A Tender Flutter of the Heart

Zhou Yingxue pursued Xu Nuo throughout high school for three years,

only to end up with nothing.

Her side of the story:

At fifteen, Zhou Yingxue was the daughter of H City’s richest man and the school's cherished young lady. Daring and radiant, she never gave up on anything she set her sights on, including the quiet, taciturn Xu Nuo, who had captured her heart at first sight.

She brought Xu Nuo breakfast before class and chattered away behind his bicycle on the way home. Everyone assumed they were a couple, but only Zhou Yingxue knew that in three years, she had never held Xu Nuo's hand or once sat on the back of his bicycle.

At twenty-five, Zhou Yingxue weighed 170 pounds and wore a T-shirt from a wholesale shop. She caught sight of Xu Nuo with a child at the most luxurious mall in Kyoto. She wanted to run, but with red-rimmed eyes, she forced herself to be brave and kept talking to Xu Nuo, saying things she didn't mean.

His side of the story:

On graduation day, she wore a red dress and took everyone's breath away.

His heart, too, skipped a beat.

The day he asked her out, planning to confess his feelings, she stood him up.

He waited there until late at night, but she never appeared. He called her, but she never answered again. She'd once had friends everywhere, but it was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth, cutting off contact with everyone overnight.

He searched for her like a fool for seven years, but found nothing.

When they met again, she had completely changed. With a formulaic smile, she gave insincere compliments about the child beside him and desperately tried to get his phone number.

Xu Nuo didn't hesitate. He watched her enter his private number into her old, battered phone.

"I never changed my number."

"That's good."

Xu Nuo spent three days anxiously waiting for Zhou Yingxue to call. As expected, she broke her promise again.

It doesn't matter. I've found you now, and I'll never let you run away again.

Note:

Pharmaceutical company CEO x child talent agent

The female lead has neurotic bulimia, but she will gradually recover.

New story now open: "Faint Affection" [Marriage Before Love]

["Playboy Butterfly" illegitimate son] x [brave heiress who pursues true love]

A sister story to "A Flutter of the Heart," about the love between the older sister and brother-in-law

Pregnancy before marriage, Marriage Before Love, both leads have no prior partners

Blurb:

The night she was set up, twenty-five-year-old Xu Nian saw Ji Xin again, the man she'd thought about every day.

To put an end to the unshakable crush she'd carried for eight years, she summoned her courage and stumbled into his arms while drunk. She'd thought he'd push her away without mercy, but instead, she got the brief romance she'd wished for.

Afterward, she resolved to forget Ji Xin, but fate had other plans. She became pregnant. After much agonizing, she finally decided to keep the baby.

Word spread that the unmarried daughter of an established pharmaceutical dynasty was pregnant, and rumors swirled in her social circle that she was carrying a "bastard."

Covered in scandal and bringing shame on her family, she prepared to raise the child alone as a single mother.

But in the quiet of a private hospital, Ji Xin, in a sharply tailored suit, said, "Let's get married," and Xu Nian fell completely for him.

Ji Xin, the illegitimate son of the Ji family, who had been away from home for many years, is now a rising star in the industry. Though he looks harmless, he is decisive and merciless in his dealings, a terrifying figure in business whom everyone fears.

The business marriage between an industry star and the eldest daughter of an established pharmaceutical company was a powerful alliance.

And the "bastard" in Xu Nian's belly, who had once been unspeakable, became the cherished eldest grandson of the Ji and Chu families, set to inherit a vast fortune before even being born.

On their wedding day, Ji Xin stood beneath the altar, full of confidence.

Prominent figures from politics and business attended the wedding in their finest clothes. Amid the clinking glasses and lively chatter, only two tables of guests seemed out of place.

There had long been rumors in their circle that Xu Nian had a first love she couldn't let go of, and that she'd stayed in the country for college because of him.

Unfortunately, he had died young, and Xu Nian had never recovered from the heartbreak. Ever since, she had kept several pretty boys around her, each with an oval face and peach-blossom eyes, all bearing some resemblance to her first love.

Now, a table of her ex-boyfriends sat together, like a family reunion among brothers. But the observant noticed that they all looked somewhat like the groom.

The groom, meanwhile, had long had a reputation as a playboy. Ever since returning to the Ji family, he'd put on the persona of a "playboy butterfly," flitting from one romance to another. His ex-girlfriends all had completely different styles, and seated together they looked like a beauty pageant, each one unforgettable.

Watching the newlyweds, who looked united in public but distant in private, everyone bet their marriage wouldn't last more than a few years.

Reality proved them wrong. After reclaiming his family's fortune, Ji Xin abandoned his former playboy image and became a devoted family man who talked about nothing but his wife and child.

For his wife's birthday, he gave her jewelry he'd bought at auction. When she gave birth, he gave her shares and property. He held a massive giveaway on social media so everyone could celebrate the baby's arrival.

But even the most perfect illusion of happiness will eventually be exposed. When you don't love each other, you can play the perfect couple. But once you fall in love, the past becomes a thorn lodged in your throat, hurting with every breath.

"Ji Xin, let's get a divorce."

Ji Xin, who worked tirelessly every day for his wife and child, completely panicked.

Why would his beloved wife suddenly leave him when their marriage was so happy?

Note:

1. Both leads have no prior partners.

2. The male lead has a "playboy butterfly" personality and is a smooth talker, but he doesn't chase after women.

3. Those "ex-girlfriends" were decoys the male lead used to confuse his enemies while fighting for power.

Theme: May love and feelings never go unrewarded.