[This completed story can no longer be unlocked, sorry]
Story blurb:
A heroine who is meek and insecure at first, then comes to see things clearly, vs. a hero who is scheming and rebellious at first, then becomes consumed by fear of losing her
Born into poverty, Zhu Ying should have been worlds apart from Xu Yinfeng, the young heir of a wealthy family in Hong Kong City. They should never have crossed paths.
But after her father saved Mr. Xu's life, she was brought to Hong Kong City, where she and Xu Yinfeng came to know each other.
Xu Yinfeng, the only son of the Xu family, stands at the very top of the social pyramid. He is gentle as jade, a refined gentleman, a noble bright moon in the distant sky.
Only Zhu Ying has glimpsed the tattoo on his waist and abdomen, and knows that his genteel manner is only a facade. In private, he is unconventional, wild, and cold-hearted.
She knows the two of them have no future, yet her feelings grow wildly like weeds in a corner. She carefully plays the role of his girlfriend without a title, his lover kept out of sight.
When Xu Yinfeng was sixteen, a country girl came to live at his home. Her eyes were dewy, like a little rabbit easily startled.
Zhu Ying gave him a complete and pure love, without holding anything back. He, however, was infatuated only with their secret romance, a love they could never make public because of the gap between their families.
But on the day Zhu Ying was caught up in a scandal, the man merely leaned against the sofa, drinking. Looking weary, he glanced up at her and smiled. "I'm tired of playing with you."
Not long afterward, she saw the news that Xu Yinfeng was engaged to the daughter of a wealthy family of equal standing.
Zhu Ying finally came to her senses. One night, she disappeared from Hong Kong City for good.
They met again two years later. Xu Yinfeng watched her fall into another man's arms, the two of them close and intimate. Zhu Ying smiled brightly, a ring already on the middle finger of her left hand.
Xu Yinfeng lowered his eyes, his heart aching as if cut by a knife. "Zhu Ying, I was wrong. Come home with me."
Zhu Ying smiled as radiantly as ever, but her eyes were distant and cold. "Mr. Xu, you're in my past now."
But she was the cinnabar mark in his heart, the bright moon in the distant sky. For the rest of his life, that would never change, not even in death.
Reading guide:
Both leads are each other's first and only partners; both are each other's first love. The story is a slow burn. Readers who want to get to the hero's regret and redemption sooner can skip the school arc and go straight to their adult years.
The hero is rebellious at first. Neither lead is a perfect person. Both engagements are smokescreens, and the hero loves only the heroine.
Hong Kong City and Qinzhou are fictional settings. Both leads go through heartbreak. There is no change of male lead. The story explains all the major conflicts.
Cover artist: Xiaoxiao Fu, from Xiaohongshu
Please add my new story, The Hunt, to your reading list!
A nontraditional chase-your-wife-to-the-crematorium story / real and fake heiresses / coercive possession
A ruthless, refined scion of a wealthy family x a sweet, quiet, clear-headed and clever fake heiress
On a street in Paris, Xin Rui turned back and smiled at Lian Che, whom she was meeting for the first time. At her side was the fiancé she had been in love with for five years, and a silver diamond ring gleamed on the ring finger of her left hand.
Before her gaze drifted his way, Lian Che had already been staring at her intently and without restraint for three minutes.
Throughout those three minutes, reason and desire tore through Lian Che's mind in a frenzy.
In late autumn, before the mist had fully lifted, Lian Che realized that he had to have this woman.
For this passionate rose, he used every means at his disposal and stopped at nothing.
*
Three years together were enough for Xin Rui to see through Lian Che.
Beneath his gentle, distinguished exterior lay a restless ambition and a deeply calculating nature.
One day, in their room, she gathered her courage and asked him, "Our contract ends at the end of next month. Will you let me go?"
In the lamplight, the man's features were sharply defined. He smiled, but his eyes held a cold distance that kept everyone at arm's length.
Smiling, he pulled her onto his lap and forced her to sit down. One hand lifted her chin, and his voice dropped low.
"Someone like me wouldn't surprise you by breaking a contract, would I?"
*
On her closest attempt to escape, at the very last moment, she watched helplessly as his men suddenly appeared and surrounded the entire car.
Xin Rui curled up beside the seat, his voice ringing in her ears like a demon's.
"Xin Rui, if I were you, I wouldn't run."
*
In Lian Che's eyes, Xin Rui was naive and ridiculous, hypocritical and greedy, foolish and cowardly.
He had made it clear that he controlled how things between them would end, and that the timing depended entirely on his mood.
Later, he nearly lost his life for this woman, only to receive a faint, cold smile from her.
So he added another description of Xin Rui to his list: treacherous and ungrateful, utterly without humanity.
Later still, everyone believed that Lian Che would always hold the upper hand in their relationship, unruffled and effortlessly in control.
Only Xin Rui knew that every night he would willingly enter the cramped prison cell, put on the chains himself, and kneel before her.
"Xin Rui, please play with me. Please."
In the end, Lian Che realized that he had fallen into a trap laid long ago, and the hunter was none other than his "prey."
#A story about a little white rabbit turning the tables on a big bad wolf#
Reading guide:
The heroine has a former partner; the hero does not.
Both the hero and heroine have flaws, and neither is a perfect person.
This is not a typical chase-your-wife-to-the-crematorium story. The heroine and hero both go through painful ordeals, and there is some mild coercion.
Romance and plot are equally important.
It may have old-fashioned melodramatic tropes, so readers who dislike this kind of story should proceed with caution.
Hong Kong City and Qinzhou are fictional cities.
Theme: Love breaks down barriers of family status
