Zhizhi [Marriage Before Love]

◎Limited-time free reading! Xiao Zeng humbly begs you to add this to your collection! Preorders: "Damp Whispers" and "Coffee by Day, Drinks by Night"

◎Glamorous, high-maintenance actress × cold-faced, sharp-tongued heir

◎The heroine falls in love after marriage on her own; the hero has been plotting for a long time, and his secret crush comes true

Blurb:

The day Che Li left the entertainment industry was the day she got the most attention. She occupied more than half of the fifty trending topics.

That night, photos leaked of Xie Sui holding Che Li close and passionately kissing her in a car.

The top trending topic read: "Che Li passionately kisses the Xie family's heir. Did she leave the entertainment industry because she got in with the Xie family?"

The second was about the hundreds of millions in breach-of-contract fees, all paid by the Xie family.

No one knew that to Che Li, Xie Sui was not only the Xie family's heir, but also the benefactor who had supported her for three years.

"Che Li, I expect something in return for helping you."

-

Che Li had entered this glittering, decadent circle three years ago. She knew its corrupt interior was not for her.

She had her own goal: get close to the actor Yu, whose acting skills were second to none, and dream of starring opposite him as the leads.

After being thrown out of her home, she entered the industry and suddenly found herself with every top opportunity at her disposal, and her pick of the best agents. Thinking her family had secretly arranged it all, Che Li accepted with delight.

But one day, by chance, she overheard her assistant talking with her agent.

"Bro, what should we do about Sister Li's upcoming kissing scene?"

The agent, always as gentle as a spring breeze in front of her, yelled in exasperation, "What do you think? Turn it down! If President Xie finds out, neither of us will get away with it!"

"Yes!"

"Don't worry. We can get whatever opportunities we want. Director Yang just sent over a script, and President Xie is the lead investor..."

Outside the door, Che Li leaned against the wall, suddenly uneasy. President Xie?

Who could that be...?

-

After they were forced into marriage, Che Li once found Xie Sui's phone wedged between the sofa cushions, left behind after he had been fooling around.

Seeing the screen light up repeatedly, she picked it up.

It was a notification. On the social media app, it clearly read: "Specially followed user Che Li Li posted an update!"

There were many more notifications below. Che Li even spotted the number for the fan group she often visited.

Before Che Li could confront him, Xie Sui noticed the phone and couldn't help chuckling softly.

"Che Li, you finally found out."

As soon as he returned, all the villa's servants withdrew, leaving the living room empty. Xie Sui held her by the waist and gently undid her buttons.

"You have to make up for all those years when I couldn't have your love."

-

Glamorous, high-maintenance actress × cold-faced, sharp-tongued heir

[Damp Whispers] Blurb:

◎Sweet, timid, insecure girl × repressed hero with a need for physical touch

◎The hero has a mental illness; they secretly love each other; the girl never lets herself be mistreated; told from her perspective

◎Please add this to your collection

Zhang Qiao had a worthless life, yet she took two lives in exchange.

That was what the people in the alley pointed at her and cursed her for.

She couldn't argue back. Her grandpa made her kneel and pay her respects to her benefactor's only child, calling him her older brother. In front of the funeral altar, she swore that she would always put him first.

Perhaps because she made that vow in front of the funeral altar, it came true. From the moment Zhang Qiao understood what it meant to like someone, she fell for her older brother.

But it was all Cheng Zhansheng's fault for being so outstanding.

-

He went to a top university, while Zhang Qiao attended a second-tier one nearby. She rented a room and brought him home-cooked meals every day.

"Housewife" was his classmates' affectionate nickname for her. Every time, Cheng Zhansheng would frown and tell them to stop, then turn to her with a gentle look. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet," she answered softly, watching him split half his food with her.

-

After graduation, her grandpa passed away on the first day Cheng Zhansheng went to work, as if he'd been waiting for that day all along. Zhang Qiao didn't cry. She watched Cheng Zhansheng cry even harder than she did.

Well, he was his grandpa too, after all.

She thought that even if her grandpa was gone, their relationship wouldn't change. While she scrolled through rental listings, Cheng Zhansheng stood in the dark nearby and spoke softly. His voice was as gently familiar as ever, yet somehow strange.

"A Qiao, you don't need to rent a place anymore. You should live a normal life. So should I."

He pushed her away, and she returned to a normal life.

-

For years, she rotted away in a corner while Cheng Zhansheng seemed to grow more and more successful. Sitting on a bar stool, she suddenly received a message from him: "A Qiao, didn't you study interior design? Could you decorate my house? I'll pay you."

He'd bought a house? That was only natural. He was so outstanding. Zhang Qiao looked at her bank balance and agreed.

When they met after the New Year, neither could hide their awkwardness. Zhang Qiao watched him put on his glasses and drive off to work in a luxury car. She had even seen a woman in the passenger seat.

Was this his marital home?

She cried in the bar until she could barely breathe. No one around her dared approach. In the city where he was away on business, Zhang Qiao drank without a care until closing time.

"No one's coming to get me. I'll go back by myself. I'll go back..." Her mind had grown hazy.

A familiar perfume drifted closer, with a faint smell like the mud in the alley. Someone wrapped their arms around her, and she struggled with all her strength.

"I'm sorry."

"If there were no feelings, how could they love each other? 'Big Brother' was just a cover."

"Big Brother," by Wei Lan

They are not related by blood and are not registered in the same household.

"Coffee by Day, Drinks by Night" preorder blurb:

◎Please add this to your collection

◎Taciturn, socially anxious, bankrupt young master × beautiful, slow-witted woman who has dollar signs in her eyes

Zhang Qiao worked nine to nine, six days a week, and strictly followed a routine of coffee by day and drinks by night.

What did coffee by day and drinks by night mean? A cup of coffee in the morning and a drink before bed. After a health check revealed that her body was comparable to an old person's and her wallet was empty, she cried. She cried her eyes out.

Summoning her courage, she quit her job and decided to open her own coffee-by-day, drinks-by-night establishment! She would earn back all the money she'd lost. But she never expected her plans to fall apart at the very first step: hiring a barista.

After interviewing countless people, she found that some demanded too much pay while others weren't skilled enough. Zhang Qiao actually started sympathizing with capitalists. How infuriating...

Just as her head began to ache, a friend suddenly called and recommended someone. "Do you remember Chen Nanshu from our class? He's really talented at this. He was famous for it at all our class events."

Chen... Nanshu?

Zhang Qiao was astonished. "What made you think I had money?"

·

Chen Nanshu was a young master, the kind from a very prestigious family, taciturn and impeccably mannered. Most of their classmates at Lide School came from wealthy families, but someone as wealthy as him was truly rare.

Of course, Zhang Qiao had gotten in on her grades (coldly).

Who would've thought that in just a few years, the young master would go bankrupt? What kind of business did his family own again? Zhang Qiao rubbed her chin, unable to remember. But for some reason, she sympathized with him and invited him to interview right away.

You really could tell that rich people had class. His movements were smooth and practiced, he knew all about coffee beans, and he could even mix drinks. Most importantly, in Jing City, he only wanted a salary of six thousand!

Hired! Hired right away! Zhang Qiao threw herself into the hectic life of being a boss.

She had no idea that behind her, the young master watched her leave and silently fretted: Was six thousand too much to ask?

But he didn't dare talk to the person he secretly loved :D

Theme: Keep moving wholeheartedly toward your goal