A free-spirited, unruly young master from Beijing's elite circles * a well-behaved girl living under someone else's roof
Foster care / regretful pursuit / older man
Nine-year age gap, happy ending
1
In 2014, Xia Xi first met Shi Ningyuan at her parent-teacher conference.
At the time, her life was a complete mess.
The man leaned against her desk, his long legs crossed. His brows and eyes were cool and proud, silver-rimmed glasses perched on his high nose. His shirt was unbuttoned to the second button, and his relaxed pose made him look refined and scholarly.
The whole class envied Xia Xi for having an uncle from a powerful, influential family.
Outside the school, Shi Ningyuan tossed her shabby, old-fashioned schoolbag into the trash. Wiping his hands with a handkerchief, he glanced at her and gave a faint, mocking smile.
"Since you're staying at my house, I'm your guardian when we're out. Once we're home, don't talk to me."
His expression wasn't arrogant, but there was an effortless air of superiority in his voice.
"Keep your distance. Understand?"
Under the blazing sun, Xia Xi's cheeks burned. She clutched the gray hem of her clothes and lowered her gaze to her canvas shoes, whose soles were coming unglued. She was so ashamed she wanted the ground to swallow her.
She answered softly, "I understand..."
Over the years that followed, Xia Xi grew from fifteen to twenty-one.
She clearly remembered the sunlight that day, bright enough to hurt her eyes, the slight furrow in the man's brows, and the sudden moment when her heart stopped fluttering.
2
Shi Ningyuan holds a position of power and is used to controlling everything.
That is, until one day, he sees the ugly duckling he keeps at home return with a man, smiling from ear to ear.
Xia Xi introduces him: "Uncle, this is Ji Yao. We're getting married."
He glances over at her, seemingly unconcerned.
At the makeup she had carefully applied.
At the shade of lipstick that got under his skin.
Later, after a family banquet,
he gets dead drunk, more disheveled than anyone has ever seen him.
Looking at Xia Xi with her hands tied, Shi Ningyuan kneels before her, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"... Uncle was wrong."
He rests his face against her knees and winds a corner of her skirt around his finger. Like a sinner begging for redemption, he murmurs to himself:
"Would you love me again?"
[Reader's guide]
Both leads are each other's first and only, happy ending.
The leads have no physical contact before adulthood and are not related by blood.
Blurb screenshot saved on July 25, 2024.
Theme: Love yourself.
