A Fragrant Breeze, Just Right

[New story: Secret Crush Beat is now updating. Cool, aloof rich boy with an illness x sensitive, impoverished girl]

Arranged marriages between prestigious families are nothing new, but when news broke of the engagement between Shang Qingye and Wen Youyi, all of Hong Kong Island waited to see the joke unfold.

Everyone in Hong Kong's elite circles knew that Shang Qingye, the second son of the Shang family, was arrogant and had seen countless beauties. Wen Youyi, though exceptionally elegant, was only above average by Hong Kong Island's standards.

What's more, Wen Youyi was a good girl.

Everyone knew Shang Qingye couldn't stand good girls.

At their first meeting, Shang Qingye downed his tea and left right on time. After staying out until midnight, he went home and declared to his father, with absolute conviction, "I'll marry a woman like that only over my dead body."

Later.

At Wen Youyi's birthday party in a brightly lit villa, Shang Qingye raced over and heard someone confessing their love to her.

Italians were full of tricks, elegant gentlemen who knew how to make romance. With one hand in his trouser pocket, Shang Qingye silently listened to the confession, then stood up and casually ground out the glowing tip of his cigarette.

Amid thunderous applause and raucous cheering, he faced everyone and spoke each word without expression:

"There is only one pearl in Hong Kong, and her name is Wen Youyi. She belongs to me alone."

Tyrannosaurus rich boy x the Dragon Tamer: a calm, dignified, principled young lady

[He falls hard after rejecting her + a long road to winning back his wife]

"It is never too late to love you, yet I fear it may be too late."

Reader's guide:

- 1v1, both leads have only ever been with each other. "Seen countless beauties" is meant literally: he has seen countless beautiful women, but the most intimate thing he has ever done with a woman is help an old lady cross the street. And naturally, staying out until midnight means hanging out with his buddies (I'm dead).

- Set in Hong Kong in the 1980s, before the handover. I've done my best to research the period, and historical accuracy comes first. None of the criminal activities commonly found in period Hong Kong stories appear in this novel.

Theme: Love