A Sickly Beauty Secretary's Guide to Self-Care

[Want to see this book's alternate timeline, darling? For details, check out the column for "The Fragile Little Flower Vase of a Wealthy Family [Quick Transmigration]".]

[To get a sneak peek at my writing plans, darling, message me on Weibo: @Chen Meixi]

Qi Xun was a beautiful, fair-skinned, down-on-his-luck invalid. His father died when he was six, his mother bled him dry, his books never took off, and he was buried in debt.

He gritted his teeth. "When I wake up in the middle of the night, I want to write the word 'tragic' and stick it right on my face."

Qi Xun went out to find a job to pay off his debts, and by a twist of fate ended up at a street-food stall opened for fun by a real estate tycoon.

The tycoon was called Yan Zui. He looked like a Hong Kong movie star, had a notoriously short temper, wore a Rolex while cooking, and drove a Mercedes-Benz home after work. He and Qi Xun hit it off at first sight, and that very night Yan Zui took him back to his villa to spend the night.

Qi Xun curled his lips and gave Yan Zui a shy smile. Yan Zui stared at him, stunned. Ah, what a gorgeous beauty!

Yan Zui found being alone with Qi Xun intoxicating. It took him two days to accept the fact that he was gay. He dropped his secret identity, promoted Qi Xun to his personal secretary, and prepared to launch a fierce pursuit of this delicate, sickly beauty.

Yan Zui rubbed his hands together. "Pretty baby, you'll be mine in no time. Slurp."

Qi Xun had a weak stomach and suffered severe pain every few days. He couldn't eat or sleep well, so Yan Zui held him close and cared for him tenderly, night after night. "Baby, don't suffer in silence. Does your stomach still hurt? Let me rub it some more."

Qi Xun was exceptionally capable, so Yan Zui decisively made him the company's second-in-command and gave him half the business empire. "Don't worry, baby. Go for it. I'm here."

Qi Xun liked red roses. Once Yan Zui found out, every vase in the villa held nothing but red roses.

Qi Xun was utterly swept away by Yan Zui's passionate pursuit. In a seaside villa filled with red roses, they exchanged rings, and that night Qi Xun announced their relationship on his social media.

As luck would have it, the internet connection failed, and Yan Zui's photo never went through. The real estate company's employees were busy gossiping about Qi Xun, convinced he had shamelessly clung to Yan Zui to climb the ladder.

The next second, Yan Zui posted, "I finally won my wife over. I'm so happy."

The employees: "?"

One day at work, an employee greeted Yan Zui. "Good morning, Chairman Yan."

Yan Zui immediately pulled Qi Xun closer and looked proud. "How did you know he's my wife?"

The employee: "??"

With Qi Xun, the sickly beauty, as his secretary, Yan Zui was like a tiger with wings. His real estate company grew bigger and bigger, until the two of them could blot out the sky in the business world with a wave of their hands.

They'd conquered the business world. Now it was time to enjoy life.

Qi Xun came out of the bath, his robe only partly covering his fair, pink-tinged skin. With bright eyes and red lips, he gripped Yan Zui's wrist and gave it a little shake. "Honey, I want you."

Yan Zui, eyes shining, hoisted Qi Xun over his shoulder. "Come on, wife. Let's go to the bedroom."

One day, someone asked on Zhihu: What qualities should a competent sickly beauty secretary possess?

Yan Zui, who'd forgotten to switch away from the company's official account: Thanks for the invite. Oh, wait, I wasn't invited. My wife Qi Xun is wonderful, so, so beautiful. I can't live without him. Let me tell you about my wife... (Eight hundred words of bragging about his wife omitted.)

#Help, the question about personal qualities went unanswered, but a top-tier wife-bragger showed up uninvited.

Everyone who knew Qi Xun thought Yan Zui had changed his life, but Yan Zui told everyone plainly, "I'm grateful to my beloved Qi Xun for giving me a new life unlike anything I've ever known."

Qi Xun was the entire meaning of Yan Zui's life.

Couple: A ruthless, unhinged business-warrior, deeply devoted, gentle, and unknowingly seductive sickly beauty uke x a considerate, protective, straightforward, loyal wolf-dog seme who's a doting, henpecked husband. The seme is ten years older. One-on-one, happy ending, both each other's first and only. No switching or breaking them up.

As usual: sweet and steamy.

[Important]: The seme pursues the uke, cherishes him with his very life, and spends all his money on him. Yan Zui only finds meaning in being alive because he has his darling Xun.

Content notes: The romance moves very quickly. The seme calls the uke "wife," and the uke calls the seme "honey." Darlings, this is exactly my thing. I just want the romance to move fast, really.

[Coming next: "The Gentle Sickly Beauty Is Wooed by a Loyal Tycoon"]

Two real estate companies were bitter enemies. The real estate industry was always fighting over resources, sometimes as rivals and sometimes as friends, but these two companies were forever at each other's throats.

The chairman of the slightly stronger real estate company was Gu Han, an industry tycoon: handsome, rich, and blessed with a perfect physique. He had a rather frosty image, was still single at thirty-five, and was openly gay.

Gu Han's rival company had a top salesman named Qi Ran, a gentle beauty with fair skin, a delicate figure, and long legs. But his health was poor, and his severe stomach condition often kept him awake in pain all night, giving him a perpetually sickly air.

Qi Ran and Gu Han first met at a real estate conference. Qi Ran was fair, beautiful, and frail. He was the woman of Gu Han's dreams, and Gu Han's eyes were practically glued to his face.

Gu Han: "We haven't even met yet, but he's about to become my wife."

Gu Han was distracted during the meeting, seriously considering how to win Qi Ran over. Then Qi Ran, sitting beside him, suddenly suffered a stomachache, and Gu Han practically carried him to the hospital.

At the hospital, Gu Han touched Qi Ran's waist, stomach, hands, and cheeks. He was so happy he couldn't sleep all night.

That night, Gu Han's cool and aloof image shattered. The pieces came together to form a loyal chatterbox, wagging his tail wildly.

Gu Han's true self was a puppy-like seme, devoted to his sickly beauty of a wife.

When his company heard what had happened, they called Qi Ran in for a talk. "Qi Ran, pretend to resign and go work as Gu Han's secretary."

Qi Ran, confused: "Me?"

That's right! Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the beauty trap is the best! Qi Ran's mission was to uncover all of Gu Han's company secrets and bring him down!

On his first day at the new company, Qi Ran stood in front of Gu Han and said gently, "Mr. Gu, my company sent me to steal your company secrets. They want to bring you down."

The puppy Gu Han was too busy admiring his future sickly wife to listen carefully. He replied without understanding a word: "What secrets? You can have all of them if you want. I'll even give you my life, okay?"

Qi Ran: "?"

Ever since Qi Ran became Gu Han's personal secretary, the items on his desk were refreshed every day: Gu Han's worn jacket, hot milk, and a handwritten note. "Ranran, your stomach is weak, so drink the milk while it's hot. You can put my jacket over yourself when you nap at noon so you don't catch a chill. Of course, I'd rather you come rest in my office so I can hold you. Oh, and remember to come have lunch with me. I brought your favorite dishes~"

Qi Ran patted Gu Han's head. "Mr. Gu, you're so cute."

Gu Han: (wagging his tail furiously)

Gu Han's high-intensity campaign to win over the sickly beauty had been going on for more than a month, ever since the hospital. They kept running into each other at work during the day, and Qi Ran lived with him at night. Qi Ran had a bad neck and couldn't sleep on an ordinary pillow, so he had to rest his head on Gu Han's arm.

Qi Ran hadn't wanted to fall out with his former boss, but he had already fallen for Gu Han's affection and resolved to cut ties with his old company for good.

One evening, Qi Ran sat at his computer typing up his resignation letter. Gu Han had only been there for two minutes when all the fabric on Qi Ran's body was gone.

