Spring Comes After the Snow Clears

The main story is complete. My upcoming novel, When the Grapes Ripen, is open for follows. Please add it to your collection!

Jiang Qiyue was in a car accident when she was twenty-two.

The good news: She was fine apart from losing her memory.

The bad news: She forgot that she had been married to Wen Xinyao for two years.

Everyone said Wen Xinyao came from a top-tier family, was handsome and refined, and was the perfect man. They said he and Jiang Qiyue had a wonderful marriage.

But when she thought about sharing a bed with a stranger after leaving the hospital, Jiang Qiyue burst into tears. "I come from a wealthy family too, and I'm beautiful, with fair skin."

It didn't matter how good their marriage was. She didn't remember him!

On the day she left the hospital, Jiang Qiyue finally met her husband, who had rushed back from abroad.

When her gaze met his deep, dark eyes, Miss Jiang was briefly stunned. At last, she understood why she'd chosen to marry young.

That night, Jiang Qiyue shyly asked to sleep in separate rooms. Wen Xinyao paused, then lowered his eyes and agreed. "All right."

Gazing at his face, Jiang Qiyue added, almost without thinking, "But only for now!"

Then she saw the usually impassive man smile.

Jiang Qiyue thought, He really does love me so much.

*

As the head of a top-tier wealthy family, Wen Xinyao was aloof and distinguished. He'd married only to satisfy his elders.

He'd heard that Miss Jiang was spoiled and willful, and spent money like water. He'd thought, Whatever. As long as we keep up appearances.

Two years into their marriage, they were still sleeping in separate rooms.

Then his wife got into a car accident and lost her memory, and everything changed. Their dull marriage began to feel addictive.

A few months later, his wife regained her memory and suddenly demanded a divorce. "Before I lost my memory, you never peeled shrimp for me or comforted me to sleep. You only like the version of me who forgot everything."

Wen Xinyao calmly looked at his tearful wife. "I already ordered the Oppenheimer Blue diamond ring you mentioned yesterday. The concert tickets for your favorite star are on my desk. And you've always wanted to interview me, haven't you? I happen to have time now."

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Qiyue sniffed. "Then I want an exclusive interview!"

My new novel next door, Hidden Joy, is now underway. Please add it to your collection! Here's the blurb:

The first time Zhou Yimo met Chen Jizhou, it was raining steadily, and mud spattered his globally limited-edition sneakers.

The young man had damp black hair and his hands in his pockets. His sharp black eyes held an arrogant air of privilege that didn't belong in this little southern town.

At the time, Zhou Yimo was a pitiful girl living under someone else's roof.

In a corner no one knew about, she danced for this darling of heaven, again and again.

Their parting was bitter. Chen Jizhou angrily threw the custom-made necklace worth a million yuan into the river and left her with a cruel ultimatum: "Zhou Yimo, don't let me see you again."

*

They met again on a film set. He was now the untouchable head of the Chen Group, surrounded by admirers, dignified and aloof.

She was just an unknown dance double.

The moment their eyes met, his gaze was cool and distant, as if she were a stranger.

One stormy night, she got into his car. In the dim back seat, a mutual friend brought up the past.

"I heard someone in Qinglan swindled you out of your money and your virtue. What kind of beauty had the nerve to do that?"

Zhou Yimo sat beside them, squirming with discomfort.

Chen Jizhou scoffed and denied it. "I threw away the necklace myself, and we never dated. Calling it a scam is ridiculous."

After their friend left, the two who had been pretending not to know each other finally came clean.

Chen Jizhou sneered. "Didn't I throw this necklace away? Why do you have it?"

Zhou Yimo was silent for two seconds. "It looked expensive. It seemed a shame to throw it away."

"..."

Chen Jizhou laughed in exasperation. Wasn't he worth more than that stupid necklace?

*

The day news broke of the marriage of Chen Jizhou, head of one of the wealthiest families, his friends learned that Mrs. Chen was just an ordinary dance teacher. One after another, they tried to warn him.

"Be careful you don't get swindled out of your money and your virtue again."

Chen Jizhou leaned lazily against the door, displeased.

"What do you mean, again?"

The man curled his lips, his voice full of grievance. "That time doesn't count. Back then, she wouldn't take the necklace, and she wouldn't have me either."

He lowered his eyes and idly turned the dazzling wedding band on his ring finger, his voice tender. "This time, I'm the one swindling her out of her money and her virtue. This time doesn't count either."

His friends were stunned. So it was the same woman after all?

How could someone fall for the same person twice?

Here's the blurb for my upcoming novel, When the Grapes Ripen:

Zhong Chaoyin had always known that Sheng Yuqing looked down on her.

They came from completely different worlds. In the eyes of outsiders, she was the homewrecker's little sister, a temptress who broke up a family.

He was the treasured young master of the top-tier Sheng family.

In their second year of high school, her "brother-in-law," Sheng Yue, introduced her. "This is Chaoyin. She'll be your little sister from now on."

The young man's features were sharp, and his gaze was arrogantly defiant.

Sheng Yuqing saw the girl hiding timidly behind someone. Her eyes drooped at the corners, her dewy eyes like a fawn's, making her look fragile and pitiful.

Then he changed his tone, sounding casual. "Hello, little sister."

And so she moved into the Shang family home.

Only later did she learn that Sheng Yuqing was the most doted-on young master in the Sheng family, and only his approval had given her the right to enter their home.

Later, she was driven out of the Sheng family. In the pouring rain, the young man ran after her and grabbed her, asking hoarsely, "Do you really have to leave?"

Her eyes were red and wet. For the first time, she called him by name. "Sheng Yuqing, we have never had anything to do with each other."

*

Years later, when they met again, Sheng Yuqing was still surrounded by admirers, untouchable as ever.

Across the crowd, he glanced her way with casual indifference. Their eyes met, and Zhong Chaoyin's heart skipped a beat.

The boyishness was gone from his face. His features had grown more composed, and he had matured into someone she barely recognized.

She remembered the Sheng family's warning and looked away first.

After Sheng Yuqing helped her out of trouble several times, people began to look at them with knowing smiles.

At a dinner party, someone worked up the courage to tease them. "What exactly are you two?"

The man held a glass in his elegant hand, his gaze deep as he looked at her. Zhong Chaoyin's heart raced, and she frantically tried to explain, but a low voice cut in:

"I suppose we're the kind of people where even after being abandoned, I still ask her not to leave."

Everyone took it as a joke. The young master of the Sheng family was worth hundreds of billions and stood far above everyone else. He had never lowered himself for a beauty.

*

Later, everyone mocked Zhong Chaoyin for foolishly dreaming of marrying into a rich family. That night, news of the Sheng family head's marriage took the internet by storm.

[Sheng Yuqing: I'm the branch she's reaching for. @Zhong Chaoyin]

The post included a photo of their two marriage certificates.

The next day, the Sheng family heir, who never appeared in public, gave his first interview. The man was poised and cool, his wedding band gleaming on his ring finger.

When asked about his new wife, the usually expressionless man finally smiled tenderly.

"Don't scare her, everyone. It took me ages to win her over."

Much later, Zhong Chaoyin lay in Sheng Yuqing's arms, playing with his fingers. Her nose stung.

"I thought you hated me."

He drew her into his arms, his tone casual. "I only hate it when you don't like me."

But now, he loved her more than anything.

Theme: Every relationship needs communication.