Return to the Mist

[The story is complete. Please give it a five-star rating, dear readers. The text was revised during serialization, so pirated copies are incomplete. I am not responsible for any pirated versions. My upcoming novel, Jingzhe, is in my author profile. Please tap to bookmark it. Weibo: Qing Chi Ya.]

When they were young.

Xie Huaijing and Chi Wu were the two most eye-catching students on campus, yet they were completely different.

Xie Huaijing was a born winner, wild and carefree, moving through a crowd of admirers without ever getting attached. He was openly a playboy.

Chi Wu was reserved and quiet, and had been top of her major year after year. She was the undisputed academic star of the law department.

The two were complete opposites with no connection to each other, until they suddenly got together without warning.

Rumors flew everywhere.

"Even the law department's belle has fallen for him. Wow."

"How many days do you think Chi Wu can last as his girlfriend?"

Everyone waited to see when they would break up. No one expected them to stay together for two years.

Just as people were praising the reformed playboy, the two broke up without warning once again.

And Chi Wu was the one who dumped Xie Huaijing.

-

They met again at the negotiating table.

By then, Xie Huaijing had taken control of the Xie family. He was a hotshot tech entrepreneur in Beijing, calculating and ruthless.

With a cigarette between his lips, he looked at Chi Wu coldly. "I told you, don't let me see you again."

On a rainy night, Chi Wu stood holding an umbrella. "Xie Huaijing."

The man, who had looked furious just moments earlier, gently lifted her into his arms and couldn't help swearing. "Chi Wu, I'm just a damn dog you raised."

All she had to do was call, and he couldn't wait to come wagging his tail.

-

In everyone's eyes, Xie Huaijing had won at life. He came from a wealthy family and was happily in love with Chi Wu, the renowned lawyer.

But no one knew that night after night, he woke from dreams of Chi Wu leaving him. His hands trembling, he would carefully pull her into his arms to make sure she was still beside him.

Until one afternoon, while looking for a document, Xie Huaijing found a yellowed photograph in a drawer.

++++Thirteen-year-old him stood beneath the eaves, his face bruised.

On the back of the photo was a sentence.

+++[Xie Huaijing, don't worry. Life may not love you, but I do.]

So, all those years when he had no idea, his wife had loved him.

Note: The male lead only pretends to be a playboy; he's actually devoted. His other girlfriends were only girlfriends in name, with no intimate contact. Both leads are each other's first and only, and neither was involved with anyone else emotionally or physically while they were together or after they broke up.

2. All legal and technological details in the story are based on research and online sources. Please gently point out any errors.

3. All coincidences serve the plot. The author's writing is improving. Please don't offer writing advice. If you don't enjoy it, stop reading in time; no need to tell me you're dropping it.

4. The leads aren't perfect and have their flaws. The story is a slow burn focused on growth. Some views in the story don't represent the author's own, so please don't take them out of context.

Upcoming novel: Jingzhe. Please bookmark it.

Cool and resilient VS carefree and headstrong

[From college to the city, a second-chance romance.]

At university, Zhou Shubei and Jian Li were complete opposites.

One was bold and flamboyant, surrounded by admirers, a true born winner. The other was cool and quiet, keeping to herself and top of her year.

Zhou Shubei shone on the basketball court and had admirers flocking to him. Jian Li read book after book in the library, filling her notes with highlights.

He was arrogant and carefree; she followed the rules.

Until one day

Someone noticed Zhou Shubei showing up repeatedly outside the women's dormitory. When someone flirted with him, he casually showed off the hickey on his neck, looking languid and smug. "Sorry, I've got a girlfriend."

Everyone teased them about their relationship, sure that Zhou Shubei would dump Jian Li as soon as the novelty wore off.

Until one day, at a party, Zhou Shubei went out to pick someone up and came back drenched, his face full of fury. But Jian Li never showed up.

Someone asked him about it. Zhou Shubei had been staring at his phone in silence, but he laughed bitterly. "She's not coming."

"She dumped me."

They met again.

It was seven years after their breakup. After an autumn rainstorm, Jian Li saw Zhou Shubei at the police station.

Zhou Shubei stood in her way and sneered. "What, did you already spend that million you got for selling me back then?"

Jian Li thought the two of them had long since reached the end of their story.

But later on.

Zhou Shubei pinned her against the wall and kissed her roughly, possessively. "Either open the door and I'll tell him I'm the man you've been keeping since college, or you make him leave right now."

On the other side of the wall was her blind date.

Later still.

During an interview, a reporter asked Zhou Shubei why he'd chosen Jian Li again. Wasn't he afraid of history repeating itself?

Zhou Shubei rubbed his wedding band. "I'm only afraid she won't want anything from me."

[I don't fear what she might want. I only fear that I'll have everything ready, and she'll want nothing at all. - Zhou Shubei]

Theme: Learn to love.