Startled Butterfly

Nobleman x female student / age gap / forced pursuit

At the start of spring, during Jingzhe, Liang Jin first met Shen Zeqing as a gathering was ending. Her suitor, Shen Songnian, walked up and lowered his head to call him Uncle.

Early spring had just begun, and a fine rain was falling. The car window lowered halfway. Pale jade-like fingers pinched out a cigarette, and through the rain-speckled glass, the man's refined features came into view. "So that's how it is. She's quite a charmer."

Liang Jin neither confirmed nor denied it. All she wanted was to graduate peacefully from Jing University. She had no desire to get involved with a powerful family.

The wind swept through the sparse woods. Liang Jin trembled all over as she stared at the tightly shut door.

The older Shen Zeqing turned the girl's chin toward him, as if crushing the delicate petals of a pear blossom. "I don't even need to set a trap. You've already got nowhere left to go."

People really were so different from one another. Behind the gilded bars of her cage, Liang Jin became a butterfly that could never fly away.

Powerless to resist, Liang Jin was often ill. As she lay in bed, Mr. Shen, a man of high standing, burned incense and knelt in prayer to obtain a piece of jade for her. He held it against her heart and murmured, "Jinjin."

Liang Jin always believed he was only after the novelty, so she waited for Shen Zeqing to grow tired of her. She even used Shen Songnian to help her escape.

Just as Shen Zeqing had put up with her countless times, he held the butterfly in his palm and listened quietly to Liang Jin's pleas. Then, mercifully, he said, "You should call me Auntie. Don't muddle the family hierarchy."

They both knew who had muddled it in the first place.

When the heavy snow came the following year, Liang Jin used the last of her strength to say in Shen Zeqing's arms, "I really hate you."

Shen Zeqing wiped the sweat from her brow. His voice flowed like snow melting in spring, mingled with their ragged breaths. "Jinjin, I can't help it either. I'm a madman in love with you."

So she could never leave him. Not ever.

Shen Zeqing locked Liang Jin away, but the one who fell in love first had entered the cage of her own free will.

-----Dreambound has begun-----

Forced pursuit / stealing someone's love / the powerful man eventually bows to love

Mu Wan accompanied her boyfriend to a banquet. Behind ornate doors and flowered windows, in the depths of the courtyard, sat Qin Jingyao in the host's seat. Her boyfriend had repeatedly warned her that his family really did live right by the imperial palace, and that his personality was wild and unpredictable.

Mu Wan felt out of place amid the banquet's endless toasts. Using the alcohol as an excuse, she stepped out for some air, but her ring rolled into a crack in the stairs. It was a gift from her boyfriend.

As she crouched on the ground, searching in vain, a faint clink sounded: silver metal against silver metal. She looked up and met a pair of eyes tinged with drink.

Mu Wan remembered what her boyfriend had told her and politely greeted him. "Fourth Uncle."

They were a long way apart, and she kept her head lowered, her voice overly restrained.

At a dinner he hosted, Mu Wan thought he was joking and reiterated, "I have a boyfriend."

Qin Jingyao remained perfectly composed as he replied, "You've never tried me. How do you know I'm not better than him?"

They parted on bad terms. One day, on her birthday, Mu Wan received a gift from him: another ring, one meant to replace her boyfriend's.

The courtyard gate swung open. Mu Wan twisted her hands together, never imagining she would beg this man for help.

Through the haze of smoke, Qin Jingyao curled his fingers slightly and smiled carelessly, but his tone was cold. "Break up with him, and we can talk."

The ring on his finger felt cold. It was clearly the match to the one in her hand.

He was like a bewildering dream, trapping her future.

Core theme: Hold on to spring