What Should I Do If My Husband and I Barely Know Each Other?

Arranged marriage, then love / The pursuer's secret crush comes true / The pursued falls in love over time / ABO

[A prim, gentle, soft-spoken, self-conscious Alpha × a witty, easygoing, slow-to-warm-up, oblivious, straightforward Beta]

Ji Xiang is a middle-aged leftover Beta who is financially independent and has his own happy little life.

He figures it wouldn't be a big deal if he stayed single for the rest of his life, but he can't escape the interrogation of every aunt and uncle when he goes home for the New Year. In the end, his parents strong-arm him into being set up on hundreds of blind dates.

Every time, it's either a delicate Omega who looks down on Betas, a useless but overconfident Alpha, or another Beta they can't stand the sight of.

Ji Xiang is going crazy from all the dates. Faced with weekly setups he can't get out of and his parents' tearful pleas, he has no choice but to learn from their example and strike first, behaving obnoxiously to scare off the other person.

Just as Ji Xiang was talking nonstop to the Alpha in front of him, whose face had gone black as the bottom of a pot, explaining that marrying him would require at least three cars, six houses, 100,000 in savings, and a million in bride-price, Yang Chaoshen descended like a god from heaven.

Carrying various property deeds, bank cards, car keys strung into a flower garland, and a bride-price list long enough to circle the Ji family home three times, he squeezed out the Alpha who was calling Ji Xiang a lunatic. He placed everything in front of Ji Xiang and asked, with a polite and solemn expression,

"Hello. I meet your standards. Would you marry me?"

-

Before the wedding, Ji Xiang and Yang Chaoshen made a simple agreement. They could work on their relationship, but if they didn't end up falling in love, there was no need to force it. They could just share a life together, and if either of them met someone they liked later, they could get divorced.

Yang Chaoshen agreed. The two of them began living together with the polite formality of business partners, chatting on WeChat:

Yang Chaoshen: Could you please take some pork out of the freezer when you get home? I'll make pork with green peppers tonight. Thanks.

Ji Xiang: Sure, I've taken it out.

Yang Chaoshen: Thank you.

Ji Xiang: You're welcome.

Ji Xiang: Hi, hubby. Could you pick up a large serving of liangpi for me on your way home?

Yang Chaoshen: Got it. Would you like some spring pancakes with it?

Ji Xiang: Yes, please. Thank you.

Yang Chaoshen: Bought them. You're welcome.

-

Yang Chaoshen knew he was rigid and boring. Ji Xiang had only married him because the timing had happened to be right.

He was afraid that one day Ji Xiang would meet someone funnier and more charming than him, then choose to divorce him.

But he really had no idea how to grow closer to Ji Xiang.

Following his friends' advice, he sent flowers, gifts, and money. All he got in return was a slightly distant "Thanks" from Ji Xiang.

Although he was happy, Yang Chaoshen still felt a little disappointed.

Because the way Ji Xiang looked at him was no different from the way he tenderly looked at the carefree little cat they kept at home.

Until one day, he realized Ji Xiang seemed to have met someone he had fallen for.

In someone else's photo, Ji Xiang was smiling radiantly. He hugged them sweetly and coyly asked for kisses. Yang Chaoshen knew he should graciously step aside.

After all, he should be grateful to have had that time together.

Yang Chaoshen took out the divorce papers he'd already signed, left most of his assets to Ji Xiang, and walked out into the light rain of the night without looking back, pulling his little suitcase behind him.

After meeting his older brother, whom he hadn't seen in ages because he lived abroad, Ji Xiang returned home to find it eerily quiet and let out a piercing shriek: Where did my husband go?!

"Even the clumsiest person will try to give the one he loves most an endless, undivided devotion."

Reading guide:

1. Older man-younger man, 1v1, both sexually inexperienced. Xiao Yang has a one-sided crush and an overwhelming love for Xiao Ji. He likes him very, very, very much.

2. Xiao Yang's insecurity only applies to his relationship with Xiao Ji. Everywhere else, he's a seriously badass man.

3. ABO setting, with possible changes to the genre conventions.

Blurb written on February 29, 2024.

Upcoming novel: Don't Look at Him! Blurb:

[A sharp-tongued, handsome, short-tempered, possessive top with a screw loose and princess syndrome × a gentle, dull-witted, straight-acting, seemingly cold but actually wooden bottom with a husband-like face]

He Youjia and Song Liqing had been best friends for eighteen years. He Youjia was used to Song Liqing's unruffled indifference, no matter what happened. Song Liqing put up with He Youjia acting up every once in a while.

Everyone thought Song Liqing had a secret crush on He Youjia but was too afraid to confess. In reality, whenever he hurriedly looked away, his eyes and mind were focused entirely on squeezing in more study time.

The one who had been secretly in love with Song Liqing for years was He Youjia, who often acted like a jerk under the guise of friendship.

Song Liqing was a total straight guy. To put it nicely, he was a modest and polite gentleman. To put it less nicely, he was a clueless blockhead.

Ever since childhood, he had attracted more girls than anyone could count. He Youjia guarded him like a mother hen protecting her chicks, even more sternly than their parents or teachers. He wouldn't let him flirt or start dating too early, in case it affected his studies.

Song Liqing thought his good friend's advice made sense and thanked him sincerely. Then he studied even harder and strove to improve.

Their friends, delighted to see the drama unfold, teased He Youjia that he looked at Song Liqing like he was his wife.

But He Youjia jumped up in a panic, his face red and his neck flushed as he retorted, "We're best friends!"

He was terrified that the person in question might find out he'd been in love with Song Liqing for years.

Even after they started college, He Youjia stayed glued to Song Liqing's side like a little shadow.

But you can't guard against everything. One moment of carelessness was all it took for Song Liqing to receive an unexpected confession from a man, and after that, everything went off the rails.

Now, Song Liqing was attracting not just girls but all kinds of men, too!

He Youjia couldn't sit still anymore.

Friend: Didn't you say you were best friends?

He Youjia: Best friends, my ass! He's my wife! Hey! You, you jerk! Yeah, you! Don't look at him!

Reading tips:

1. He Youjia is the top, Song Liqing is the bottom. Xiao Song has a natural heartthrob aura. Straight-guy-gets-turned-around story. Both sexually inexperienced.

2. Childhood friends. The couple are the same age, though to be precise, this is an older man-younger man relationship.

Theme: Be brave and pursue love