Obviously

[Entering VIP on June 4. The author likes to polish the text, so the Jinjiang version may differ considerably from other versions.]

Clear-headed and resilient x proud and controlling | Actress x powerful heir | Substitute | Reunion after heartbreak

1.

Everyone in Hong Kong said the second son of the Xu family was ruthless. He was decisive and merciless in business, used harsh methods, and was skilled at manipulating and controlling people.

But to Ming Lanshu, Xu Shaoheng was always as gentle and refined as a spring breeze, more considerate than anyone could imagine.

She had been with him for three years. He helped pay off her debts and put an end to the industry's blacklist against her. He treated her wonderfully.

So wonderfully that she thought it was love and let herself dream far too much.

2.

Until she met his first love. They not only looked somewhat alike, their names even sounded vaguely similar.

The call that came on that rainy night caught her completely off guard.

She saw Xu Shaoheng clutching his phone, his expression tense, as a woman on the other end called out to him through tears, "Ah Heng."

He shot to his feet. Instinctively, she grabbed his wrist.

"Ah Heng..." She called him that too.

The force with which he pried her fingers loose reminded her of being at the bottom of a well as a child, desperately clawing at the cracks in the stone before sliding away all the same.

So all the tenderness of those three years had been nothing but a self-deceiving dream. The devotion she saw in his eyes reflected someone else's shadow.

To expect love from a man like him, to beg him for it, was like trying to grasp flowing water or catch the wind, like trying to seize a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water.

A few days later, Xu Shaoheng came back. The property, jewelry, and career opportunities were all listed clearly, settling a relationship that had never been respectable to begin with.

Ming Lanshu watched the slight frown creasing his brow as he spoke and suddenly wanted to laugh. When he asked if she had any other requests, she set down a bowl of plain noodles. "Mr. Xu, eat these noodles."

Just as he had done on every night he came home late over the past three years.

3.

Later, Xu Shaoheng saw the trending couple hashtags filling his screen. The whole internet was gushing over how perfectly the Best Actress and her leading man looked together. He chased her all the way to a foreign city.

*

"Mingming, come back. Come back to me."

"Mr. Xu, I'm sorry. I already have a boyfriend."

#The tenderness he gave her was honey-coated poison

#Three years of youth taught her the most painful lesson: Love yourself first

#Later, he set aside his pride and crouched in the mud to tie her untied shoelace

#But she had already been reborn after passing through hell, and walked toward a future without him

1. HE / not the first time for either lead / 10-year age gap

2. Neither lead has sound values: one is scheming and ruthless, the other clear-eyed and self-destructive. I've already scolded them for you.

3. This story is entirely fictional. All brands and place names are made up, so please don't take them too seriously.

Theme: Reborn from brokenness, flowers bloom through the cracks