A Newlywed’s Promise

My next novel is Soft Crimson. Please add it to your reading list. When Ji Xi returned to the country, Shu Shiran was engaged to someone else the first time she met him at a party. That night, he was the center of attention. Everyone talked about him and watched him, and women lined up one after another to offer him drinks. He handled them with effortless ease and didn't drink a single one. A friend said, "A man like him looks impossible to handle." Shu Shiran couldn't agree more. Before long, she found herself in a crisis and didn't want to turn to her family. Her fiance chose that moment to break up with her, too. It was a rainy night. She wandered down the road, dazed and lost. She had never been so miserable. A car pulled up beside her. The window rolled down, revealing a handsome, pale face. She tried to hide how wretched she looked, standing ramrod straight in the rain. "What a coincidence," she said coolly. Ji Xi watched her for a few seconds before speaking. He was languid and carefree, still looking like a man who was hard to handle. "I can help you, on the condition that you marry me." After her shock and embarrassment, she climbed into his car, soaked through. In Shu Shiran's eyes, she needed Ji Xi's help to get through her troubles, while he needed to marry her to make his way back into the highest circles of society. They were partners, bound together more tightly than anyone. What she didn't know was that, on that rainy night, Ji Xi finally plucked the rose he'd long admired from afar as a boy. Old money x new money Elegant, proud heiress x cool, roguish dealmaker The heroine falls in love after marriage; the hero's unrequited love finally comes true 2022.10.22 Soft Crimson: six-year age gap / the one in power lowers his head The young master of the Zhan family in Beicheng pulled every string he could to get the pop idol Zhou Ruanhong, his goddess, to attend his birthday party. But on the day of the party, before he could even speak to her, he saw his younger uncle pull her into a room. He waited for ages before the two finally came out. Their clothes were rumpled, and Zhou Ruanhong's lipstick was smeared. He had always been afraid of this uncle, but he couldn't bear to let him steal the girl without a fight. After thinking it over, he decided to reason with him. "Uncle, I invited her. Can't we agree on who got here first?" Cen Sui's shirt still had lipstick on it. His voice was low and cold. "She was with me when she was eighteen. I taught her to drink, and I was there the first time she competed. And you want to talk to me about who got here first?" When they parted all those years ago, rain fell outside as the last of their tenderness faded inside the room. Cen Sui paused, then let go of her and leaned lazily against the headboard. He showed no sign of displeasure. His voice was still hoarse. "Have you made up your mind? There aren't many decent people in that industry. Don't come crying back to me later." Her nightgown covered Zhou Ruanhong's straight back as she said goodbye. "I won't. Thank you for taking care of me all this time." Later, every new song she released was a bigger hit than the last. She became a new-generation pop queen, with countless fans and a dazzling career. Just as she'd promised, she never came back to him. Theme: A sincere heart deserves a sincere heart.