The Cherry Gentleman

Zhong Yaxin was Xie Huaicheng's woman in Dongzhu City.

On her wedding day...

She and her husband, Xie Huaicheng, paid their respects to their ancestors in a splendid ancestral hall filled with sandalwood incense.

The heavy gilded doors swung open, and black-clad bodyguards filed in, lining up in two rows.

Shen Yinan wore a perfectly tailored lead-gray suit and held a black-and-gold dragon cane. He strolled slowly up to the newlyweds.

At the time, Xie Huaicheng had an arm around his wife's waist as he said, "Yaxin, this is Master Nan."

Shen Yinan had a pair of mismatched eyes. He looked down at her, his gaze dangerous and amused.

He called her, "Sister-in-law."

That was also the day Zhong Yaxin met the infamous Master Nan of Dongzhu City, the ruthless man everyone talked about, the person Xie Huaicheng feared most but couldn't touch.

He was also the difficult target she had been tasked with approaching and winning over.

Zhong Yaxin had a secret quirk: a craving for money.

She needed the sense of satisfaction and security that came from having lots of money in her bank account. Otherwise, she'd get depressed, anxious, and restless.

Unfortunately, she wasn't very bright and couldn't make a fortune. On top of that, she had a stunning face that practically screamed ambition and aggression.

Everyone thought she was shrewd, including Xie Huaicheng.

So...

One sunny day, Xie Huaicheng found her and promised her more money than she could count, on two conditions.

1. Pretend to be married to him.

2. Approach and win over Shen Yinan.

Zhong Yaxin happily agreed, transforming into his sister-in-law.

Whatever she wanted, she got.

Shen Yinan, respectfully known to the world as Master Nan, appeared to be the Xie family's second-in-command, but was actually the one who called all the shots.

On the day of the ancestral rites, he met Xie Huaicheng's new wife:

That pretty little thing who had nothing but her looks and a head full of air.

He saw through it but said nothing, letting Zhong Yaxin rack her brains, tear her hair out, and try every way she could think of to approach and win him over.

Of course, even fishing for a stupid fish requires bait, right?

Until...

Xie Huaicheng was defeated and could no longer pay Zhong Yaxin to win Shen Yinan over. Naturally, their fake marriage fell apart too.

Zhong Yaxin, who had already been devoured by Shen Yinan until not a bone remained, wiped away her tears as she sobbed:

"I only wanted money. Why is that so hard?!"

"I even got myself tangled up in this, sob sob."

Shen Yinan embraced her from behind. His black shirt hung open, revealing the lean, firm lines of his chest and the suggestive scratch marks on his neck.

He clasped her fingers and brought them to his lips, lowering his head to kiss them one by one. "Just stay with me, sweetheart. I'll make you the boss, and I promise you'll have more money than you can spend."

Later...

Zhong Yaxin really did take the untouchable position of boss.

And Shen Yinan, the renowned Master Nan of Dongzhu City, stood by her side as her most loyal enforcer.

[Note: The male lead is a legitimate businessman. His main business is foreign trade, including imports, exports, and raw-material processing. In China, he is involved in jewelry, real estate, watches, and more.]

Coming soon in my author page: "Delusional Devotion"

Blurb:

That day, Lan Jia went to a temple to burn incense and pray.

Amid the throngs of worshippers, she and her older sister were separated.

Prayer flags fluttered, sutras were chanted, and yellow paper burned in the blazing fire inside the incense burner, turning to ash and choking the nose and mouth.

Lan Jia covered her nose with a handkerchief and descended the steps. In her hurried stride, she bumped into someone.

The silk handkerchief embroidered with tiny characters drifted down.

Then a long-fingered hand caught it.

"Take it. Don't drop it again."

The man's eyes were deep, his manner gentle and courteous.

Lan Jia stared at him in a daze and thanked him.

Their brief encounter ended, and at sunset, Lan Jia left with her sister.

At dawn the drums sounded and at dusk the bells rang, while rows of lamps before the Buddha lit up.

Amid the swirling incense, she saw the man standing tall and straight.

He stood in prayer, yet opened his eyes and desecrated the Buddha with his gaze.

Lan Jia's eyes lingered on him, but her sister pulled her away.

"He's no good. He'll go to the eighteenth level of hell, and he'll die a horrible death!"

"A-Jia, don't look at him. He's bad luck!"

Lan Jia didn't understand. She looked back once more, and this time her gaze met his across the air between them.

The refined man was watching her and nodded gently.

*

Yi Yun set his sights on Lan Jia.

Later, she became his wife as a matter of course.

Even though Lan Jia wasn't willing.

Even though their relationship had no one's blessing.

It didn't matter.

He had never been a gentleman. He was a thug who stopped at nothing.

Coming soon in my author page: "A Secret About Me"

Blurb:

"Shh."

"Do you know my secret?"

"I'll tell you... I'm sick, a severe fantasizer, and desperate to be saved, so..."

"I made up my own Prince Charming!"

*

When Ye Tao feels bad, she lies on the noodle shop table and plays with a divination cup.

This time she said, "If I die, will a Prince Charming come save me?"

Just then, a very handsome man with pale skin, wearing a black baseball cap, a black T-shirt, and long pants, walked into the cramped, run-down shop.

He said, "Boss, one bowl of plain noodle soup."

Theme: Find the right attitude toward money. Don't be misled, and stay true to yourself.