Waiting for the Summer Solstice

Coming soon: the super-sweet Port City Rose [Marriage Before Love]. Please add it to your reading list!

Blurb:

By the river in the early hours of the morning, Xia Zhi lit a sparkler.

Its silver stream of cold fire made her face look even more ethereal.

Jiang Moye arrived, his voice calm and quiet. "Xia Zhi, there's something I want to talk to you about."

The camping lantern behind him clearly outlined his tall figure and striking profile.

Most striking of all were his alluring eyes, tinged with the scent of alcohol, more captivating than a black hole.

Xia Zhi had fallen into those eyes in her second year of high school and never found her way out.

After five years of secretly loving him, she wouldn't have made the first move if she hadn't been short on money. She ended up losing control completely and becoming his contracted lover.

Only then, she still didn't know that there was someone in his heart who was coming back to the country next week.

She walked over, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rose on tiptoe to bring her bright red lips close to his chin.

"Want to go to the car?"

She knew what he was obsessed with. This was her last attempt.

But after a long while, he still pushed her hand away.

"I understand." Xia Zhi gave him a smile as dazzling as fireworks. "I hope you two will be happy."

*

Everyone in Haicheng's high society thought that Jiang Moye, president of Jiang Hai Group, would be tamed by a little wildcat. After all, he had once been so absorbed in her that he didn't leave her home for three days and three nights.

But when Jiang Moye attended a society banquet with his beloved Ji, people decided they were the perfect match after all.

Jiang Moye himself thought Xia Zhi was nothing more than a passing view along the road.

And yet...

Housekeeper: "You and Miss Xia used to paint in the studio all the time. You said not to clean it. May I go in and tidy up now?"

Jiang Moye's heart plummeted like a drop tower.

Driver: "I found an earring in the back seat. It looks like Miss Xia's. Should I return it to her?"

The sharp stud pierced Jiang Moye's heart like a thorn, and the pain made time stand still.

Butler: "Young Master, Miss Ji says she'll come by this afternoon. The room where Miss Xia used to stay, and all those... Ahem, should I..."

Jiang Moye's throat moved, and his voice came out hoarse. "Don't touch anything. Not a single strand of hair!"

When Xia Zhi returned after a long disappearance with an exhibition of paper-cutting art, accompanied by a handsome new investor who was every bit a national dream husband, people saw that Jiang Moye was green with envy.

Looking through the window of your soul, I heard my name ringing out from that boundless swell. From Ji Xian's The City on Fire

Please add the super-sweet Port City Rose to your reading list!

When Jiang Yiyu was four, she wore a padded jacket with big flowers and a runny nose as her elders led her over to Xie Zining. He was only a few years older than her, but he was already wearing a little suit and leather shoes, his face stern.

"This is Grandma Fang's youngest son. Hurry up and call him Uncle." Her grandmother pushed her forward excitedly.

"U-Uncle." Little Yiyu stammered.

"Mm. I hope you do well in school." Little Zining solemnly handed her a red envelope.

The second time they met was just before Jiang Yiyu graduated from college. She went alone to Port City to register her marriage to Xie Zining.

After receiving their marriage certificates, they hurried to the hospital. In front of his mother, Xie Zining promised, "Don't worry. I'll treat her well."

His mother clasped their hands together, tears in her eyes. "Good, good!"

After the funeral, Xie Zining handed her a bank card. "Thank you. This is your payment. I'll let you know when to come back and get a divorce in a year."

Yiyu took the card, looking a little awkward. "Just think of it as a loan. I'll definitely pay you back."

Xie Zining smiled faintly. "Whatever works!"

The third time they met.

At a luxurious restaurant in Shencheng, Jiang Yiyu, a junior assistant, accompanied her boss to a business dinner.

As soon as she walked in, she spotted the handsome, aloof man. Among a crowd of greasy business types, he stood out like a sore thumb.

With everyone watching, he said nothing. Yiyu wouldn't dare acknowledge him even if someone threatened to kill her, so she could only steel herself and go around the table, toasting everyone one by one.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Chen, M-Mr. Xie..."

After dinner, the boss suggested that she sing karaoke with a certain Mr. Zhang, who smiled and beckoned her over.

Then Xie Zining, who hadn't said a word until then, spoke in a chilly voice. "Come here."

Everyone present was stunned. Wasn't the investment tycoon Xie Zining famous for keeping women at arm's length?

Had that frozen tree finally blossomed?

One day, six months later, Jiang Yiyu was pinned onto the sofa in Xie Zining's private lounge.

"Mr. Xie? That rolls off your tongue pretty easily. Say it again."

Yiyu trembled. "Mr. Xie..."

"Hmm?"

"U-Uncle..."

"Do you not want to leave this room today?"

Jiang Yiyu blushed, her voice soft. "Hubby~"

Yesterday, someone standing beside me said your name aloud. To me, it was like a rose tossed through an open window.

From I Lived Like This in Solitude by Wislawa Szymborska

Theme: Add a little sweetness to life.