The Powerful One's Cold Stand-In Is Done with This

[Next book: How Do You Sweeten the Deal in a Contract Marriage? [Dating Show]]

A cool, perceptive beauty who bends for love, bottom x arrogant-at-first, groveling-later top

The Yu family was poor, but their surname was prestigious, and Yu Jin's name sounded equally refined.

His parents taught him that he was destined to rise above others.

As luck would have it, he had the kind of face that made the heavens want to feed him.

Then Yu Jin discovered that beautiful people were a dime a dozen in this world.

His looks were striking, but they still came cheap.

There was another jewel in the spotlight: Young Master Ye was dazzling, and everyone loved him, including Huo Jingmo, the tycoon Yu Jin had set his sights on, who could help him rise above everyone else.

Yu Jin began imitating Ye Mingzhu: the operas he listened to, the flavors he preferred, even the angle at which he clinked glasses with people.

So many people loved Mingzhu. Amid all the glamour and extravagance, Yu Jin watched in silence. In the end, Ye Mingzhu didn't choose Huo Jingmo, the man Yu Jin wanted.

Yu Jin stepped forward and raised his glass to Huo Jingmo, tilting it at precisely the same angle.

"A toast to you," he said with a smiling face.

Huo Jingmo studied him for a moment, a flicker of fire seemingly welling in his eyes.

Yu Jin knew then that he had succeeded.

A substitute shouldn't dare to hope for love, but he wanted it so badly that he was going mad.

Sometimes, when he and Huo Jingmo were entwined, he felt that Huo Jingmo loved him.

That fantasy lasted just over a month. It shattered when Ye Mingzhu announced his breakup with his boyfriend and Yu Jin saw Huo Jingmo's moved expression.

Yu Jin thought listlessly:

Pearls and jade. The pearl always comes before the jade.

He had no right to hope.

*

Huo Jingmo received notice that Yu Jin's VIP status at all the hotels owned by the Huo family had been canceled.

By the time he found Yu Jin in a hurry, it was already night. Yu Jin was smoking in a small hotel, a habit he had never revealed in front of Huo Jingmo.

A tiny red ember flickered between his fingers.

Seeing Huo Jingmo struggle to hide his discomfort at the smell of smoke, Yu Jin said slowly, "Boss Huo, I'm tired."

You should go after your Ye Mingzhu. I can't keep pretending.

[Formulaic angst / both leads sexually inexperienced / happy ending / cover art thanks to a friend / character designs on the cover are not exclusive / entirely fictional setting]

[The groveling arc starts in Chapter 50. Don't recommend skipping ahead: if you don't like the earlier chapters, you're unlikely to enjoy what comes later.]

★ Check out my friend's fun upcoming book, ID7748149

My Good-Looking, Easygoing Husband Is Working the Dating Show by Jin Tian Yiding Zaoshui Zaoqi

Natural airhead beauty-loving bottom x tsundere, stubborn, silly-dog top

---- My upcoming books below ----

★ He Started Loving Me After I Faked My Death [Substitute]

Blurb

Wen Dong was an illegitimate son of the Wen family who only dared to secretly love Ji Huaiyan.

By chance, Wen Dong became Ji Huaiyan's substitute.

The day he moved into Ji Huaiyan's private residence, Wen Dong saw a wall covered in photos of Ji Huaiyan and "him," spanning from childhood to the present. They silently declared the depth of their love, leaving no room for anyone else.

He stared at them for a long time. The housekeeper just smiled and did nothing. Wen Dong realized how worthless his love was, so he silently moved out of the master bedroom.

Later, photos were taken of Wen Dong, homeless and looking a mess. The news came out the next day, right beside another report: Ji Huaiyan stood before "his" grave with flowers in his hands, looking utterly devoted.

On the day Wen Dong had eagerly planned to announce his relationship with Ji Huaiyan, Ji Huaiyan went out to sea to look for "him," leaving Wen Dong to face endless mockery.

On the anniversary trip they had planned for ages, Ji Huaiyan changed their route at the last minute and forced Wen Dong to look out at the pitch-black sea.

"Back then, on a sea like this, he gave me his chance to live. And you can't even stand steady."

Wen Dong's face turned deathly pale. His voice was barely audible. "I'm not him. I'm sorry..."

After the shock, Wen Dong came down with a high fever that wouldn't break. A helicopter came to take him away. A few days later, Ji Huaiyan received news that Wen Dong had died.

*

The Ji family's heir seemed to have gone mad. His beloved white moonlight had returned, but he pushed him away and went to the cemetery in the middle of the night.

Muttering, "Wen Dong is afraid of the dark and water. He can't stay underground," he dug at the earth, completely forgetting his dignity.

They say the coffin he finally opened was empty.

The belief that Wen Dong wasn't dead kept Ji Huaiyan going. He often stayed awake until dawn in Wen Dong's bedroom, surrounded by Wen Dong's paintings.

He became obsessed with visiting galleries and buying paintings, insisting on meeting the artists behind them. Others assumed Ji Huaiyan had developed a new taste, but the housekeeper knew the truth. Ji Huaiyan didn't want the artist. All he wanted was Wen Dong.

One of the winners of the highest honor at the World Illustration Awards was announced. The artist was an unknown, slender, gentle young Chinese man.

The reports circulating in China showed only a blurry silhouette. The instant Ji Huaiyan saw it, he gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with fury.

Wen Dong.

★ How Do You Sweeten the Deal in a Contract Marriage? [Dating Show]

Blurb

After three years of a business marriage, Zhu Qingsang and his husband are still strangers.

Zhu Qingsang is an actor who flies around the world, while Jin Jue is a rising star in tech. Both are so busy they never have a moment to themselves.

The media exposed that Zhu Qingsang was married, and his spouse was Jin Jue, a powerful executive who frequently graced the covers of financial magazines. Faced with irrefutable proof, netizens had some entertaining reactions.

[Those two definitely have no feelings for each other. Pretty sure it's an arranged marriage.]

[If it's true, I'll twist my head off!]

Zhu Qingsang: No need to speculate. It's fake.

[But we wouldn't mind if you two cleared up the rumors for us.]

Public opinion gradually took shape. Netizens looked from Zhu Qingsang's cool, stunning face to the stern tycoon in the magazine and started demanding that they join a famous marriage-themed reality show to prove their love.

That very day, the tycoon posted: I'll take part.

Jin Jue tossed the divorce agreement in Zhu Qingsang's hands into the shredder. "A harmonious family is good for the company's stock price."

Zhu Qingsang believed him.

*

The reality show exposed the fact that Zhu Qingsang was hopeless at everyday tasks, while also putting his beauty on full display.

Netizens watched their beautiful, useless wife, whom they'd never even met, accidentally brush against the cream cake held by her actual husband. Jin Jue quickly wiped it away with an unhappy expression, then stared into the camera with a barely veiled warning.

Netizens: Can't you take a joke?

On a rainy day, Zhu Qingsang forgot his umbrella, so Jin Jue put an arm around his shoulders and walked with him. In the bustling city, they showered everyone with affection, their hands seemingly stuck together with glue.

When Zhu Qingsang accidentally came down with a fever, he lay in bed, dazed, searching for Jin Jue. Every time their eyes met...

Later, fine scratches appeared on Jin Jue's back. Zhu Qingsang wore bandages on his neck every day, while ambiguous red marks peeked out from the skin left uncovered.

[Weren't you supposed to be a business marriage? This is sweeter than a real couple!]

[Fine, fine, you can have my head.]

Theme: Keep striving and stay positive, even after facing setbacks.