Springtime Train

* My next book is Forbidden Butterfly. Weibo: @Yi Ping Xia Xiaojiu * Road trip + urban life / sensual men and women / hidden identities / simmering tension * Astrophotographer × investor in a company developing AI tools to identify supernovae Blurb: On the train from Xining to Lhasa, Liang Xitong pulls her suitcase into a soft sleeper compartment, only to find someone has arrived before her. The man has sharply defined features in profile. The cufflinks on his white shirt are undone, and as he bends to make the bed, black Buddhist prayer beads peek out from beneath his sleeve. She leans casually against the doorframe, her voice languid and alluring. “Hi there. What should I call you?” The man glances up at her coldly, seeming unwilling to chat. Sparing with his words, he replies, “Song.” Liang Xitong raises an eyebrow, her interest growing. “So you're Ah Song. You can call me Ah Zhen.” - Through the lattice window of Tashilhunpo Monastery, she watches the man kneeling on the ground, praying with earnest devotion. All along the way, they've talked about everything under the sun, except themselves. When he comes out, she can't help asking, curiosity getting the better of her. “Ah Song, what did you wish for just now?” The man lowers his eyes and gives a lazy, crooked smile. He leans close to her ear. “Want to know? Give me a kiss and I'll tell you.” Liang Xitong's red lips curve upward, her eyes sparkling as she deliberately draws out her words. “Is a kiss all you want?” That night, he pins her against the window from behind, his scorching breath falling on the swan-white curve of her neck. He smiles faintly. “Let's see if you still dare.” - When the trip ends, they naturally go their separate ways, returning to the sea of people and putting their masks back on. In a hotel ballroom on Hong Kong Island, Liang Xitong wears an elegant white dress and affectionately takes the arm of Liang Guanlin, the richest man in Hong Kong. She listens demurely as he introduces the man before them. Lu Yuheng, born into a prominent family, has always been proper, cool, and restrained. A distinguished figure in venture capital, he is known to everyone in the industry. He raises his champagne, his gaze deep and meaningful, and gives a low hum. “So you're Miss Liang. I've heard a great deal about you.” Liang Xitong nods politely, wearing a perfectly composed, demure smile. “So you're Mr. Lu. The pleasure is mine.” * She thought it would be a fleeting encounter that went nowhere, but unexpectedly, it became a journey on a train bound for the springtime countryside. Reader's guide: 1. Both leads are each other's first. 2. Not based on real people. 3. Weibo: @Yi Ping Xia Xiaojiu 4. The cover is used with permission. Artist: Duoduo - My next book, Forbidden Butterfly. If you're interested, please add it to your collection! Secret crush from the hero / ten-year age gap Blurb: On Wen Die's twentieth birthday, her friends celebrate with her at the Ritz Lounge in Macau, and toast to her having escaped her cheating ex, Zhao Hechuan. After a few glasses of whiskey, Wen Die's eyes grow hazy. There are plenty of good men in the world. She refuses to believe she can't find someone better. She looks around and fixes her gaze on a booth not far away. The man sits with effortless ease, exuding an air of wealth. His black suit is impeccably tailored, paired with a black shirt of equally fine quality. A few soft lights overhead cast a cool, pale sheen over his handsome, composed face. Wen Die swallows. There he is, a perfect catch. With a bottle of liquor in hand, she suddenly gets up and weaves her way over to him. Her voice is soft, sweet, and playful. “Sir, I feel like we were meant to meet.” It's a corny pickup line, but the man plays along. “Oh?” Wen Die stumbles and drops down beside him. Perhaps it's the alcohol, but she practically falls all over him. Her delicate hand slides slowly down the buttons of his shirt, her cheeks flushed with desire, looking both innocent and seductive. “So, should we do something... grown-ups do?” He gives a faint, mocking laugh and holds down her wandering hand. His voice is husky and sexy. “Sorry, I'm not interested in drunk women.” - Later, Wen Die finally learns that the perfect catch she once pursued is a powerful man. Pei Shao, head of Macau's Pei family, is the jade-faced King of Hell of the rumors: ruthless, sinister, and someone no one dares provoke. They say his love life has always been spotless, and that he never gets involved with women. Wen Die rubs her aching lower back, feeling both angry and annoyed at the way he deliberately hid his identity. Just as she's about to confront him and run, Pei Shao pays an astronomical price for a rare pink diamond and has it cut into a butterfly poised to take flight. He puts it on her himself, then asks unhurriedly, “Do you know what it's called?” Wen Die pauses, then gently shakes her head. The heat of his ambiguous breath brushes her ear as Pei Shao says, “Butterfly Catch.” He unties the ribbon from the gift box and winds it around her slender, pale wrists, binding her hands together in a beautiful bow. His lips curve in a dark, bewitching smile. “Little butterfly, now we can do... everything only grown-ups can do.” No one knows that all through that night at the Ritz Lounge, he had been waiting to catch a butterfly that flew right into his net. - My friend Ying Yuzhu's book, New Marriage, Old Love, is coming soon. If you're interested, please add it to your collection! Blurb: Everyone says Mr. Fang is a perfect gentleman. His speech, his conduct, his looks: everything about him is impeccable. He's an outstanding man, a refined young aristocrat, and the heir to the Fang family's future trillion-dollar fortune. Only Xu Yao knows how little he lives up to a gentleman. The two of them have a relationship they must keep hidden. During college, Xu Yao stayed by his side for four whole years. He enjoyed her youth, tenderness, thoughtfulness, consideration, and obedience, but never gave her anything in return. Xu Yao didn't mind, because she was so infatuated with Mr. Fang that it was as if she were under a spell. Until she heard that he was already engaged, and was only waiting for his fiancée to be found so they could marry. Xu Yao went to confront him, but he only smiled faintly. “Yaoyao, you're the most innocent girl I've ever met.” It was true. She was so innocent that she thought they might have a happy ending if only his fiancée weren't in the picture. They were worlds apart. How could he ever give her his true love and affection? She knew he liked her and treated her like a pet, but didn't love her, so she told herself to let go. When they meet again, Xu Yao is the long-lost daughter of the Xu family, and their elders have already arranged a marriage for her. But to her utter surprise, her intended is Fang Huaixu, the man she once loved but could never have. - Fang Huaixu remembers how much Xu Yao loved him. Even after she left, he never had another woman by his side. When he learned she was his intended, he did something he rarely did: he actively agreed with his parents. He thought their life after marriage would be just like those four years in college. But he never expected Xu Yao to refuse the marriage alliance. She was no longer gentle, considerate, obedient, and sensible. She had her own social circle and a busy career, and she didn't care at all about being known as Mr. Fang's fiancée. Until one day, he discovers that she had an ex during the gap in their relationship. When this ex comes looking for her, Fang Huaixu can no longer stand it. He goes to confront her, only to hear her say, “Mr. Fang, you're the most innocent man I've ever met.” “What gives you the right to demand that I love only you, from beginning to end?” “If we weren't marrying for mutual benefit, I would never have anything to do with you again in my life.” - Theme: Always keep the heart of a child, and make dreams come true through intelligent technology.