A beautiful, clear-headed, capable woman * A good man who's not very ambitious but devoted to his family
Hua Manxia x Xiao Changming
Warnings:
The ex-husband will chase after his ex-wife, but she won't take him back or remarry him.
Both leads are divorced and have one child each. Neither is a virgin.
A slow-burn, everyday story about raising kids, with love growing over time.
The male lead is four years older than the female lead. It's a second marriage, but still sweet.
Second marriages are great! People treat you better the second time around!
1.
Before getting married, Hua Manxia was bright and bold, like a rose in full bloom, always vibrant and beautiful. She graduated from graduate school at 24, got married and pregnant right after graduating, and spent three years as a full-time mother at home. To her friends and classmates, her life was like a romance novel: she was beautiful and talented, and had married Chen Linfeng, a handsome aviation genius from a prestigious family. Everyone envied her.
But three years of married life left Hua Manxia utterly disappointed.
When their daughter turned three, Hua Manxia gave Chen Linfeng a choice. "Chen Linfeng, your mother asked me today when we're going to have a second child. But I want to go back to work."
"Xiaxia, you don't need to work. I can support you, and Huanhuan is still little. She needs you to take care of her."
Clearly, Chen Linfeng made the wrong choice.
"Chen Linfeng, let's get a divorce."
"I wish you every success in the future."
2.
Xiao Changming also got married right after finishing graduate school. His wife, Shen Man, had a child, and since she was career-oriented, Xiao Changming willingly stayed home as a full-time dad for three years.
Shen Man was so focused on her work for years that she neglected her family. She didn't want to hold Xiao Changming back, but she also didn't want to give up her career. When she decided to pursue opportunities abroad, she asked Xiao Changming for a divorce.
And so they parted on good terms.
Shen Man asked Xiao Changming, "As a man, are you really content to stay home and look after the child?"
Xiao Changming just smiled and said, "It's my responsibility."
"I wish you every success in the future."
3.
Hua Manxia's first full-time job was in the product design department of a company specializing in products for mothers and babies. To her surprise, her supervisor was Xiao Changming, the senior from her graduate school who had graduated three years ahead of her.
While studying for her degree, Hua Manxia had often heard her advisor talk about this senior who'd married young: Xiao Changming, his most talented and yet most difficult student. He had plenty of talent as a young man, but loved to have fun and had little ambition.
He was good at gardening, playing with cats, singing, and going for walks.
Xiao Changming's own assessment was that he loved life.
In the third year after his divorce, Xiao Changming fell for Hua Manxia, clear-headed and resilient, as they spent their days together. He pursued her quietly, bit by bit, like slowly boiling a frog.
Later, when her ex-husband Chen Linfeng came to beg Hua Manxia to get back together, Xiao Changming could no longer hold back.
Late one night, with both children fast asleep,
Xiao Changming held Hua Manxia and whispered anxiously in her ear, "Give me a definite answer. Do we have a future together?"
"Manager Xiao, what are you afraid of? A good horse doesn't eat the grass it left behind." Hua Manxia laughed softly, teasing him.
Theme: If there's no fate between you, why force it? A good horse doesn't eat the grass it left behind.
