Trading Barbs

*Two wealthy childhood friends | Rivals-to-lovers | Push and pull between adversaries

*Proud, short-tempered, and vengeful × Quietly soothing her, but never coaxing her

1.

The Xi and Yu families had been close for generations, and their elders had arranged a betrothal.

Yu Tinghe and Xi Chaoyue had grown up together, but they had never gotten along.

No one knew Yu Tinghe had been genuinely in love with him throughout all three years of high school.

Xi Chaoyue's words, "There's no way I'm marrying her," had made Yu Tinghe give up on him completely.

Yu Tinghe was dazzlingly beautiful, and she was never short of admirers.

Strangely, though, her relationships rarely lasted. At first, she assumed it was a personality mismatch. Then one day, she saw Xi Chaoyue sitting in a cafe with her boyfriend.

As Yu Tinghe drew closer, she heard a derisive chuckle, its meaning unclear.

"...She disappears for ten days or half a month, and you can't find her. Could you put up with her spoiled, willful temper?"

"And she's dreamed since childhood of having her wedding at a medieval noble's manor. She regularly throws parties with her friends on a private yacht, and she wants you to win her those priceless auction items. Could you do all that?"

The man across from him clenched his jaw. "What are you getting at?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Xi Chaoyue replied coolly. "Break up with her. You aren't right for each other."

The man flew into a rage. "Who are you to meddle in our relationship?"

Xi Chaoyue leaned back in his chair, looking neither especially relaxed nor tense. "I'm her brother."

The mocking words made Yu Tinghe's expression darken. She marched over with a cold glare.

She raised her hand and threw a cup of coffee at each of them.

2.

A few months later, the families reshuffled their business interests and brought the betrothal back onto the agenda.

When Yu Tinghe was tricked into showing up at the engagement party, she was still wearing her ski suit. A familiar figure stood in front of the display board, dressed in a sharply tailored bespoke suit, his demeanor unusually composed and abstinent.

As he turned, she saw the words that had been obscured:

Engaged: Xi Chaoyue and Yu Tinghe

"Xi Chaoyue, since we were both tricked into coming, how about we run away together?"

"Both of us?" Xi Chaoyue lifted an eyelid, his tone nonchalant. "Who gave you permission to spread rumors about me?"

Yu Tinghe: ???

[Little Scene]

Beneath the night sky, the city's neon lights seemed all the more bewitching. Heat climbed, while the lights could barely conceal the humid, lingering passion.

Before Yu Tinghe could catch her breath, another fierce, deep kiss came her way. No matter how much she pleaded for him to stop, the man before her ignored her completely.

At last, Xi Chaoyue's thin lips brushed her ear. His voice was muffled and hoarse. "We've been married for six months, and you're still calling me by my name?"

Yu Tinghe panted softly. "What do you want me to call you?" A seductive smile curved her lips, and her voice turned gentle and quiet. "Maybe... big brother?"

Xi Chaoyue's brow twitched. ?

"But how can a big brother sleep with his little sister?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Tinghe yanked the covers hard and kicked him out of bed without mercy.

Xi Chaoyue: ...

#A big brother is a big brother. How could he become a husband?#

#That jerk: Does he not remember what he said?#

#One slap for a scumbag, but an enemy gets the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms#

"Next novel: Drunk on Waking Flowers"

Blurb:

"Can I sit on your lap?"

Zhong Lingyin raised the tip of her brow slightly. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulder like mist, unable to conceal the alluring flush of her skin.

She suddenly leaned in, as if seducing him, as if challenging him.

"I mean, sit inside you."

"..."

Jin Chongze's impression of Zhong Lingyin: beautiful, well-behaved, his friend's little sister.

For thirty years, Jin Chongze had strictly followed the rules and rarely formed close relationships with women.

He never would have imagined that young women these days liked this: wearing nothing under their camisoles?

Eight-year age gap | Touch-starved | She pursues him at first | Both virgins, happy ending

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Theme: Love is a matter of fate and perfect timing