After I Provoked the Aloof Beauty

[Complete! You can dive in without worry, everyone! My upcoming novel next door, [What Should I Do If My Husband and I Aren't That Close?], is now open for follows. Check it out and tap the little star if you're interested, ovo!]

[Long-suffering, obsessive, possessive top x Playful playboy bottom who flutters from flower to flower]

Nanda University had two famously extreme handsome men: Zhu Shuhao and Jiang Chengshu.

One was as flirtatious as they came, the other celibate to the bone.

Zhu Shuhao was a notorious heartbreaker. Within a hundred-mile radius, almost every good-looking man was fair game for his charms and his destructive ways.

Some of his relationships lasted two or three months. Others amounted to just one kiss, after which he could still say without batting an eye, "I don't feel anything. Let's call it quits."

He was genuinely handsome, but he was just as genuinely a jerk.

Jiang Chengshu was a newly admitted graduate student at A University. Other than spending time in the lab, he almost never joined in any activities.

Zhu Shuhao, a total looks-first guy, hadn't thought much of the famous Jiang Chengshu. But the instant he saw him in person, he changed his mind and vowed not to give up until he won him over.

Zhu Shuhao tried everything he could to lure Jiang Chengshu to his side.

But Jiang was like a bone too tough to chew, and Zhu Shuhao could never quite swallow him.

Just as Zhu Shuhao finally chose his dignity over the man and prepared to give up, the untouchable beauty suddenly seemed to come around.

"You said you would love me forever. Doesn't that count anymore?"

In that moment, Zhu Shuhao's heart soared.

-

Jiang Chengshu knew there was no way to make a bird longing for freedom willingly stay in a cage.

But as Zhu Shuhao kept pursuing him, he began to enjoy the feeling of being the only one in Zhu Shuhao's heart and mind.

He started to waver, and even found himself willing to believe every ridiculous thing Zhu Shuhao said, willing to believe a playboy could really change his ways.

Just as Zhu Shuhao was about to take back everything that had felt like a dream, Jiang Chengshu gave free rein to the feelings he'd hidden deep inside and claimed Zhu Shuhao for himself.

From then on, he would only allow Zhu Shuhao to love him.

He gave Zhu Shuhao plenty of time to get used to a real relationship, and the basic trust every couple needed. But his pretty little bird never learned to behave.

In the end, Zhu Shuhao smiled and told him politely and gracefully that people got tired of things, too.

Jiang Chengshu coldly lifted Zhu Shuhao's chin and roughly wiped away the mark of someone else's lips on his soft, red ones.

"It's fine if you don't know how to be in love. From now on, you won't need to."

"All you need to learn is how to please me every day."

Reader's Guide:

1. The bottom is not a virgin; the top is. Older top, same-sex marriage is legal in this setting.

2. Maximum melodrama, plenty of romantic rivals, and confinement.

Here's the blurb for my upcoming novel, [What Should I Do If My Husband and I Aren't That Close?]:

Marriage first, love later / The top's secret crush comes true / The bottom falls in love over time / ABO

[Proper, gentle, tongue-tied, insecure Alpha x Witty, slow-to-warm, oblivious, straightforward Beta]

Ji Xiang is an older bachelor Beta, financially independent and enjoying his own little life.

He figures it wouldn't be a big deal if he never got married, but he can't escape the endless questions from his parents' relatives every New Year. In the end, his overbearing parents drag him into one blind date after another, eight hundred times in all.

Every time, he gets either an Omega who thinks Betas are weak and frail, an Alpha with no ability but plenty of delusions, or another Beta he just can't stand.

Ji Xiang is about to go crazy from all the dates. With a weekly blind date he can't turn down and his parents in tears, he has no choice but to fight fire with fire and scare his dates away with some outrageous demands.

Just as Ji Xiang rambles to the Alpha before him, whose face is already black as a pot, about how marrying him would require at least three cars, six houses, 100,000 in savings, and a million in betrothal gifts, Yang Chaoshen descends like a god from the heavens.

Carrying stacks of property deeds and bank cards, a wreath of car keys, and a betrothal gift list long enough to circle the Ji family home three times, he pushes aside the Alpha calling Ji Xiang crazy and sets everything in front of Ji Xiang. Then, with a polite and solemn expression, he asks:

"Hello. I meet your requirements. Would you marry me?"

-

Before the wedding, Ji Xiang and Yang Chaoshen made a simple agreement. They could work on their feelings, but if they didn't fall in love, they wouldn't force it. They were just sharing a life, and if either of them met someone they liked later, they could always get divorced.

Yang Chaoshen agreed, and the two began living a courteous, respectful life over WeChat

Yang Chaoshen: Could you please take a portion of pork out to thaw when you get home? I'll make shredded pork with green peppers tonight. Thanks.

Ji Xiang: Sure. I've taken it out.

Yang Chaoshen: Thank you.

Ji Xiang: You're welcome.

Ji Xiang: Hi, dear. Could you pick up a large bowl of liangpi for me on your way home?

Yang Chaoshen: Got it. Should I get a portion of spring pancakes too?

Ji Xiang: Yes, please. Thank you.

Yang Chaoshen: Bought it. You're welcome.

-

Yang Chaoshen knew he was stiff and boring. Ji Xiang had only married him because the timing happened to be right.

He was afraid that one day Ji Xiang would meet someone funnier and more charming than him, then choose to divorce.

But he truly had no idea how to grow closer to Ji Xiang.

Following his friends' advice, he sent flowers, gifts, and money, but all he got in return was a slightly distant "Thank you" from Ji Xiang.

Even though he was happy, Yang Chaoshen still felt a little disappointed.

Because the way Ji Xiang looked at him was no different from the way he tenderly looked at the carefree little cat they kept at home.

Then one day, he realized Ji Xiang seemed to have met someone he liked.

In someone else's photos, Ji Xiang was laughing brightly and happily, hugging sweetly and coyly asking for kisses. Yang Chaoshen knew it was time to bow out.

After all, he should be grateful to have had that time with him.

Yang Chaoshen took out the signed divorce papers, left most of his property to Ji Xiang, and walked away without looking back, dragging his small suitcase into the drizzling night.

After meeting with his older brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time because he lived abroad, Ji Xiang came home to find the house painfully empty and let out a shriek: Where did my huge husband go?!

"Even the most clueless person will try their hardest to give the one they love an endless, singular devotion."

Reader's Guide:

1. Older top, one-on-one, both are virgins. Yang Chaoshen has a one-sided crush on Ji Xiang and is head over heels for him.

2. Yang Chaoshen's insecurity only comes up in his relationship with Ji Xiang. In every other respect, he's an absolute powerhouse of a man.

3. ABO setting, with possible changes to the worldbuilding.

Theme: Love people well.