The Spring Night Tide [Marriage Before Love]

[The marriage-first, love-later novel next door, Flowers Bloom on a Summer Night, has begun updating. It's in the author's column. If you like it, feel free to follow.]

[The story is complete. Please leave a five-star review. If you can't submit one, four stars will do. Thank you.]

1.

Song Zhiyao once spent a day as a couple with a Chinese gentleman while abroad.

After their reckless night together, they parted amicably, and she soon put the man out of her mind.

2.

Only after returning home did Song Zhiyao learn that her family had arranged a marriage for her without her consent.

Her fiance came from one of Jingbei's top-tier wealthy families. It was an excellent match, but at a family banquet hosted by his family, she saw a familiar face.

Her fiance, who usually looked down on everyone, instantly became attentive.

"This is my third uncle, Ji Wenzhou."

Ji Wenzhou, head of the Jingbei Ji family, a man at the very top of the social pyramid, refined, mature, and composed.

He was also the gentleman with whom she'd spent a wild night not long ago.

Under his inscrutable gaze, Song Zhiyao braced herself and greeted him obediently and respectfully.

"Hello, Third Uncle."

That night, Song Zhiyao was pulled into an unfamiliar room and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.

The man's lips curved with amusement. "Third Uncle? I seem to remember you used to call me something else."

3.

Who could have guessed that her half-sister, born out of wedlock, would deliberately seduce her fiance, who fell for it all too easily?

At a banquet, the half-sister showed up with her arm linked through the fiance's, making a grand entrance in front of Song Zhiyao. She even taunted and implied that Song Zhiyao was destined to be trampled under her feet, with no one to protect her.

Just as everyone thought Song Zhiyao's engagement to the Jingbei Ji family was over, the head of the Ji family appeared.

His voice was warm and mellow, yet allowed no refusal.

"I'll marry her."

The entire room erupted. The half-sister went deathly pale, while the fiance's eyes reddened.

4.

People in their circle all assumed the newlyweds were a poor match.

He was too proper and mature; she was too charming and young. They had nothing to talk about, and were merely an arranged couple with no feelings for each other.

No one expected an accident to bring Mrs. Ji's private oil painting to light.

Though it was deleted across the internet in seconds, some people managed to save copies.

The person in the painting was lying on his back in a steamy, damp pool, his gray robe open and a black silk ribbon covering his eyes, looking both distinguished and wanton.

Everyone: "?"

Was this really the fearsome Third Master Ji, the one whose reputation made people tremble at the mere mention of him?

Afterward, a reporter boldly brought it up at a press conference. The powerful man took it in stride. "It's just a bit of fun between husband and wife, all to make my wife happy."

"Powerful Tycoon Devotes Himself for Love" shot to the top of the trending searches.

-

Coming Soon No. 1: Flowers Bloom on a Summer Night

[Marriage first, love later + the second male lead wins]

[Sweet and soft x cool and stern]

[Difference in status + eight-year age gap + an old flame rekindled with a vengeance]

1.

At seventeen, Tang Xi stayed with the Lu family and met the two young masters of the household.

The elder brother, Lu Tingyu, was stern and reserved, never one to smile. His younger brother, Lu Wangye, was carefree and unruly, living by his own rules.

And she was the "little wife" Old Master Lu had chosen for Lu Wangye.

2.

From the day Tang Xi moved in with the Lu family, everyone knew she was the little wife Old Master Lu had chosen for Lu Wangye. The two of them were destined to marry.

Tang Xi had seen Lu Wangye at the height of his glory, and she'd also seen his debauchery, with a different woman in his arms all the time.

At last, Tang Xi decided to let go.

3.

Breaking off the engagement didn't go smoothly.

Tang Xi walked out of Old Master Lu's study and ran straight into Lu Tingyu.

His face was expressionless, and he said nothing.

His suit was perfectly tailored, his figure tall and straight, his presence steady and imposing.

Tang Xi had always feared and respected him, and knew full well that he hated having her around.

She lowered her eyes and carefully tried to go around him, but he caught her by the wrist.

"How about you give me some thought?"

5.

Only after losing Tang Xi did Lu Wangye come to his senses. Panic finally took hold of him.

One night after her marriage, Tang Xi received a call. On the other end, Lu Wangye, who'd never been willing to lower his head, choked back tears. "Xixi, I miss you."

Before Tang Xi could answer, the man beside her reached over and took her phone, his tone cool and impatient.

"Your sister-in-law has me by her side. There's no need to worry about her."

-

Coming Soon No. 2: A Marriage Won by Money and Power

A spoiled troublemaker vs. a stuffy old daddy

1

Xu Youni had money and acted like she owned the world, relying on her beauty to get away with anything and living extravagantly.

Then the Xu family went bankrupt, and the once-adored Miss Xu fell from her pedestal overnight.

Before the wealthy young masters and heiresses she'd once looked down on could sneer at her and trample her,

she turned around and married Zhou Shenjin, the head of the Zhou family, one of the top-tier wealthy clans in the capital's social scene.

2

Zhou Shenjin was rigid and stern. He had no interests, cared only about work and profit, and knew nothing of romance or passion. Even their sex life was limited to the most traditional missionary position.

On their wedding night, he expressionlessly tossed Xu Youni a bank card. "My secretary will deposit your living expenses every month. If you need money, ask my secretary. Solve every problem with money, and don't come to me."

Everyone in their circle knew that less than a day after the wedding, Zhou Shenjin had left his new wife behind and gone to Australia to expand the overseas market. After that, he worked overtime, ate, and slept at the office, and was constantly away on business.

Almost everyone laughed at the once-pampered Miss Xu, assuming she was stuck in a loveless marriage, living like a widow with her husband still alive.

Only Xu Youni knew how wonderful life was.

Her husband was handsome and rich, and didn't like coming home. Ever since she got married, Xu Youni had been living a perfect life, spending no less than five million a week.

Her favorite daily pastime was calculating how much of her fake husband's money she'd spent that day.

But as time went on, Xu Youni noticed that her fake husband was coming home to spend the night more and more often.

Xu Youni: "???"

3

After Zhou Shenjin came home every night for three months straight and showed no signs of being satisfied, Xu Youni was exhausted in body and mind.

Late one night, after he tore her last nightgown, she finally snapped and demanded,

"Is the company about to go bankrupt?!"

The man pulled Xu Youni onto his lap. "The company is doing fine. I can afford to buy you a private yacht, a rare leather Birkin bag, a twenty-carat Padparadscha blue sapphire diamond ring..."

"Wait, why haven't I received a single one of those gifts?"

"Just be good and open your mouth when I kiss you, baby."

Theme: Treasure the present