Winter Solstice Diary

Column: Married First, Love Later, A Marriage Made by Appointment On the day winter began, Xu Qingwan went on a blind date at a cafe and ran into Jian Qiusui, the boy she had secretly liked back in school. After meeting three times, they entered into marriage. In high school, Xu Qingwan was quiet and reserved, someone who barely stood out. At dusk after school, the number 3 player on the court was bold and carefree, darting around like the wind. He was the brightest color in her girlhood. Xu Qingwan knew Jian Qiusui was only following his family's arrangements, and reminded herself not to get her hopes up. But on a bitterly cold winter night, Jian Qiusui arrived at her side, wrapped in the biting wind and snow, all because she had murmured, in her fever, that she missed him. Though he didn't like sweets, he still made time to spend an entire afternoon baking with her. Jian Qiusui furrowed his brow slightly. Under Xu Qingwan's expectant gaze, he brought a cherry to her lips. Only when a kiss, tasting of cream and cherries, landed on her lips did his smiling voice murmur by her ear, "So sweet." Later, Jian Qiusui unexpectedly learned that Xu Qingwan had been secretly in love for years with an unknown classmate who wore the number 3. As her husband childishly gave in to jealousy, Xu Qingwan, held firmly in his arms, could only smile helplessly. "Mr. Jian, are you even jealous of yourself?" Coming soon: A Marriage Made by Appointment. Please add it to your collection! At twenty-three, Wen Nian's life was turned upside down by three major events. First, her mother, Wen Ruhua, was hospitalized after a car accident. Second, she was actually the long-lost daughter of the Yu family of Nancheng. Third, she had acquired a fiance named Zhou Qisi. Zhou Qisi lost his father as a boy and was taken in by the Yu family. Still young, he had already taken the reins of the Zhou Group. At Wen Ruhua's bedside, her refined, easygoing fiance promised to take good care of her. Wen Nian knew he was repaying the Yu couple for their kindness, and all she wanted was to put her parents at ease. One day, Zhou Qisi injured the back of his hand, and Wen Nian helped treat it. She remembered how he had come home late one night with an injury, acting as if nothing had happened. Unable to help herself, Wen Nian gently chided him, instinctively using the soothing tone one might use with a child and telling him to behave. When she looked up, she caught an inscrutable look flickering in his dark eyes. Zhou Qisi leaned toward her, his crisp, woody scent enveloping her. His tone was languid. "So, Teacher Wen, how are you planning to teach me to behave?" Her friends often said that no matter how many girls tried to win Zhou Qisi's favor, he was hard-hearted and paid none of them any attention. Zhou Qisi, too, thought he would never care for anyone in this lifetime. But the girl named Wen Nian had gentle brows and soft eyes. Usually quiet and reserved, she was like a peaceful white magnolia. Yet in private, she would worry about whether his wounds hurt. And when a rainy night triggered his trauma, she would find him in some secluded corner and softly say in his ear, "Qisi, don't be afraid. I'm here." He was the one in pain, yet it was her warm tears that fell against the side of his neck. Later, Zhou Qisi started coming home earlier and earlier. Even his friends teased him, saying that someone as free-spirited and carefree as he was had turned out to be such a family man. Then, after one night of drunken passion, Wen Nian, fully aware of the true nature of their marriage, began deliberately avoiding him. That night, Zhou Qisi blocked her at the door. The man who was usually so sure of himself lowered his head and held her close, his words full of grievance. "Wife, could you stop avoiding me?" "Or did you use me and decide you didn't want to take responsibility?" Married first, love later / Love grows over time Theme: Tomorrow will be better