Keeping Things Straight [Chasing His Wife]

Please add this to your reading list~ Childhood friends, marriage first, love later: "Bittersweet"

This novel:

The ex-wife-chasing crematorium trope / International student x powerful tycoon / Six-year age gap

*

The bravest thing Yan Qiao ever did for love was probably approaching a man whose background she knew nothing about while abroad, then spending three months growing close to him.

Her friends once warned her to be careful around men whose origins were a mystery.

But Yan Qiao never looked into his identity. She wanted to face this relationship with an open heart.

Then New Year's Eve came to an end, and Qi Yu, who had been in London on a business trip, had to return home. Their relationship had been ambiguous, but in the end, their time together was over.

Leaning against his shoulder and gazing toward the fireworks in the sky, Yan Qiao realized this might be the last time they would see each other. She tentatively suggested they kiss.

Qi Yu looked at her. After a moment, he asked,

"Are you sure you won't regret it?"

*

Months later, Yan Qiao graduated and returned to China.

By the time she saw Qi Yu again, everything had changed. She admitted that she regretted it.

But she didn't regret the unrequited feelings or that kiss. She regretted not looking into his past.

If she'd learned sooner what he had kept from her, perhaps she wouldn't have fallen so deeply.

In Beicheng, Qi Yu stood at the top of the world. His actions were unfathomable, and he was a true favorite of heaven, the focus of everyone's attention.

But when he faced her, the warmth and tenderness he'd shown her in London were gone. His eyes held nothing but impenetrable coldness.

The day they finally broke with each other, Yan Qiao broke down and laid everything before him. He offered no explanation, only three words:

"I'm sorry."

*

Another New Year's Eve arrived, and Qi Yu, drunk, knocked on her front door.

Yan Qiao sat on the sofa and watched as he approached, step by step. His eyes burned with undisguised desire and restraint. He dropped to one knee before her.

He clasped her wrist, his eyes and cheeks flushed red as he looked up at her.

"Look at me. Don't love anyone else."

Early story: Sweet international student x gentle, mysterious man

Later story: Spoiled heiress x scheming, ruthless tycoon

Please add my next book to your reading list~ "Bittersweet"

Blurb:

Marriage first, love later / Outwardly flirtatious playboy x cool, aloof heiress

*

Her stepmother considered Qu Yiwei the culprit behind the unrest in their home, and Qu Yiwei had nothing to say about it.

But when her stepmother consulted a fortune-teller, who claimed the only way to break the curse was to marry her off, Qu Yiwei could no longer sit still.

She wasn't the only one who couldn't sit still.

Zhou Weiyue was her childhood friend of ten years, and the illustrious young master of the Zhou family in Beicheng.

That day, Qu Yiwei invited him out for drinks. After a few glasses, her consciousness began to blur. Just as she was about to lose the last thread of her wits, a gentle, enticing voice sounded in her ear.

"Qu Yiwei, marry me."

*

After they married, Qu Yiwei moved in with him.

But she knew perfectly well that Zhou Weiyue's defiance of his parents was only to help her.

There was no other reason.

Though she bore the title of his wife, Qu Yiwei gave him plenty of freedom and said reasonably, "You can go find your true love. I'll pretend not to notice, as long as you don't bring them home..."

That very night, just as Qu Yiwei was about to mark off a "no-man's-land" in the bed again, the man yanked her into his arms.

*

The day peace finally returned to the Qu family was also the day Qu Yiwei asked him for a divorce.

Summer rain lashed the city, as if trying to wash away and cover up the past.

Qu Yiwei left the divorce papers on the cabinet by the door and dragged a suitcase toward the exit.

But the moment she opened the door, she ran into the man, his hair soaked with sweat.

Zhou Weiyue panted as he tore the divorce papers to shreds. His eyes dimmed, and he gave a cold laugh. "Have you got no conscience? You use me and then toss me aside. Did you really think I was that easy to get rid of?"

Theme: Make peace with yourself