The Night Is Gentle [Marriage Before Love]

My next novel, Getting What He Wants, is now available. Come give it a try!

"Gorgeous heiress x arrogant, noble tycoon"

"Two wealthy families, no bankruptcy / marriage first, love later / the hero falls first"

Jian Mo has always lived by the principle of enjoying life while she can. The first time she saw Chu Yiqing, he was wearing a well-tailored black shirt and leaning by the bar's entrance, his eyes lazy and carefree as he smoked a cigarette.

That very night, being a sucker for a handsome face, she made the first move and started a casual relationship with him.

After they'd spent a while indulging themselves, the time came to say goodbye.

Jian Mo laid down three rules: from then on, they wouldn't bother each other. Chu Yiqing raised an eyebrow and gave a noncommittal reply.

-

A week later, at a blind date arranged by her parents, Jian Mo saw Chu Yiqing again.

In a suit, the man looked every bit the refined gentleman, broad-shouldered and long-legged. He gave her an amused, half-smiling look and suggested, "Want to give it a try?"

"What?" Jian Mo didn't understand.

Chu Yiqing chuckled and explained, "I mean, why don't you marry me and keep things the way they were?"

-

Chu Yiqing had set his sights on someone and put in some effort to win her over, so he could keep her by his side openly.

But after all that, he realized her heart wasn't with him at all.

To her, he was nothing but a ridiculous stand-in.

A little scene:

The day they fell out, Chu Yiqing was unusually quiet. He took all his things, except for the divorce papers signed by Jian Mo.

Later, after they made up, Jian Mo was utterly exhausted, her body limp as she leaned against him. Smiling, she asked, "Why were you so angry, but still refused to sign?"

Chu Yiqing reached out and pinched her chin. After holding her gaze for a long moment, he finally gave in, bending down to kiss her again. His expression was reverent and lovestruck. "Because even when I was that angry, I never thought about leaving you."

*Is the one who falls first always the loser?

*Even if they are, so what?

*From the day he met her, all he wanted was her, not to win or lose.

*One-on-one, single-couple romance. The hero falls first.

*The title is from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Getting What He Wants blurb:

"Stubborn, sensitive sweetheart x calm, self-restrained older brother with an intense possessive streak"

"Living under his roof / the clear-headed one falls into temptation / the aloof beauty goes mad"

Ten years ago, Zhu Jinyuan met Lu Xianqing for the first time.

At the time, her parents were preparing to move abroad, and she was sent to stay temporarily with the Lu family as an unwanted burden.

The enormous villa and exquisite garden, every corner she passed, all spoke of wealth.

Nervous and frightened, Zhu Jinyuan followed her mother's prompt and softly called him "Brother."

The instant their eyes met, Lu Xianqing stood up and coldly looked away.

He wouldn't even spare her a response, as though her arrival held no interest for him.

-

Ten years later, in that same garden.

On the night before she was due to move out for good, a torrential downpour fell from the sky. The man who came in the dead of night heard that she was about to start dating someone new. Furious, he seized her wrist and pinned her against the wall.

His breath burned beside her ear, while the marble pillar at her back was hard and cold.

The rain soaked their faces as undercurrents surged in the darkness.

In desperation, Zhu Jinyuan called him "Brother." "Calm down."

Lu Xianqing laughed in a fury, loosened his tie, and leaned in close. "Now you know to call me Brother. What did you call me last night?"

I will love you from far away

Across a distance of calm

Theme: May you never lose the ability to love.