Su Mian [Marriage Before Love]

The main story is complete!! Extra chapters will be posted as inspiration strikes~ There’s a completed marriage-first, love-later story on my page. Feel free to check it out!! Please add my upcoming story, Mist Veils Mount Song, to your reading list if you like this type of story!! Weibo: @LemonSodaNoIce_ · Secret crush | Marriage first, love later | Three-year age gap · Cool, aloof heroine vs. scheming hero who plays the long game Cheng Su had always been an easygoing person. From childhood onward, she did what her family told her, including agreeing to an arranged marriage with the Gu family. Just after she turned twenty-five, the elders on both sides started making a fuss and arranging everything. She hadn’t planned to refuse, but as her friend kept sending her gossip about her “fiance,” she grew increasingly exasperated. If she married him, wouldn’t she have to deal with this kind of mess every day? Love didn’t matter. What mattered was that she didn’t want to take on all the trouble. But the Gu family held considerable power. Breaking off this engagement wasn’t going to be easy. At a gathering in their social circle, someone invited a prominent member of the Zhou family. Her friend leaned close and went on and on about how formidable he was, making him sound larger than life. Cheng Su acted as if she didn’t care, focused only on whether she was about to lose the next round of cards. At this point, she had to pull out her trump card. “How formidable can he be?” “He can get you out of your engagement with the Gu family.” Cheng Su’s lowered eyelids twitched. She pushed her cards forward, thoughtful, and won the hand. Because of that promise, Cheng Su did something utterly out of character and cornered Zhou Yuheng outside the restroom at the club. It was the first time in her life she had acted so rashly and impulsively. “I’d like Mr. Zhou to help me break off my engagement.” “We don’t know each other.” The man refused calmly. “Name your terms.” Cheng Su pressed on. “Then marry me.” Now it was Cheng Su’s turn to be stunned. She froze in place, not daring to move. Fine. As long as they treated each other with respect after marriage, she didn’t mind changing husbands. But Mr. Zhou seemed far too invested in maintaining their marital relationship. “Can I sleep in my own room tonight?” “No.” Remembering the red marks on her waist in the mirror that morning, the woman braced both hands against the door. The corner of the man’s mouth lifted slightly. His voice, low by her ear, was irresistibly seductive. “Be good, darling.” They argued from time to time, though in truth it was usually her being unreasonable. She took off her high heels and threw them at his back. They hit the floor with a crisp clatter. He didn’t get angry. His beautiful hands picked up the shoes and helped her put them back on. When his broad, warm palm touched her delicate skin, Cheng Su had to admit that her heart was stirred. Cheng Su feared nothing. In the eyes of outsiders, she was unbreakable. One day, after drinking too much, she sat on the toilet, feeling wronged and sobbing. The man looked at her red nose, his eyes seeming to hold gentle water, filled with tenderness and concern. As she slept, she murmured in her dreams, “No... no one really loves me.” Zhou Yuheng looked at the woman in his arms and brushed away the tear at the corner of her eye with a warm finger. “I do. I’ve always loved you.” After they married. Cheng Su found a photograph in the study at home. It was old, taken when she was eighteen and had gone to France for a piano competition. On the back, in neat handwriting, was a sentence: You shone brilliantly onstage. The world and I were nothing but absurd stillness. That year, at night, I saw your radiant face through the light from your room. For every night to come, I hope we can fall asleep side by side. In truth, I’ve loved you for many years. The world and I are nothing but absurd stillness. At this moment, I miss you. Fernando Pessoa, My Heart Arrived Late The professional details are all sourced from the internet, so please don’t scrutinize them too closely~ Story Break Please add my upcoming story to your reading list I’m switching to this one for my next story. It’ll be starting very soon, thank you for adding it Marriage first, love later | Five-year age gap | Complete strangers Sharp-tongued, soft-hearted, cool beauty vs. gentle, accepting, protective older man In everyone’s eyes, Xu Wu was a master of disguises, a woman who always got her way. Just like her name, she was impossible to see through or get a hold of. Everyone said she must have schemed and plotted to marry Wen Shixu. No one knew that this marriage had originally been turned down by her older sister, and Xu Wu was the one sacrificed in her place. The man from the Wen family had a reputation for being ruthless and cunning. A friend once warned Xu Wu not to be fooled by his seemingly courteous and mild-mannered exterior. She had laughed it off, completely unconcerned. She had never planned to fall for him, so she didn’t care about his reputation. Before the wedding, Xu Wu gave Wen Shixu fair warning. Her gaze lowered as she sat at the table, her attitude less than polite. “They all say I’m a bad woman. Aren’t you afraid, Mr. Wen?” His long, slender fingers brushed the side of his cup. Looking utterly in control, he answered with just two words. “Not afraid.” Looking back afterward, she realized she had only been putting on a show of bravado. After they married, Xu Wu was often away from home. Wen Shixu was always the one sitting on the sofa, waiting for her. When her family gave her a hard time at a gathering, he stood up for her. Perhaps that was where her feelings began to change. Xu Wu herself remained unaware. She thought it was all just a performance. After all, if she was bullied, it would reflect badly on Wen Shixu too. As the days went by, it seemed impossible not to develop feelings. By the time Xu Wu realized it, she was already unable to walk away. But fate had other plans. She learned that those people intended to use her to get at Wen Shixu. Of course. Someone like her could never get happiness so easily. “Divorce?” “Yes.” Xu Wu was best at fooling everyone, even herself. She fooled herself into believing she didn’t love him. In the end, it was because of her. The business deal lost because of her had revealed Wen Shixu’s concerns about her to everyone. So let her make up for all of it. Wen Shixu, marrying you was more than I could ever have hoped for. So I can’t keep making you lose so much because of me. Once we’re divorced, you won’t have a weakness anymore. Wen Shixu knew that Xu Wu was full of tangled worries and unease. He had always believed that if he treated her well, one day she would let down her guard. Until the day Xu Wu said she wanted to leave him. This woman was truly heartless. Even when she ended their relationship, she was so cold and decisive. That night, Wen Shixu lost control for the first time. He gripped Xu Wu’s wrist tightly and pinned her against the wall, his movements a little rough. His eyes were tinged with a red that carried an inexplicable meaning. “Xu Wu, am I just incapable of winning you over?” Marriage between complete strangers, love that develops slowly, and a sweet, gentle romance. Feel free to jump in!!!! Theme: Let love spread freely