An Unconventional Marriage Alliance

1

A family-arranged marriage left Xu Tingsong with a fiance she had never met.

She heard he was cool and distinguished, a notorious force on Wall Street. He had only returned to China to honor the marriage promise made by their elders.

The public's verdict on the match: a typical arranged marriage, with no feelings involved.

Before meeting Jin Yan Che, Xu Tingsong thought so too.

But who could have expected that on the day of their engagement, a popular actress would suddenly show up?

She claimed to be the real daughter, and insisted that she was the one who should marry into the Jin family.

A high-profile engagement turned into a melodramatic spectacle, and everyone watched for the drama.

They waited to see how Xu Tingsong, once a dazzling jewel, would fall to rock bottom and make a fool of herself.

She remained composed and turned to Jin Yan Che beside her.

"Help me."

Jin Yan Che glanced at Xu Tingsong, his gaze drifting to her slender waist.

He knew there was a tattoo there. He had chosen it himself all those years ago.

In front of everyone, he smoothed the hair falling beside Xu Tingsong's ear.

His fingertips brushed her earlobe and rubbed it with inscrutable intent. Leaning close to her ear, he said:

"You never think of me unless you're in trouble."

2

Xu Tingsong had owed a debt three years ago.

Her creditor was Jin Yan Che.

In a foreign land, with nowhere to go and the prospect of sleeping on the street looming, she grabbed Jin Yan Che in the crowd as he was coming back from a part-time job.

Then, one morning, she left a bank card behind and boarded a flight home without even saying goodbye.

Xu Tingsong thought their paths had parted for good.

Until she saw a familiar face at the engagement banquet.

Jin Yan Che had shed his boyishness. With the sharp edge of a man in power, he fixed his gaze on her, inch by inch.

3

The day their engagement was called off, they were both calm.

The next day, one was hospitalized with a high fever, while the other went on a business trip, flying to five countries in three days.

Later, they met again on a rainy night. The storm grounded every flight, leaving them stranded at the same hotel with only one room left.

Xu Tingsong emerged from the bathroom, and Jin Yan Zhi caught her by the wrist.

"Why didn't you get the tattoo removed?"

She cried that night, but even she didn't know whether it was because her disguise had been seen through or because she couldn't shake the pain of withdrawal.

Early the next morning, Xu Tingsong saw the English letters on Jin Yan Zhi's wrist.

cage x

My next story is called Not Yet Back to Harbor. Please add it to your collection, TVT~

Blurb:

1-

The Shen family of Harbor City is one of the city's most powerful families.

Shen Yourong, the heir, heads to the mainland to expand the business, and all sides leap into action at the news, going to great lengths to send people and gifts his way.

A friend teases him, suggesting he find someone to keep by his side as a convenient excuse to fend them off.

Shen Yourong is nonchalant and makes no comment.

Amid the clinking of glasses, a figure suddenly comes to mind.

A liar who had used the very same excuse to take everything from him.

2-

Six years ago, no one would have connected Li Yang and Shen Yourong.

One was an orphan living under someone else's roof, fresh out of surgery and still unable to see clearly.

The other was a lofty, brilliant heir apparent, destined to lead his family.

Li Yang had meant to find a powerful patron and use his influence to throw her weight around, but she chose the wrong person.

In an executive suite, unable to see, she knocked Shen Yourong down just as he came out of the bathroom.

When their robes fell open, she panicked and tried to run, but someone grabbed her wrist.

Shen Yourong's deep, magnetic voice hovered by her ear, ticklish and irritating. He pressed something into her palm.

"Miss Li, there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Especially not a delicious one."

3-

They met again at a theater.

To win a role in a film, Li Yang cut off the long hair she'd been growing for years and studied the script day and night.

On the day of the audition, someone who had bought their way onto the production took her spot.

Stubbornly determined to argue her case, she waited where the director was bound to pass. Everyone who walked by laughed at her for being naive and overestimating herself.

Then came the steady sound of footsteps. Shen Yourong, the biggest investor, stood surrounded by people, turning a flint lighter over in his fingers. Across the crowd, he stared at her intently.

.

That night, Li Yang entered an executive suite for the second time, and once again it was with Shen Yourong.

She braced herself for him to settle old scores.

But all he said were two things:

"Your hair is shorter."

"But you look beautiful."

/

Premise: Stay positive and strive forward in life.