Glacier Butterfly

A refined, aloof, and unruly young gentleman x a down-on-her-luck, flirtatious student

*

During her junior year, Shen Nian went home to pick up the documents she needed to apply to study abroad.

The bookshelf was too tall, and stretching on tiptoe was a struggle. Her pale blouse revealed a glimpse of her slender, fair waist.

After finally reaching the documents, she turned and saw Shen Zhixu standing backlit in the study doorway.

The man held a dark striped tie, slowly winding it around his palm several times.

Shen Zhixu gently pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses with long fingers, his dark eyes fixed on her. “You say you like me, but you go behind my back and seduce other men.”

He looked at her with a cool, mocking smile. “Nian Nian, your love is far too cheap.”

*

The family of the man she was expected to marry lived just one floor away. The two families were gathered together, laughing and chatting.

No one knew what was happening in Shen Zhixu’s bedroom on the third floor.

The heavy curtains blocked the light, leaving only a faint glimmer in one corner.

The man pinned Shen Nian against the white wall with his long legs and pressed a cold fingertip to the corner of her lips.

His large hand gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him.

The corners of the girl’s eyes were red, and tears gathered as she looked up at him pitifully. She tugged at his clothes and spoke softly. “Brother…”

His long fingers slowly slipped past her flushed lips. His voice was as clear and cold as snow. “Isn’t it too late to call me ‘brother’ now? Do I need to remind you…”

He paused and gave a quiet, amused laugh, as if savoring the memory. “How you climbed onto my lap of your own accord, and then kissed me all over?”

-

Shen Zhixu’s life had been an empty world. One day, Shen Nian fluttered into it like a butterfly, and life bloomed in that barren land.

She had only wandered in by accident, yet she trapped him for a lifetime.

In Shen Nian’s childhood memories, Shen Zhixu was proud and cold, as unreachable as snow atop a high peak.

Later, he looked at her tenderly, melting like a glacier.

#My brother, who I thought hated me, had actually been secretly in love with me all along#

#You don’t need to bait your second brother. He was hooked from the start#

*Reading Guide

Not related by blood, deliberate seduction, healing, rekindled love, a young gentleman who goes mad for love, seven-year age gap

The leads are not registered in the same household; their shared surname is a coincidence from their parents’ generation; happy ending

The blurb isn’t the whole story. It can be considered mutual pining, though mostly from the man’s side

The characters are imperfect. If you feel uncomfortable while reading, stop in time. There’s no need to notify the author if you drop the story

Not recommended for readers who like to nitpick the heroine

Blurb written on 2023.10.18, revised on 2024.1.12, final version on 2024.03.24

Coming soon: Light on the Water Is Hard to Sink. Blurb:

Ying Qi met a man abroad. His features were deep, handsome, and captivating, and everything about him hit all her buttons. Even the tiny mole by his collarbone radiated an indescribable sensuality.

She boldly went over to strike up a conversation. “Want to have a drink together?”

Late at night, he traced her wine-stained lips with his fingers. His voice was languid. “Had enough?”

In a foreign country where no one knew them, they did everything wild and reckless.

It was a brief encounter that ended as suddenly as it began. Back home, Ying Qi returned to her studies and her ordinary life. Aside from the occasional absent-minded moment, forgetting each other among the crowd seemed like the right choice.

Until Ying Qi followed her mother to Beicheng and moved into her stepfather’s luxurious villa.

At the welcome dinner, their parents introduced them.

Seeing her, the man narrowed his dark eyes almost imperceptibly. He held out his sharply defined hand and spoke with deep meaning. “Long time no see.”

Their parents looked astonished. “You know each other?”

Their two families’ business marriage would unite them as equals. The best outcome for both of them would be to marry other people, then spend their lives as supportive step-siblings.

“We don’t.” Having calmed herself, Ying Qi looked up and shook his hand with a bright smile. “Hello, brother. I look forward to learning from you.”

At that moment, she felt the strength of his grip.

As their new family adjusted, the unrelated step-siblings seemed to be at each other’s throats. Everyone thought they were sworn enemies who were constantly at odds.

Only Ying Qi knew that, late at night, Jing Yanci would repeatedly knock on her door, force his way into her room, pin her against the cold door, and grin as he called her his little sister. “Does this kind of instruction feel good?”

Fed up with her ambiguous relationship with Jing Yanci, Ying Qi proposed that they return to the proper path and marry other people.

“So you want to keep calling me ‘brother’? That’s fine in bed.” The man lazily raised an eyebrow, grabbed her ankle with one hand, and dragged her in front of him. “The rest of the time, figure it out yourself.”

Theme: Love can turn a cliff into level ground