A Marriage Off the Rails

Working Hard to Rebuild

Zhu Mian lives in a very small city. After graduating, he became an ordinary teacher at a local elementary school, and his life was utterly uneventful.

Like everyone else, he went to school, got a job, went on blind dates, got married, worked weekdays, and met friends on weekends. His life should have been peaceful and ordinary.

The problem was his husband.

His husband, Rong Du, was thirty and worked as a programmer. They'd met on a blind date six months ago.

Rong Du was handsome, tall, and in great shape. He came from a comfortably well-off family and earned eight thousand yuan a month. In a small place like theirs, he was the kind of catch you couldn't find even with a lantern.

They were both very satisfied with each other, and after three months together, they walked down the aisle.

Then Zhu Mian realized... well... something was off.

His husband seemed completely out of place in their little city.

First of all, his husband had a very high sex drive. More importantly, he had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve that Zhu Mian had never encountered before.

Zhu Mian was just an ordinary person, gentle and shy. Like those around him, he was always quite reserved about that sort of thing.

That was the first way his husband didn't fit in.

Second, his husband really was incredibly handsome: one meter ninety tall, with an eight-pack, and the perfect build for a suit. He was a walking clothes hanger.

All of Zhu Mian's friends said Rong Du looked like a celebrity, and that he was even more eye-catching than one.

In a small city like theirs, being unremarkable was the norm. Most people were busy making ends meet, working from five in the morning until nine at night. No one else was like his husband.

That was the second way he didn't fit in.

The third was that his husband's personality and mannerisms were just like the iron-fisted boss at his friend's company.

Serious, particular, and impossible to deal with.

Sometimes Zhu Mian felt like he hadn't gotten married so much as invited a superior to live in his house.

So ever since he and his husband got together, his friends had stopped coming over.

It was as if there were a wall between Rong Du and him, the people around them, and their little city.

It was thick and hard to break through.

Only later did Zhu Mian realize that it wasn't Rong Du who didn't fit in with them. They were the ones who couldn't enter Rong Du's world.

No one would connect someone surnamed Rong from some obscure little backwater with Hong Kong City's top-tier Rong family.

And neither could Zhu Mian, who'd grown up eating jianbing guozi and using five-cent pencils and erasers from roadside stalls.

When he learned the truth, all Zhu Mian felt was fear and estrangement.

His voice trembled as he asked Rong Du, "Why me?"

Zhu Mian was beautiful, but with Rong Du's status, what beauty hadn't he seen? There was no reason it had to be him.

Rong Du seemed to have finally shed his disguise, becoming dignified, aloof, and untouchable.

He leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs.

He said softly, "Mianmian, don't make a fuss. Come here."

Rong Du reached out to him, but Zhu Mian ran away.

I'm writing a little sampler platter for myself, so the tone may be a bit bizarre. Here's a quick list of warnings for anyone thinking of diving in:

1. The gong comes from a top-tier wealthy family. He's cool-headed and obsessive, and he's built a huge lie around the shou. Proceed only if you're okay with that.

2. The general order is probably sweet, heartbreaking, then sweet again (?). 1v1, both are each other's first and only. But don't expect too much sweetness in the early or middle chapters. This isn't a traditional sweet romance. What I can guarantee is drama, drama, and more drama.

3. The entire story is fictional. All events, place names, people, and luxury brands are made up. Don't take them as real or project them onto reality.

4. The author's kinks are weird. I'm a weird little mutt, and when I write melodrama, I go wherever the mood takes me. I might throw in some shocking landmines from time to time without realizing it, so readers used to sweet romances should be extremely, extremely cautious before diving in. (Amen.)

5. The free chapters should give you about ninety-nine percent of what I'm capable of. The first seventy thousand words set the tone, so if this isn't your thing, please don't force yourself to keep reading. I'm well aware of my shortcomings, especially my poor characterization of supporting characters. I'm writing this to get back into the groove and work through what I need to improve. I'm reflecting on things as I write, so please don't send me writing advice or nitpick the central premise. I have an outline, and it's complete. Many of the truths won't come out until later, so I hope those following along will be patient. A bow of thanks to you all.