"Ah, wait," Qi Ran said as Gu Han picked him up and settled him on his lap. The next moment, he was jostled so much he could barely get the words out. "Good husband, wait until I finish... writing my resignation letter... okay?"

#Puppy's diary: Wife, wife, wife, wife, my wife has another stomachache and I'm so worried. Wife, after work, wife, sleeping with my wife. What a fulfilling day!

[Couple]: An elite professional, deeply devoted, delicate and gentle little maniac (in business warfare), a sickly beauty uke (truly a gentle baby) x a straightforward, hot-tempered business tycoon who's obedient only to his wife, a loyal dog who shamelessly shows off and woos his wife, and a henpecked husband. One-on-one, happy ending, the seme is ten years older.

[Beautiful darlings! Take a look at "The Sickly Beauty and the Hong Kong City Tycoon Fell in Love After Marrying First"]

Shi Junyin was a fair-skinned, delicate, sickly beauty from Hong Kong City. His father was a force in the business world, and the Shi family had accumulated great wealth.

Raised in luxury, Shi Junyin thought he could remain the little young master of the Shi family forever.

Two disasters struck when Shi Junyin was twenty-four.

First, his father developed a gambling addiction and lost the family's fortune, leaving the Shi family on the verge of collapse.

Second, to pay off his gambling debts, his father sent Shi Junyin into a marriage alliance, marrying him off to Gu Xiangting, a real estate tycoon ten years his senior.

Shi Junyin was stunned. He's... thirty-four? (Trembling with fear.)

Gu Xiangting was thirty-four, with no romantic or marital history. He was handsome, incredibly rich, and long-legged. His handsome, stern face, which had been cold for decades, finally showed a smile on the day he married Shi Junyin.

Shi Junyin didn't dare sleep with him and wasn't willing to give him his first time. Gu Xiangting wasn't annoyed. He only curled his lips and said, "All right. We'll sleep together when Yinyin is ready."

Shi Junyin had a weak stomach and often suffered terrible pain at night, leaving him unable to sleep.

Gu Xiangting sat by the bed, warming his stomach with his hot palm and gently massaging it, keeping him company through night after night.

When Shi Junyin's pain eased, Gu Xiangting would leave without a word.

One night, as usual, Gu Xiangting was heading back to his own room when Shi Junyin suddenly turned around and called out, "Hu, husband."

Gu Xiangting stopped and turned back, barely able to contain himself. "Yinyin, what did you call me?"

Shi Junyin blushed. "Husband..."

From then on, Shi Junyin frequently attended high-society banquets with Gu Xiangting, holding his arm and gently calling him "husband." Gu Xiangting responded to every word, his eyes full of tenderness.

After the banquet, the two returned to the Gu family's manor villa. Gu Xiangting held Shi Junyin's slender, snow-white shoulders and kissed him roughly, until the beauty's eyes grew red at the corners. He asked softly, "Yinyin, can I have you now?"

Couple: One-on-one, happy ending, both each other's first and only, ten-year age gap. A delicate, sickly beauty, little maniac uke x a gentle, devoted, obedient, handsome, rich, henpecked seme. A little business warfare, sweet and steamy. The blurb only covers about half the story.

[Dynamic]: The Hong Kong City tycoon seme absolutely dotes on his precious uke. Welcome, darlings!

Disclaimer:

[An everyday-life story with a slow pace, sweet mutual devotion, and possibly a very long length.]

1. This is a fictional setting. Don't nitpick the details, treat it as a stand-in for anything, or assume it's based on a real person. Please don't project real people onto the characters.

2. No writing advice, rankings analysis, or plagiarism accusations, please.

3. Reposting or copying this work is prohibited. Stolen ideas and plagiarism will be pursued, pursued, pursued. Important things deserve to be said three times.

4. The blurb was screenshotted and filed for the record on [2023.7.18], including the names and date.

5. The characters' values do not represent my own. Please don't overanalyze them.

6. The comments section is always open. Everyone is welcome to speak freely.

Theme: Deep love can overcome the passage of time.