Today Is Auspicious for Love

While on a business trip to Las Vegas, Xu Yunxiang took the biggest gamble of her life. She was someone who wouldn't even touch a slot machine, yet after one reckless kiss in a foreign country, she got a marriage certificate with Chen Jinchuan: the older brother of her childhood best friend of twenty-three years. The good news: The marriage certificate hadn't been notarized, so legally speaking, she was still single back home. The bad news: He had deigned to move into her tiny apartment, looking very much like a husband staking his claim. Outsiders said she was quite the schemer when it came to this Schrödinger's marriage. Only Chen Jinchuan knew how many times his gaze had stolen glances at her before she said, “Yes, I do.” A love kept hidden deep in the heart is moving, of course, but willingly losing yourself in her eyes doesn't have to mean defeat. Chen Jinchuan has the confidence to go all in. [Bonus Scene] At a cafe during the morning rush, WeChat order notifications kept chiming. A message popped up: “Miss you.” Xu Yunxiang automatically replied, “Okay, got it. I'll deliver it as soon as I can.” Only after hitting send did she realize the message wasn't from a customer, but from her new husband. She had saved his contact as Chen Jinchuan (Iced Americano), just like the regulars on her work account. She unsent the message. The shop had quieted down in the afternoon when someone pushed open the door. She looked up. The man in a black, custom-tailored suit smiled at her, a secret, undisclosed tenderness hidden beneath his cool, severe features. Under the moonlight, softer still that night, Chen Jinchuan wrapped an arm around her slender waist and kissed her. “I'll come pick it up myself,” he said. With interest, that is. Reading Guide: Marriage first, love later | Seven-year age gap | Happy ending Childhood sweetheart versus her best friend's older brother Next up: My Mini and Your Pickup. Add it to your reading list! A proud, looks-obsessed, wealthy little speedster sweetheart versus a rugged, dependable, get-things-done off-roader Zhu Wan'er, who drives a convertible Mini, versus Zhang Weibai, who drives a sturdy pickup [Blurb] Small-town romance | Size difference | Happy ending 1 The next time Zhu Wan'er saw her high school classmate Zhang Weibai, it was in the town's peach orchard. A man in black with a buzz cut climbed down from a beat-up old pickup and held out a hand. “Step on my leg.” Zhu Wan'er had already been stuck in a peach tree for half an hour, baking in the sun. At his words, she planted a muddy boot print on his work pants without the slightest hesitation. She even frowned and complained that his chest muscles were so hard she'd hurt her nose on them. Zhang Weibai: “...I'm sorry.” His friend, who had come with him, couldn't stand it. “After all these years, the young lady's still as spoiled as ever.” Zhang Weibai ignored him and lowered his head to ask the person in front of him, “Do you want me to wipe the mud off your boots?” 2 Even after Zhu Wan'er came home to recover from heartbreak, people in town still mistakenly thought she'd used him and then left. Zhang Weibai explained earnestly, “We were never together.” No one believed him. “If she wasn't your girlfriend, why did you hold an umbrella for her in the rain, take walks with her when the sun was out, and drive her around at night? When she wanted a cup of coffee, you even brought back drinks from three different shops in the city...” Zhang Weibai was silent for a long time. ...It seemed these were the only small, insignificant things he could do for her. 3 After they got together. When passion was running high, Zhu Wan'er demanded, “How exactly did I use you?” A man with beautiful, lean muscles knelt on the bed, his gaze deep and shadowed. Should he tell her? For all these years, she'd been doing far more than that in his dreams, and he'd welcomed every bit of it. [Peach blossoms bloom on the branches; you live in my heart.] Reading Guide: 1. A young lady with a touch of princess syndrome versus a motorcycle shop owner with an eight-pack. 2. A cozy, everyday romance about ordinary people. Theme: Love, growth, and you.