Marrying When the Time Is Right

A secret crush comes true / Marriage first, love later / Mutual flirtation

1,

The first time Lu Qinghuai met Xie Wangyan was the year she went abroad on exchange with a full scholarship.

At the time, he was refined and aloof, speaking with her in French with calm elegance. Her face flushed red, and her tongue stumbled over every word. She was like dust and mud gazing up at the moon on a high terrace.

Lu Qinghuai grew up in an orphanage in a small town. She was twenty-four when she finally reunited with her birth family, just as the marriage arrangement between the Lu and Xie families reached an impasse. That was the second time she met Xie Wangyan.

Later, when Old Master Xie's condition worsened and there seemed to be no solution, Lu Qinghuai summoned her courage and asked, "Mr. Xie, if anyone would do, would you consider me?"

Xie Wangyan looked at her. "The marriage will last two years. During that time, you can date freely, but your family mustn't find out."

She coolly agreed, but inside, a spark burned into a blazing flame.

2,

After getting her wish and marrying Xie Wangyan, Lu Qinghuai kept in mind that they had to maintain a dignified distance.

In public, they were inseparable; in private, they treated each other with polite respect.

At some point, Xie Wangyan started coming home more and more often. His belongings gradually took over their marital home, and he would always appear before her wrapped in a bathrobe.

Lu Qinghuai's face flushed scarlet, and all she could do was retreat every time.

But he trapped her in his arms, damp strands of hair brushing her cheek. "Why are you hiding?"

3,

At a gathering of Xie Wangyan's childhood friends, Lu Qinghuai immediately recognized the crush her best friend had carried for years. She quietly asked, "Is the man in glasses sitting in the corner single?"

Xie Wangyan replied lazily, "Yes."

"Could you help me get his contact information?"

"..." Xie Wangyan's cool fingertips clasped her chin, and his heated kisses landed haphazardly at the corner of her lips. "You dare?"

--

A few notes:

1. Both leads are each other's first and only, secret crush comes true, marriage first and love later, aloof beauty comes down from her pedestal.

2. Gentle, cool-headed engineer x refined, restrained CEO; exceptionally oblivious heroine vs. scheming flirt.

3. The hero has no secret first love and no dating experience. No bullying the heroine and no female rivalry. The heroine isn't submissive or overly conflicted.

4. This should be a sweet little story about healing and redemption.

Theme: Love means growing together.