Rose of No Man's Land

Qin Huaiyan is a notorious scoundrel among the capital's elite: born into a family beyond anyone's reach, arrogant and heartless.

It started with a bet. Qin Huaiyan pointed at a woman sitting alone in a bar, her cool aloofness setting her apart. He said casually, "I like that type. Three months."

On the day Mr. Qin confessed, Shen Nianqing picked up one of the roses he'd given her, smelled it gently, then slowly set it down.

"A bet?" Shen Nianqing studied him with emotionless eyes. Her smile was as precisely measured as if drawn with a ruler. She asked softly, "How childish."

She turned and walked away, her high heel crushing a rose. The white heel was splashed with crimson petals and juice.

It was the first time Mr. Qin had ever been so thoroughly humiliated. His friends didn't dare breathe, but he stared fixedly at the woman's retreating figure, his eyes burning like fire.

When he finally won the beauty's heart, Qin Huaiyan went to brag to his friends about the outcome of the bet, his voice lazy. "Shen Youqing, my girlfriend."

His friends laughed and praised him. "Just as expected of our Mr. Qin. You said three months, and it took three months!"

But Shen Nianqing suddenly appeared beside him and stated in her usual emotionless voice, "I never said I was Mr. Qin's girlfriend."

Qin Huaiyan's expression darkened. "What do you mean?"

Shen Nianqing explained calmly, "It's the twenty-first century. There's no rule that sleeping together makes you a couple."

After Qin Huaiyan had been worn down to the bone, he finally managed to be with Shen Nianqing, only to learn suddenly that she had a dead first love.

Qin Huaiyan angrily demanded answers from her, but Shen Nianqing remained unhurried, her warm fingertips gently tracing the veins in his neck.

Her body flirted intimately with his, but her voice was soft and devoid of emotion. "Why are you competing with a dead man?"

She is a rose blooming in the wilderness, proud and alone.

The heartless man loves deeply; the cold one lives wild.

The cover background image is used with permission from Lucy on Xiaohongshu.

Note:

1. Male lead is a virgin; female lead is not.

Inspired by: Tom Ford's Rose Prick.

Theme: Trust is unwavering; redemption comes drop by drop