Bright as Snow

[Love at first sight, then falling in love while playing around / cool, bewitching little fairy × handsome, roguish young heir of the capital's elite. The blurb is just a selection of standout moments; the story itself is very sweet ovo]

Have you heard of the butterfly effect? The first meeting between Li Zhi and Song Sihan was like the flutter of a butterfly's wings.

The Li and Song families stood at opposite ends of the capital, each keeping to its own side. No one knew the real reason behind it.

Li Zhi first met Song Sihan at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong.

The breeze stirred the curtains. Beneath the dappled light, an elegant, strikingly handsome man with a refined air flashed before Li Zhi's eyes.

He was as beautiful as jade, carefree and dashing, spending a fortune just to make the beauty beside him smile.

He was a figure feared by the wealthy circles of Northern Europe.

He was the sole honored guest at the famed Leont private estate, renowned across Europe and Asia.

He was also a master at indulging in romance and setting women's hearts ablaze.

On a night in a foreign land, he watched her through the curtain of rain. His roguish eyes held an unexpected hint of tenderness, easily drawing her into a daze.

The more enchanting, the more dangerous.

Li Zhi had no idea that he was the young heir of the Song family, about to return home and take over its vast business empire.

She fell in, helplessly.

Later, everything became clear on a snowy night.

Hidden in the thick frost and mist, Song Sihan spoke with a mocking laugh. "It was only for fun. Did you really have to take it seriously?"

At that moment, Li Zhi knew Song Sihan had no heart at all.

-

That year, snow blanketed the capital. The old master of the Li family passed away suddenly, and Li Zhi traveled alone to a temple in the eastern suburbs, taking three steps between each kowtow as she prayed for her grandfather.

Her father forced her with the threat of his life: "Swear you'll never see him again."

"Otherwise, your grandfather will never be able to rest in peace."

The cold pierced to the bone, and the heavy snow made the road desolate. Li Zhi fainted halfway there.

People later said Song Sihan carried Li Zhi in his arms, kneeling with every step, and spent the entire night at the temple chanting sutras for her grandfather.

They parted, each going their own way.

Li Zhi boarded a ship that would never dock, drifting with no end in sight.

They met again at a grand banquet in Zurich.

Amid the finery and glitter, he came toward her in a stark black suit, his pale fingers gripping an umbrella to shield her from the rain and snow blowing in from the sea.

In a daze, they seemed to have returned to that long-ago day when they first met.

She saw him lower his eyes, his voice hoarse in the silence. "A Li, will you give me one more chance?"

What trapped him was never the feud between their families.

From beginning to end, it was her, and only her.

Bold yet tender × rebellious to the core

*I have absurdly begun to confuse two words: you and me., Boris Pasternak, To Tsvetaeva*

Reader's Guide:

1. A scumbag who pretends to be a playboy but is truly devoted, mending his ways for love.

2. The heroine is not a downtrodden, submissive type. The hero dotes on her, and they flirt with each other.

3. Old-school melodrama, but actually quite sweet. Not pure fluff, though: mature adults engage in an ambiguous push and pull, going from playing around to falling in love. Ages 21 and 27, with a six-year age gap.

4. The blurb isn't the whole story. For a similar novel: