Bow Down and Submit

1.

Liang Zhaoxi never expected to be pursued by Meng Xiao, the Meng family's notorious young master, who insisted on marrying her.

Meng Xiao was a notorious playboy, so of course Liang Zhaoxi wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. But her family's business was struggling and needed help, so her elders pressured her to form a marriage alliance with the Meng family.

To get away from Meng Xiao, Liang Zhaoxi decisively set her sights on the one person he feared most:

The Meng family's legendary, reclusive, cold-hearted, ruthless head, whom Meng Xiao respectfully called his uncle, Meng Shenting.

Only by winning over this godlike uncle, whose difficulty level was ten stars, might she have a chance to escape the Meng family.

A few days later, at the Meng family's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Liang Zhaoxi deliberately stayed by Meng Xiao's side and let him bring her into the house to meet his uncle.

In an elegant hall scented with a faint trace of sandalwood, Liang Zhaoxi passed a wooden screen and happened to meet the man's dark gaze.

Cool and keen, it seemed to see right through her.

Even Liang Zhaoxi, who was always composed, couldn't help sweating in her palms.

With an impossibly handsome young uncle like this, she was ready to take the risk, no matter how dangerous he was.

2.

Avoiding Meng Xiao, Liang Zhaoxi tried every way she could to deliberately flirt with the unreachable Meng Shenting.

She watched this untouchable man descend from his lofty pedestal for her, step by step, until an uncontrollable look of desire tinged his eyes.

Then one day, the hall was packed with people and Meng Xiao was right in the middle of the crowd. Only a few steps away, in a shadowed corner, Meng Shenting lost control and gripped her by the throat.

He leaned against her ear and asked, "What is it you really want?"

Liang Zhaoxi smiled sweetly. "You."

Not long after, an unbelievable rumor spread through their social circle.

Meng Shenting, the head of the Meng family, who had always kept his distance from women, was openly competing with his nephew for the same woman and making her his own.

3.

Liang Zhaoxi successfully escaped the scumbag's pursuit and planned to find an opportunity to end things with Meng Shenting and regain her freedom.

Mr. Meng was conceited and far too levelheaded to get lost in romance. She was only a passing novelty to him, so they would soon break up without a hitch, saving her further trouble.

Liang Zhaoxi kept waiting and waiting to be dumped, only to realize that Meng Shenting's possessiveness had completely escaped her control.

At last, she panicked and plotted her escape.

When Liang Zhaoxi was cornered at the airport, Meng Shenting's clothes were rumpled. He clutched her tightly, and blood seeping from the wounds on his hand stained her.

He stared straight into her eyes and asked, "Zhaozhao, you don't want me anymore?"

At last, she understood. Her schemes had never escaped Meng Shenting's notice. He had willingly walked into her trap, all to win a little of her genuine affection.

[She pulls the aloof flower down from his pedestal, sullies him with love, then wants to abandon him, never realizing that from the moment they first met, he had already decided to steal her away]

1. A gorgeous, calculating flirt who pretends to be insincere × a fatherly big shot with a maximum possessive streak

2. Size difference | age gap, a powerful older man whose long-dormant passion catches fire and burns beyond control.

3. Of course, the male lead loves her more.

Coming next:

How Do I Deal With My Boyfriend's Jealousy?

At Qing University’s welcome gala, the enormous auditorium was packed. Student council president Xie Yubai stood beneath the spotlight, the undisputed representative of the entire student body.

What should have been a solemn, dull segment had, thanks to the figure onstage, become a wildly popular yet restrained fan meet-and-greet.

It was wild because the audience's gazes were scorching. It was restrained because Xie Yubai gave off such a strong sense of distance. The light fell on his immaculate white shirt with a cool sheen, making his handsome face look even more dignified and aloof, almost too sacred to touch.

A face straight out of a comic, a top student, capable, from a good family, abstinent and hard to woo, as if he belonged to another world.

In the sea of dark heads in the audience, only Jiang Zhimian sat in an inconspicuous corner, her eyes not on him.

Her roommate leaned over and whispered to her, "I used to think that since you're so sweet-looking, if you tried hard to pursue Xie Yubai, you might have a chance. You could make our Dorm 306 proud. But... I heard Xie Yubai once said the thing he dislikes most is sweet girls?!"

On her other side, a student council department head whom Jiang Zhimian had turned down leaned over and taunted her sourly. "Don't bother setting your sights on Xie Yubai. Plenty of girls have their eyes on the president. What makes you think you'd stand a chance? You could try as hard as you like, but to him you're just some nobody."

At that very moment, the cool voice speaking onstage abruptly fell silent, and the auditorium went completely still.

Alarm bells went off in Jiang Zhimian's head. With no time to argue, she quickly turned and gave both her roommate and the jerk from the student council a standard, peacekeeping smile.

As soon as the gala was declared open, Jiang Zhimian hurried out to get some air.

She had just reached a dim corner with few people around when a long-fingered hand seized her and dragged her into the darkness.

The restrained, barely hoarse voice was right beside her. It was a stark contrast to the student council president who had kept everyone at arm's length in the auditorium, yet it was unmistakably the same person.

He held her tightly, his hot, damp breath invading her space as he murmured with a gentle, almost sick tenderness, "You won't make our relationship public, but you still smile at other people in front of me. Mianmian, how can you treat me like this?"

#So this is actually a story about the heroine's secret crush#

#She thought she had caught the attention of a white crane, but ended up keeping a venomous snake in a cage, with tears in her eyes#

[An unconventional secret crush / mutual devotion]

"I'm rational, clear-headed, have well-defined boundaries, and have few desires. I'm a normal person," Xie Yubai stated calmly. "Except when it comes to her."

When it came to her, he went from casual indifference to being unable to extricate himself. He was irrational, lost his clarity, let his boundaries crumble, and felt his desires boil over.

Theme: Take control of your own destiny.