A refined, gentle big shot from Beijing's elite circles with a hidden dark side × a famous actress from a prestigious family who excels at acting obedient
Seven-year age gap × Meeting at the top × Mutual pining becomes love × Living together
As the only daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Zhaoning was known throughout Beijing's elite circles as the perfect daughter.
At every moment of her life, she remembered her father's nearly stringent expectations: Live life to the fullest, but never act on a whim.
Before turning eighteen, Jiang Zhaoning did only two reckless things.
The first happened during winter break in her first year of high school, when she was sixteen.
After her parents caught her dating, she stormed out of the house in a fit of anger.
To keep mobile payments from revealing her whereabouts, Miss Jiang, who never carried cash, pooled together every bit of money she could find. In the end, she could only afford a hard-seat train ticket from Jingzhou to Beicheng.
After a twelve-hour journey with multiple transfers, Jiang Zhaoning had barely stepped off the train and hadn't even had a chance to embrace her freedom when Lu Chen, the son of a longtime family friend, forced her to go to his home in Beicheng.
Under the same roof, the two spent two months together, with a few close calls but no real trouble.
Once Jiang Zhaoning returned to Jingzhou safe and sound, the first thing she did was break up with her young boyfriend. The rebellious Miss Jiang had found a better candidate.
The second happened in the first semester of her senior year, when she was eighteen and preparing for the college entrance exams.
Jiang Zhaoning had been the undisputed top student in her academic subjects for years. Defying her father's wishes, she gave up her guaranteed admission to Qingbei University and quietly applied to film school.
That was the year everyone in their social circle said Lu Chen's heart of stone had finally blossomed: he was dating someone, a rising starlet who was all the rage at the time.
Miss Jiang had always been proud and aloof, but she lowered herself to scrutinize the starlet's photos for two whole hours and still couldn't see what was so special about her.
So he likes beautiful actresses? Jiang Zhaoning came to a conclusion.
At twenty-two, on the night Jiang Zhaoning received her Best Actress award, she knocked on Lu Chen's door.
"I'm going to be filming in Jiangzhou for a while. I need to stay at your place for a few months."
Lu Chen leaned against the doorway. After years of navigating the business world, he was known for being decisive and unyielding. Yet, faced with Jiang Zhaoning's young, innocent eyes, he was flustered for the first time.
How many years had it been since they'd last seen each other? Lu Chen thought for a moment. About six years.
When no answer came, Jiang Zhaoning ran out of patience. Dragging her suitcase, she stepped closer. "It's not like we haven't lived together before. What are you nervous about?"
The older man's heart flutters, during the flirtation stage:
Lu Chen was on set for the final scene of Jiang Zhaoning's new drama as one of its investors.
The kiss scene wasn't particularly difficult, but the male lead wasn't in the right state of mind, so they had to do it three times from start to finish. Only after Jiang Zhaoning kissed him until she was breathless and collapsed into his arms did the nitpicking director finally call, "Cut!"
Given Jiang Zhaoning's extremely high standards for her work, Lu Chen stood in front of the monitor, fuming but unable to say a word.
After the wrap party, Jiang Zhaoning was drunk. Lu Chen took her by the hand, and she followed him into a suite in a daze.
Only when the man pulled her into his arms with a possessive edge did Jiang Zhaoning, slow on the uptake, realize something was wrong. She began stumbling through an explanation.
"I'm a professional actress. When I filmed that kissing scene this afternoon, I didn't bring any personal feelings into it!"
Lu Chen leaned back against the sofa, his expression dark and unreadable. His palm pressed against Jiang Zhaoning's waist, moving upward inch by inch and making the soft, delicate woman in his arms lean closer to him of her own accord.
His eyes fixed on her red lips, his voice husky and tempting. "Then teach me how to kiss you when there are feelings involved."
Theme: I like you, so I'm going to win you over.
