Wild Crossing on a Desolate River

● Mutual pining / Reunion after years apart / The male lead chases his wife after hurting her / Both are each other's first and only / Childhood sweethearts

New novel, How Is My Stepbrother's Friend Such a Creepy Guy?, now available

Su Qingli is a celebrity with a striking face and a bold personality.

Shi Wenye is the head of the Shi family: discreet, mysterious, aloof, and chaste. His suit jacket is always buttoned to the top. Through a series of misunderstandings, the two end up married.

Not long after she got her marriage license with the man she'd been set up with, her husband went abroad for several months. They barely kept in touch during that time.

At a party, people somehow started talking about the head of the Shi Group. Quite a few remarked that they'd assumed no one could catch the eye of this aloof beauty, but he'd quietly gotten a marriage license with someone he'd met online.

Ice cubes bobbed in the rum, and the liquid in the glass was nearly clear. Su Qingli, who'd been looking listless, perked up at that and was just about to look over.

Then, behind the person speaking, her absentee husband of several months strode toward her. His expression was stern, his eyes a little tired. As if no one else were there, he picked up the glass beside her. His voice was low and his tone intimate. "Take it easy on the drinks, okay?"

The gossipers' expressions changed. One of them spoke ingratiatingly, fishing for information. "What brings you here, Mr. Shi? We were just talking about you."

Shi Wenye lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze never leaving Su Qingli. "I'm here to pick up my wife."

Su Qingli froze. Hadn't she married Shi Wenye's nephew?

And when had she ever dated Shi Wenye online?

One morning after his identity was exposed, Su Qingli woke in Shi Wenye's arms and suddenly asked him, "Why did you pretend to be him and marry me?"

The Shi family had a vast empire with businesses all over the world. Shi Wenye was handsome and talented, and had no shortage of admirers. Why had he pretended to be his nephew and married her?

At her question, the half-asleep man opened his eyes and drew her closer. He rested his chin in the hollow of her shoulder, his voice hoarse. "Because I was afraid."

Afraid she'd disappear without a trace, like she had before.

On a midsummer night after the college entrance exams, Shi Wenye happened to get Su Qingli's contact information. The two jokingly agreed online to be a couple. Just as Shi Wenye was about to confess his feelings to her in person, every message he sent went unanswered.

It seemed she'd deleted him.

Several years later, while abroad, Shi Wenye happened to glimpse a piece of gossip. The headline read: [Su Qingli and the Best Actor Have Been in Love for Two Years, and May Be Getting Married]

On a snowy winter night, he crossed thousands of miles to her city, but could only watch from the shadows as she shared intimate moments with a strange man. Morality and desire formed a net that bound him tight. He couldn't struggle free or escape, only sink deeper.

No one knew how wildly happy Shi Wenye was when he learned they'd broken up.

Male lead: I finally worked up the nerve to go after her, only to find out everything I'd seen was just gossip :)

The male lead has been in love with the female lead for years, and they dated online for a while. One-on-one romance, both are each other's first and only. The male lead's perspective is mutual pining fulfilled; the female lead's perspective is marriage first, love later. The female lead has never dated anyone else.

Blurb archived on 2023/7/20

Recommended upcoming novel: How Is My Stepbrother's Friend Such an Obsessive, Creepy Guy?

● Calm, level-headed heroine X obsessive, creepy hero. He has plotted for a long time, stops at nothing, and goes mad for love as he steals her away. Please add my upcoming novel, The Old-Fashioned Man's Overbearing Love, to your collection.

Feng Tingjing is a good friend of Jiang Ranxi's stepbrother. Jiang Ranxi always thought he was an honest man, a little old-fashioned at worst. They got together because she kissed him while drunk, and he told her to take responsibility, be his girlfriend, and marry him after she graduated.

Jiang Ranxi initially refused.

The next time Feng Tingjing asked her to take responsibility, it happened to be right after Jiang Ranxi confessed to her stepbrother, whom she'd secretly loved for years. Rejected, Jiang Ranxi reluctantly agreed.

At first, everything was great. Her boyfriend was handsome, rich, gentle, and considerate.

Aside from the fact that she occasionally lost some personal belongings, her boyfriend's sex drive was way too high, and he would say with red eyes that he was her dog, her one and only dog, everything was perfect.

One day, her phone was stolen, and she couldn't get in touch with her boyfriend for half a day. Jiang Ranxi had just finished attending an event and only wanted to get some sleep. Besides, her boyfriend was always easygoing, so he surely wouldn't mind if she didn't reply.

Jiang Ranxi lay on the hotel bed and sleepily closed her eyes, deciding to deal with the phone situation the next day.

But the next morning, as she slowly woke, a pair of strong hands suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against the man behind her.

Her boyfriend, who knows when he'd arrived, buried his face in her neck and kissed her softly. His breath brushed her ear. "Ranran, I told you not to think about running away. Otherwise, I won't be able to stop myself from locking you up..."

"You didn't reply to me for seven hours yesterday, baby. So today, let's do it seven times..."

Jiang Ranxi didn't have time to ask him what he meant by seven times before his hot lips covered hers.

Only then did it dawn on her that something might be off about her boyfriend.

After learning that his friend was dating his stepsister, He Huizhou felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

At first, he saw that they weren't close and guessed Jiang Ranxi was only using Feng Tingjing to make him jealous after he rejected her confession. In his usual good-natured way, he urged his stepsister not to force herself.

Later, he happened to see Jiang Ranxi sweetly asking Feng Tingjing for a kiss. Their breaths mingled. Feng Tingjing looked over at him, his expression openly provocative.

He Huizhou shattered a glass as if in a daze. He'd always been indifferent to desire, but at that moment jealousy surged through him, and he even wanted Feng Tingjing dead!

One-on-one romance, both leads are each other's first and only. A messy love triangle with two men fighting over one woman. The male lead's way of thinking is not normal. From the female lead's perspective, he seems honest and old-fashioned at first.

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