This Marriage Is Bound to End in Divorce

[Upcoming Novel: Don't Use a Kitten Knife to Flirt with Me. Blurb at the end]

Wen Haobai had wondered more than once whether this marriage really had to happen.

It was all because his grandmother was so sick that she had lost her wits. Pointing at the city news anchor on TV, she had said, "I only like this girl. If you're going to marry, marry someone like her."

He pulled a few strings and met the anchor herself.

At the time, Zhuang Qingcai, hailed as Nanfeng TV Station's leading beauty, was glamorous from the waist up and wearing cotton pants and slippers from the waist down. She slurped up luosifen while telling corny jokes she'd picked up somewhere.

The cultured goddess of the rumors had lost all semblance of elegance.

Wen Haobai knitted his brows and named a price.

Zhuang Qingcai smiled broadly and nodded.

Someone asked Wen Haobai what his wife was like.

He scoffed. "Crass, worldly, and loves money more than life."

*

Zhuang Qingcai had thought more than once that sooner or later, she would get divorced.

It was all because of that man known as the "young head of the Wen family." He was simply offering too much.

Before the wedding, they'd agreed to part amicably once their arrangement reached its end.

After they married, Zhuang Qingcai and her husband treated each other with polite respect. She diligently maintained her image as the tolerant, magnanimous, virtuous Mrs. Wen.

She even...

Went out of her way to avoid getting in the way whenever she heard Wen Haobai on the phone with another woman, afraid she'd ruin his romantic prospects.

One day, while shopping, she unexpectedly saw Wen Haobai picking out jewelry with a bashful young man. As she wondered if her husband's tastes had changed and considerately prepared to take another route, he caught her in the act.

The refined, dignified man called out to her in a low voice, unable to hide the tenderness in his eyes beneath his stern expression. "Why are you running? Come take a look at the new ring I had designed for you. This time, don't sell it again."

At that moment, Wen Haobai, who never bowed his head to anyone, lowered his eyes and slipped a diamond ring engraved with their little secret onto her ring finger.

Zhuang Qingcai suddenly realized that she could wait a little longer before taking out the divorce agreement she'd signed long ago and kept in a drawer.

*

When someone asked Wen Haobai again what his wife was like, he thought for a moment and answered as he had before. "Crass, worldly..."

Then he changed his answer. "I cherish her more than life itself."

Bonus Scene:

A friend asked Zhuang Qingcai, "So what kind of person does Wen Haobai pretend to be around your family?"

Zhuang Qingcai replied, "The property manager of a gated villa community. He also does house calls to water the homeowners' plants and feed their cats. He's got a six-figure savings account and employee benefits, goes to HLA twice a year, and my parents are pretty pleased with him."

Just then, President Wen was sternly reprimanding his subordinates in the conference room when he suddenly sneezed.

Business tycoon x down-to-earth beauty

The heroine was born in February, and her name comes from the line, "Who has cut these delicate leaves?"

* One-on-one romance, marriage before love, and the leads are each other's one and only.

* Also known as The Little Green Vegetable Transplanted into a Mansion Against Her Will, Mr. Wen the Good Samaritan, and Scallions with Tofu.

* Some professional details are fictionalized.

[Upcoming Novel: Don't Use a Kitten Knife to Flirt with Me. Blurb]

Miss Baili tossed away the details of her eighteenth arranged-marriage candidate.

Her friend cried out in shock. "Seriously? You turned down Shao Bairu too? He's old money in Wucheng, with a solid family fortune and a knack for making money!"

She lifted an eyelid and showed off her limited-edition handbag and luxury car keys. "Do I look like I need money?"

"He's so handsome, too!"

"Do I look like I don't have handsome men chasing me?"

"He has a villa in Ziyu Mingdi!"

"Do I look like I can't afford a villa?"

Her friend fell silent for a moment. "I heard Shao Bairu has seven cats in his villa! Every one of them is plump, adorable, sweet, and well-behaved! A few are celebrity cats who've appeared in magazines and TV dramas!"

"Do I look like..."

Baili Yu, a cat lover, suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

I do.

Two days later, rumors spread through Wucheng's high society that the Baili and Shao families were about to arrange a marriage.

Her prospective groom said he had seven children.

Baili Yu said she'd be happy to become a mother without the pain of childbirth.

*

They married to appease their elders. After the wedding, Baili Yu and Shao Bairu agreed not to interfere in each other's lives, and that either could leave at any time if they found true love.

Onlookers sighed. The fake couple both had strong personalities, so they were bound to clash.

Some even claimed to have seen Miss Baili sneaking out of the mansion alone in the middle of the night with a cat carrier on her back, wiping away tears as she went. It looked like her husband had wronged her and she was planning to steal the cats and run...

Her friend called and patiently urged her, "If you're unhappy, you should get divorced sooner rather than later."

At the time, Baili Yu was lying on the double bed in Ziyu Mingdi, surrounded by her seven little brats, No. 1 through No. 7. Frowning helplessly, she said, "I asked a divorce lawyer. The cats wouldn't be awarded to me."

Before she could finish speaking,

a well-defined hand reached over and rudely hung up her call, then coaxed the cats clinging to Baili Yu away.

Shao Bairu pulled his wife close.

Even the lofty young master had times when he had to beg in a low voice. "For the sake of our seven children, please don't bring up divorce again."

Theme: Accepting and embracing the person you love.