The Mist Is Hard to Resist

[Main Story Complete, Extra Chapters Updated Alongside the Rankings, Upcoming: Hong Kong Nights, Lost in Love]

[Two Powerful Families / Cross-Cultural Romance / Marriage Before Love / Fake Lady × Pseudo Gentleman]

1.

Cheng Yanshen, the head of the Cheng family in the capital, was a refined and upright young business magnate. He had a pair of deep, expressive eyes, yet he acted with decisive speed.

The Shen family's daughter he married was gentle and gracious, the very picture of a socialite.

At the celebratory banquet, Shen Luoyi and Cheng Yanshen made a dazzling appearance together, smiling warmly and looking after each other with every sign of affection.

But as soon as the socializing ended, they effortlessly put some distance between them, not even meeting each other's eyes.

Onlookers sighed that the newlyweds seemed much too distant, and guessed their marriage would not last.

2.

Three months into their marriage, word got around that Shen Luoyi disliked the decor of their marital home, so the Cheng family's multimillion-yuan mansion was torn down and renovated. Custom-made jewelry was part of her everyday life, and Mrs. Cheng had become even more pampered than before the wedding.

Everyone was shocked. Did a marriage of convenience really need this kind of excess?!

Later, Cheng Yanshen went alone to a gathering with friends, without touching either cigarettes or alcohol.

When they brought up his seemingly loveless marriage, he gave a faint, inscrutable smile and avoided the subject.

But before nine o'clock, Cheng Yanshen picked up his coat and stood. All he said was, "I have to pick up my wife."

His usual cool detachment was nowhere to be seen. He looked more devoted than anyone.

3.

Leaving the cocktail party, Shen Luoyi spotted the man leaning against his car from afar. He was tall and straight, with an exceptional air about him, every inch the perfect gentleman.

Remembering the nightgown he had torn the night before, she muttered, "A gentlemanly scoundrel."

In the cramped car, his suit jacket draped over her delicate evening dress. Cheng Yanshen pulled her onto his lap and chuckled against her lips. "Calling me names again?"

He leaned closer, his voice enticing. "I'll replace your nightgown. Fair's fair, darling, you owe me a tie."

In the midst of their feverish kiss, Shen Luoyi found herself thinking of the past at the most inopportune moment.

On a rainy London night, a daringly dressed girl stumbled into a man's arms.

She looked up at him through a haze of blue smoke, her gaze unfocused. "Help me."

Cheng Yanshen glanced at the man chasing after her, then laid a hand on her slender waist.

He smiled. "And what will you give me in return?"

One kiss on a London street, in exchange for all the romance of a lifetime.

[Bonus Scene]

Three hours after Shen Luoyi stopped replying to his messages, Cheng Yanshen called his wife in London, his voice laid-back. "Has the big, wide world caught your eye again, Mrs. Cheng?"

"That was exactly my plan," Shen Luoyi replied with a smile, deliberately teasing him.

"Baby, open the door."

[Reader's Guide]

1. Refined and aloof × cool and alluring. One-on-one romance, both leads' first love, no previous sexual partners.

2. The story moves from London to the capital, with a few flashbacks. They make up a very small part of the story.

3. Two powerful families, marriage before love, two proud leads, and intense romantic tension.

4. "Torn down" is an exaggeration. The house was only renovated, with no private construction, in compliance with the Land Administration Law.

Upcoming: Hong Kong Nights, Lost in Love

[Marriage Before Love / Age Gap / Old-Fashioned Gentleman × Cool and Gentle]

1.

At twenty-three, Ji Qingran had just been reunited with the Ji family. Following her family's arrangements, she married a stranger she had never met.

Song Weichen, head of the Song family, was mysterious and low-key, with ruthless methods. Many people tried to curry favor with him, but not one could catch his eye.

Everyone said Ji Qingran was lucky: she had barely arrived in Hong Kong before becoming Mrs. Song.

Three months after registering their marriage, Ji Qingran had still never met her husband in name only.

Song Weichen was building his business empire overseas. The only reminder that he existed was the daily notification of a transfer to her account, with an uncountable number of zeroes.

2.

At a banquet celebrating his return, Song Weichen appeared with his new wife.

People praised them as a perfect match, but Song Weichen's friends knew the marriage was only to appease the elders. It could fall apart at any moment.

Later, at a gathering with friends, Song Weichen went downstairs to pick up Ji Qingran, who had gotten lost.

When he still hadn't returned after a long while, a friend went to look for them, only to see the usually composed and dignified man holding Ji Qingran in his arms.

His suit jacket was wrapped around her slender shoulders as he bent his head to kiss her intently, his profile strikingly handsome.

He rubbed her flushed earlobe between his fingers and said casually, "I've been teaching you for so long, and you still don't know how to catch your breath."

3.

At first, Song Weichen hadn't given this marriage much thought. The two of them had only a marriage contract, each getting what they needed.

But after pretending for long enough, he began to feel something different.

Later, Song Weichen found a divorce agreement in his study. Ji Qingran's signature on the last page was especially jarring.

That night, the divorce agreement lay on the table before them. Ji Qingran's expression was distant, her gaze shifting away. "I've had enough of pretending. I don't want to keep this up."

"Pretending?" Song Weichen picked up the agreement with his long, slender fingers and tossed it into the trash, his expression cool.

The next instant, he held her by the waist, their breaths mingling. His low voice turned husky. "I'm afraid my acting isn't that good."

If I didn't love you, how could I possibly act as if I did?

[Bonus Scene]

"Ignoring me?"

"You tore my shirt last night. Still not satisfied?"

With a soft laugh, Song Weichen drew the silent Ji Qingran into his arms, then kissed her fingertips. "Baby, teach me how to make it up to you?"

Theme: Be yourself