Fish in the Misty River

Jiang Yu first met Chu Wu at a banquet when she was seventeen.

He was the powerful man rumored to be behind her father’s business rival, an influential figure known throughout high society.

She was young and naive, and only thought he was impossibly handsome, languid, and distinguished. Even the hem of his suit fell just right. He had to be the perfect gigolo.

Surrounded by an oppressive air, the young lady of the Jiang family was the only one bold enough to charge ahead.

She happened to meet the man’s amused, unreadable gaze. “Are you sure you want to dance with me?”

Her eyes were bright and lush, tinged with red. He led her onto the dance floor, and as they danced the tango, she was dazzling beyond compare.

After learning who he was, Jiang Yu cut off contact. He took it all in stride, his words faintly mocking, and from then on they went their separate ways.

Later, she fell on hard times.

No one in the Jiang family would help her. Isolated and with no one to rely on, she drank alone at the bar. Then she heard a refined voice beside her offer a candid opinion: “You look prettier when you cry.”

Jiang Yu knew he was there to watch her suffer. Her eyes reddened, making her look fragile and pitiful, but he laid down a centuries-old marriage contract from the Republic of China era.

“Our great-grandfather arranged this long ago. A three-hundred-year pact between the Chu and Jiang families means we are meant to marry.”

After marrying Chu Wu,

Jiang Yu found the man strange. He was distant to the bone, yet his heart raced whenever he looked at her. His ears were plainly red.

Jiang Yu pretended to be annoyed and fell into his arms, but he pushed her away and gave a lazy, careless smile. “Please behave yourself.”

The Jiang family regained its footing, and they went their separate ways.

Her father urged her to return. After repeated attempts to talk things through failed, he tore up the marriage contract. Jiang Yu clenched her jaw, clutching the scraps as her shoulders shook with sobs, but then she fell into a cool embrace.

Chu Wu.

He picked up the contract, which had been fake from the start, took her fingertips, and traced their names again.

Every stroke, every line, ink and brush set the rules.

Jiang Yu was startled and confused.

His heart was full of tender feelings. He lowered his eyes to look at her and called her only one thing: “Qingqing.”

His warm breath brushed Jiang Yu’s ear.

“I don’t mind walking straight into the trap.”

A restrained, cold-hearted guard dog x a dazzling beauty in a qipao

*The leads are six years apart in age

Excerpt taken on March 10, 2023

Theme: Strive forward and work hard to improve