6. About updates: I have no backlog, and there are lots of things to handle at the end of the year, so don't wait up.

7. If you don't like it, please just quietly drop the story. You don't need to tell me. You don't need to tell me. You don't need to tell me.

*One last time: if this isn't your thing, please, please, please don't force yourself to read it. Also, to make sure the story stays on track and every chapter and section stays at my level, updates will be slow. I may also go back and revise the story from time to time. My pacing is weird, and to work on my shortcomings, I'll try writing things I'm not very good at and haven't dared to tackle before. Anyone who jumps in before it's finished is a brave pioneer. Thank you for your support. So far, everything I've written has been in service of telling this story as fully as I can. Please don't nitpick the outline or central premise, because I won't change them. If I do, it won't be the same story. Over and out, and thanks for your support.

*Mr. Ling, Do You Really Love Me?

Ling Luchi: Remove the 'do you.'

Xi Xun x Ling Luchi

Beautiful, fair-skinned elite x stern, inscrutable big boss

Xi Xun had worked as the president's secretary at Ling Group for three years without making a single mistake. He was highly capable, dedicated to his work and the company, and never overstepped his bounds. He was the right-hand man of his superior, Ling Luchi.

Everyone at the company said, "No one could ever take Secretary Xi's place in President Ling's heart."

That was until Xi Xun was framed by a rival company and ended up in bed with Ling Luchi.

After one night together, Xi Xun felt as though a dog had chewed him from head to toe. Calmly supporting his aching waist, he got dressed and went straight to Ling Luchi's office that very day to hand in his resignation.

After working for Ling Luchi for three years, he knew exactly how to protect his boss's privacy.

He just hadn't expected the man to toss his resignation aside without even looking at it.

"Secretary Xi, cancel my ten o'clock appointment."

Xi Xun: "?"

"Come with me to get our marriage license."

-

Ling Luchi was a traditional workaholic, devoted to his career. In his thirty years of life, he'd never been in a relationship. After taking over the company, he'd focused entirely on managing the family business, and marriage had barely ever crossed his mind.

That was until he ended up in bed with his secretary.

The way he'd been raised didn't exactly allow him to simply cut ties with someone, and besides, this wasn't a particularly troublesome matter. He trusted Secretary Xi's character.

Married life was much the same as he'd imagined. He still went to work, worked, and occasionally traveled for business. The only difference was...

There was someone else in the bed when he went to sleep.

Out of his work clothes, the young man seemed less sharp and capable. He was gentle, and very beautiful.

Xi Xun had showered and was sitting on the bed in comfortable pajamas. As usual, he asked his superior what he had planned. "President Ling, are we going straight to sleep tonight?"

Ling Luchi stood beside the bed, his blood running hot and all trace of sleep gone.

He thought that things seemed to be getting a little complicated.

-

Things were getting more and more complicated.

Ling Luchi realized he couldn't take his eyes off Xi Xun.

When Xi Xun handed him a document, he looked at Xi Xun's hands.

When Xi Xun poured him a glass of water, he looked at Xi Xun's waist.

When Xi Xun told him it was time for a meeting, he looked at Xi Xun's face.

The time he and Xi Xun went to bed each night kept getting later and later.

Until one day, Xi Xun came to hand in his resignation again, supporting his aching waist.

Ling Luchi gave him a deep look, intending to toss it in the trash.

But Xi Xun got there first, setting down his pregnancy test results. His face was flushed, and for once he had a little temper.

"I told you to wear one, but you wouldn't..."

Baby skit:

At Ling Xiaoman's kindergarten speech contest, he stood onstage with a microphone, speaking with great feeling and dramatic emphasis. "My daddy and my papa work very hard every day. They work in the study until very, very late..."

Below the stage, Xi Xun reached over and pinched Ling Luchi's thigh hard.

Onstage, Ling Xiaoman: eyes brimming with tears Q.Q

*Both husbands are career-focused, with no love in their hearts and swords in hand, ready to conquer the world. Then one unexpected event followed another, until they both fell in love like old houses catching fire.

*The gong falls in love first, and he falls hard. He loves him so much.

*A domestic, post-marriage romance with a baby. Two-person scenes before the baby is born, three-person scenes afterward.

Theme: True love means taking off every disguise.