Thirsty for a Crossing on a Spring Night [Marriage Before Love]

Author’s note: This story is revised frequently, up to eight times a day, so it differs greatly from pirated copies! Please support the authorized version! Please add my next book, When the Wind Comes, to your favorites~

[Marriage Before Love] [Sweet Romance]

(A noble young lady and heir to a court-style jade-carving tradition, fallen on hard times × a ruthless, scheming, restrained jewelry mogul)

[1]

Lin Yumo was the adored young lady of the Lin family. She had been beautiful since childhood, with skin as flawless as ice and jade. When she danced ballet, she seemed otherworldly. A renowned beauty in the area, she was also an unattainable flower in everyone’s eyes, a naturally proud and precious peacock.

Everyone thought she was destined to remain forever above the world, untouched by its grime.

Then, in a single day, her family fell into decline and she came crashing down from her lofty perch. The beauty she had once been so proud of became the beginning of all her troubles.

Just as Lin Yumo thought her life couldn’t possibly get any worse, Qi Shaoyan appeared, bathed in light.

Only then did Lin Yumo realize that the aloof, gloomy boy she remembered had grown into the powerful head of the Qi family, the international jewelry group everyone in Jinzhou looked up to.

Qi Shaoyan walked through the crowd straight toward her, who stood there stunned. The corners of his narrow eyes lifted as he seized her pale wrist and pinned her against the wall without giving her a chance to refuse. His deep voice, like that of a sea demon, sounded beside her ear: “Will you marry me, Lin Yumo?”

The abyss she had imagined became the only salvation in her dark life.

[2]

Qi Shaoyan, heir to the Qi International Jewelry Group, was a famous business tycoon and the notorious “Living Yama” of Jinzhou. In business, he was unpredictable, decisive, ruthless, and cold. Countless men and women hoping to marry into a powerful family gave up at the thought of approaching him, too intimidated to even speak.

Reporters in their circles wondered why President Qi always wore a string of precious agarwood Buddhist beads whenever he appeared in public. The beads were engraved with many tiny Sanskrit characters.

Curious paparazzi once even snapped a close-up of Qi Shaoyan’s wrist. Beneath the string of agarwood beads, there seemed to be a black tattoo with a special meaning.

A business mogul with a tattoo? The whole circle erupted, and the discussion showed no sign of dying down.

Gossipmongers claimed that Qi Shaoyan had had a weak heart since childhood, and that the beads were probably a lucky charm he had obtained from Tibetan Buddhism to pray for his health. The tattoo likely had the same meaning.

Then, one day, at a banquet packed with guests, Qi Shaoyan was very drunk. He slowly removed the priceless string of agarwood beads from his wrist and clasped it in his hand. His eyes reddened as he murmured a few baffling words in Sanskrit: “Pincha...”

Someone sharp-eyed noticed that the tattoo exposed on Qi Shaoyan’s wrist was unmistakably a tiny feather. That night, everyone speculated about the woman this jewelry mogul held so dear. Who could have such power as to melt an iceberg?

Then someone in the industry suddenly remembered that Qi Shaoyan had recently defied all opposition to marry the lady into the Qi family: the renowned beauty from a fallen family, whose name seemed to include the character for “feather.”

But no one had ever uncovered the story from their high school days. Lin Yumo had been bright and sunny, adored by everyone, and a true princess on campus.

Back then, Qi Shaoyan had been gloomy and withdrawn, cold and arrogant, a sickly boy who barely registered in anyone’s mind.

One day, the gloomy boy collapsed, but no one dared go near him.

She was the one who ignored his coldness and carefully helped him up.

In that instant, Qi Shaoyan’s world stopped. In all the world, he could see only that ray of pure moonlight.

He had never known moonlight could be so beautiful.

He brought her out of the mire and into the light. From then on, he cherished her in his hands and spoiled her without restraint.

The moon will never fall.

Her loyal knight will defend her radiance with his life.

tips:

1. Marriage before love, a contractual marriage, and the irresistible rule that they’ll come to love it. Secretly in love, and lavishly doted on. Later, the leads will work together to protect and promote traditional culture.

2. The male lead’s secret crush comes true. He falls first, but because of his past, he has an avoidant attachment style, so he shows his affection for the female lead in subtle ways. Neither has been with anyone else.

3. Their contrasting sides are adorable. The female lead seems noble and aloof, but she’s actually a bright, cheerful, sunny girl who is independent and has a mind of her own. The male lead seems ruthless and scheming, but he’s actually hard-mouthed and soft-hearted, says one thing and does another, and is completely devoted to his wife.

