Luring with Poison

[Complete. Chapters 103 onward are free bonus extras. My next novel, "A Moonlit Affair Falls Apart," features a ruthless pursuit and stealing someone else's partner. Please add it to your library.]

[Blurb]

* An ambitious actress x a refined scoundrel and powerful Beijing elite

* Mature leads / status gap / six-year age gap / happy ending

When Han Rao was nineteen, she shot to fame overnight. People in the industry called her an exceptionally gifted actress.

She thought her career would surely take off, but three months later, she was blacklisted.

They said she'd offended the powerful people backing her, and they'd crushed her without leaving a trace.

Four years later, Han Rao came to terms with things. At her agent's urging, she went to a business dinner and played nice with a bunch of vile men.

That night, she got dead drunk. As she left the dinner, she pointed at Zhao Jichuan and cursed him out.

Zhao Jichuan stubbed out his cigarette and, unusually patient, patted her cheek. "Did I do something to you?"

Han Rao shot him a scornful look. "I'm damn jealous of rich people. Happy now?"

Zhao Jichuan laughed at her insult. In all his years, no one had ever treated him like that.

That night, Zhao Jichuan took Han Rao back to his hotel.

He said, "Stay with me, and I'll make you a star again."

-

Han Rao was perfectly clear-headed about why she stayed by Zhao Jichuan's side: there was something in it for her.

She was sick of living through days without any acting roles. She needed connections and money, and she was desperate to make a comeback.

He, meanwhile, needed a beautiful woman and a compatible partner.

The woman was obedient to his face, but untamable beneath the surface.

For three years, they traded what the other needed. It was a simple, clean arrangement.

But Han Rao had the miserable realization that she seemed to have fallen in love with him.

And he was gradually growing cold and distant toward her.

After asking around, she found out that he'd recently become entangled with a troublesome woman his family had arranged for him to meet.

So the moment their contract expired, Han Rao walked away and ended things between them. No matter what he did to make her stay, she didn't waver.

Zhao Jichuan realized too late that she'd found someone new. Rumors of her new relationship were spreading all over the internet, and the man was an actor she'd worked with on her previous show.

Zhao Jichuan couldn't understand why she had no feelings for him, and why three years together hadn't made her fall for him just because they'd acted together.

At a wrap party, he cornered her, furious. "You're ruthless."

-

They thought they had gone their separate ways for good, until one day Han Rao became embroiled in a scandal. Malicious comments came at her from every direction online.

Looking at the half-true, half-false claims on her phone, she said to him with a self-deprecating smile, "What they're saying is true too. We weren't exactly innocent."

Zhao Jichuan held her tenderly in his arms. "Let's get married."

The people online waiting for a show never got a clarification or a lawyer's letter. Instead, they got a marriage certificate, and the rumors were disproved without a word.

Only then did she realize that he truly loved her.

"How can it not be love when two polished egoists are willing to bind themselves to each other through marriage?"

Reader Advisory:

1. Mature leads, both with past relationships / happy ending

2. Personal preferences, lots of potential trigger points. Read with care.

[Upcoming Novel Blurb] "A Moonlit Affair Falls Apart"

*A refined scoundrel and powerful Beijing investor x a laid-back actress

* Ruthless pursuit, stealing someone else's partner / he pursues her / eight-year age gap

Zhao Jinhuan first met Chen Gubei at her boyfriend's company gala.

That day, she braved the cold to pick her boyfriend up and take him home.

Her boyfriend was dead drunk and unsteady on his feet. Chen Gubei kindly helped her support him.

Their fingertips touched, and Zhao Jinhuan shivered before pulling her hand back awkwardly.

She meant to thank him politely, but he reminded her in a low voice, "You're young. Keep your eyes open."

Zhao Jinhuan didn't understand what he meant.

She never expected that from their first meeting, she had already fallen into a trap he'd carefully laid.

Later, Chen Gubei helped Zhao Jinhuan out of a serious bind.

She and her boyfriend went to his home together to thank him.

Chen Gubei deliberately sent her boyfriend away, then said lazily, "I don't want any of that stuff. I only want you."

Zhao Jinhuan said angrily, "Don't forget, I have a boyfriend!"

Chen Gubei smiled. "Then break up with him."

-

Chen Gubei ignored morality, stopped at nothing, and cornered Zhao Jinhuan at every turn until he got her.

He doted on her, spent money and resources to promote her, only to discover that she was an ungrateful little white-eyed wolf who would never be tamed.

On the day Zhao Jinhuan won the Best Newcomer Award, Chen Gubei prepared a candlelit dinner.

Instead, that night, he was told she wanted to break up.

"I'm your boyfriend," he reminded her.

Zhao Jinhuan repeated his own words back to him. "You said that once we broke up, you wouldn't be my boyfriend anymore."

Chen Gubei laughed in exasperation, then forcefully kissed her. His scorching breath fell across her face. "Do you really feel nothing for me?"

"Nothing. I didn't like you at first, and you know that."

Chen Gubei looked up at her. "So you mean you like me now?"

Theme: Live well