Hong Kong City Nights [Marriage Before Love]

"Cool, aloof college student x distinguished tycoon from Hong Kong's elite"

"Marriage first, love later / Marriage of convenience / The hero falls first / The old flame catches fire"

Liang Shizhen is forced by a promise made by their fathers to register his marriage to Quan Zhen, the eldest daughter of the Quan family.

Rumor has it that he resents the marriage and didn't come home on their wedding night.

The Hong Kong media report extensively, claiming that Mr. Liang is ruthless and will never let an old debt of gratitude tie his hands. Quan Zhen is sure to become a discarded wife within six months.

Once the news gets out, everyone on Hong Kong Island waits to see her make a fool of herself.

Little do they know that the woman at the center of the story only smiles when she hears the gossip. It doesn't bother her at all.

-

Quan Zhen knows perfectly well that her marriage to Liang Shizhen is just a mutually beneficial arrangement, and shouldn't be taken seriously.

Everything changes one night.

It rains, and Quan Zhen can't get a taxi, so a male classmate gives her a ride home since he is going that way.

In the dark living room, Liang Shizhen, who is supposed to be away on a business trip, sits quietly. Darkness cloaks his sharp features and unreadable expression, while a scarlet ember glows and fades between his fingers.

Quan Zhen's breath catches. She says calmly, "Mr. Liang, he's just a classmate."

At the time, she never imagined that...

The man, who merely gives a slight nod as if he doesn't mind, would one day lose control and trap her in a shadowy corner.

Their breaths tangle and quicken. He holds her by the waist, towering over her as he dredges up the past, lowering his eyes to demand, "What kind of classmate? Can a classmate touch you the way I do?"

*

Quan Zhen first met Liang Shizhen when she was thirteen. She hid behind her mother, gazing curiously and timidly at the man who already had a composed air about him, and softly called him "Brother Liang."

Ten years later, the man holds her from behind, half-embracing her. His lips brush her neck, his breath burning hot. When she shrinks away, he chuckles softly, his deep voice coaxing and bewitching her. "What should Zhenzhen call me?"

*One-on-one pairing, both leads have only been with each other. Sweet romance.

*The female lead has no romantic involvement with the male classmate in the blurb. He has a one-sided crush on her, and the male lead misunderstands and gets very jealous.

*The male and female leads have no romantic involvement before adulthood.

Blurb for The Conquest:

"Stubborn, sensitive sweetheart x calm, self-controlled older brother"

"Living under the same roof / The clear-headed one falls / The aloof one goes mad"

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

Her parents were about to move abroad, and she was sent to stay at the Lu family home, a burden to them.

The grand mansion and elegant back garden, every place she passed, spoke of the family's wealth.

Nervous and uneasy, Zhu Jinyuan softly called him "Brother" at her mother's prompting.

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

He could barely be bothered to respond, as if he had no interest in her arrival.

-

Ten years later, in that same garden.

On the night before she moves out for good, rain pours down. The man arrives under cover of night, having heard she is about to start dating someone new. In a fit of rage, he grabs her wrist and pins her against the wall.

His breath burns by her ear; the marble pillar at her back is hard and cold.

The damp rain wets their faces as undercurrents surge in the darkness.

In her panic, Zhu Jinyuan calls him Brother. "Calm down."

Lu Xianqing laughs in anger, loosens his tie, and leans in close. "Now you know to call me Brother. What did you call me last night?"

I will love you from afar

From a distance of calm restraint

*The male and female leads are not listed in the same household register and are not related by blood.

*Five-year age gap. Sweet romance.

*The final quote is from I Will Love You from Afar by Merylise.

Theme: Let go of arrogance and prejudice