(A noble, radiant beauty and heir to a court-style jade-carving tradition × a scheming, ruthless, possessive international jewelry mogul)

Time for a little self-promotion. Please, lovely readers, go add my book to your favorites! Kisses!

Next book: Marriage Moves the Heart, a genius physics professor × a beautiful TV host

Pregnancy before love + marriage before love + four-year age gap + sweet romance

Lu Manman, 28, is a host for the entertainment programs at Jingzhou Television. With a pair of alluring fox eyes, a radiant charm, and talents in both singing and dancing, she is strikingly beautiful and a social butterfly. She has never once thought about getting married.

She had even decided long ago that, before turning thirty, she would have a test-tube baby as soon as she celebrated her twenty-eighth birthday, since she loved children.

But on the day of her twenty-eighth birthday, after throwing a party, she got drunk and was taken to the wrong room by her equally tipsy best friends. They dropped her off in Wen Qi’s room.

Wen Qi, 32, was a physics postdoctoral researcher at MIT, a genius physicist, a loner, and a perfectionist. He lived a regimented life and was in excellent shape. He had just returned from the United States, where he had completed his studies. His only hobby was research.

Wen Qi was exactly the kind of man Lu Manman liked least: stiff, serious, rational, and boring. He was like a black-and-white movie, with no color or vitality, dull and tedious.

Lu Manman was not the kind of woman Wen Qi liked, either. She was lively and carefree, seemingly with boundless energy, like a burning flame.

Mistaking him for the little surprise her best friend had prepared for her, Lu Manman had her way with him. She had to admit that he did have a few qualities worth savoring.

She thought they would never meet again. But a month later, her mother forced her to attend a blind date with a supposedly high-caliber returnee. Lu Manman stared in disbelief at the distinguished-looking Wen Qi sitting across from her.

Her best friend Jiang Ying, who had come along, looked at Wen Qi with shining eyes. “Manman, isn’t he exactly the high-quality genetic material you were looking for? And he’s right here!”

Lu Manman waved her off. “I may want a child, but I’m not that crazy!”

The next day, while filming her show, Lu Manman looked at the director’s receding hairline and unexpectedly vomited. She rushed to the bathroom, and her sense of dread grew stronger by the second.

She took a pregnancy test as quickly as she could and let out a cry of shock. Two red lines stared back at her, a stark reminder that this good genetic material had now arrived on her doorstep all by itself! She had no choice but to take him!

So Lu Manman added Wen Qi back on WeChat. They had met only once before and had deleted each other’s contact information. She informed him of the unexpected situation in as rational a tone as she could manage.

He didn’t reply at all.

Half an hour later, someone knocked at Lu Manman’s door. She opened it to find Wen Qi’s tall figure standing in front of her, his forehead still glistening with sweat he hadn’t had time to wipe away.

Before Lu Manman could ask anything, he took her by the wrist and led her out.

“Where are we going?”

“To get our marriage license!”

Bonus scene 1

At an International Physics Society (IOP) conference, Wen Qi stood in the research institute in a sharply tailored suit, immaculate as ever, speaking fluently to leading physicists from around the world.

Suddenly, a private video call from a family member came through. On the screen appeared Lu Manman in a qipao, her eyes seductively alluring. “Honey, when are you coming home? I’ll be waiting for you~”

Everyone stared, dumbfounded. Who would have guessed that the unruly, withdrawn genius Professor Wen was so adventurous in private?

Bonus scene 2

After the meeting, Lu Manman grabbed her bag and hurried out of the office. Just as she stepped through the door, the balding director called after her.

“Manman, you know business has been bad at the TV station lately. If you could do a little networking and get some big names in the field to come in for interviews, like Jingzhou’s leading academics or Professor Wen from aerospace, our channel might have a chance...”

“Professor Wen...?” Lu Manman pulled back her right foot and thought, This should be easy!

When Lu Manman got home, she hadn’t even hung up her bag yet.

The tall man in the kitchen, wearing an apron, had already carried out her favorite braised pork ribs. He glanced at her with his narrow eyes and said in a calm, deep voice, “You’re home? Wash your hands and get ready to eat.”

Lu Manman came up with an idea. She dropped her bag on the floor and clutched her stomach, crying out, “Oh! Little Wen kicked me again. He says he wants to hear his dad give an interview at the TV station, for his prenatal education...”

Professor Wen immediately set down the steaming bowl and strode over to her. His hands, normally used only for calculating research data, lifted her effortlessly from the floor. “Set a time. Whatever you say...”

Theme: When you’re surrounded by darkness, don’t forget to look back and find me...