time, she finally decided to start over.

A few days before her wedding, her fiance rang her doorbell.

But no one came to open the door.

He had no idea that, just on the other side, Jiang Wenqiu was pinned to the sofa with nowhere to escape, enduring the man's forceful kisses as she frantically pushed against his chest, trying to get away.

"You're going to marry him?" Yin Dong restrained her restless hands.

Her eyes were defiant.

"Qiuqiu." Yin Dong gripped her waist and moved with greater force. Even his usually composed voice sounded shaken. "Then what am I to you?"

Neither the male nor female lead is a saint.

2025.10.23

Theme: Believe in love.