[Step-siblings | Living under the same roof | Coercive love | Age gap]
1.
Nan Yu has always loathed her stepbrother, Lu Zezhao, from the time their mother remarried until the day she divorced.
When they first met, he sat at the center of a glittering, hedonistic world, adored by everyone. His peach blossom eyes lazily tilted up at her, flirtatious and cruel.
“I don’t remember ever agreeing to have a minor as my little sister.”
When they parted, he stood at the very front of the crowd, watching her cry. Like a good older brother, he wiped away her tears, then lowered his voice and teased her by her ear: “Nan Yu, don’t pretend.”
“You’re not capable of loving anyone.”
He was the first person to see through her good-girl mask and realize she had an emotional deficiency.
So, to get back at him, she was determined to keep pretending.
When she unexpectedly found Lu Zezhao on a dating app, Nan Yu made an anonymous account, sure they would never cross paths again.
She lured him into a game where they pretended to be lovers.
Little Butterfly: [What’s the safe word?~]
Mr. T: [Big brother.]
2.
Three years later, Nan Yu wanted to end the game.
Not because she was tired of it, but because she was going abroad to study, and her mother had entrusted her to him, since he was overseas too.
By then, Lu Zezhao was nearly thirty. In the eyes of the outside world, he was the poised, refined, aloof, and ascetic heir to the Lu business group.
They reunited on a rainy day in London. She had just said goodbye to a male companion with a cheek-kiss when an umbrella appeared over her head.
The trench-coat-wearing man had come to stand beside her without her noticing.
“When are you going to bring your little boyfriend to meet your big brother?”
His casual tone brought her memories rushing back to the night before...
“When are you going to sit in front of the mirror and show big brother?”
The processed voice on the other end of the phone sounded just like him now, and yet different. And the hand with its long, distinct knuckles wasn’t holding an umbrella handle.
Afraid things would get out of hand, Nan Yu called an end to their game.
They remained on good terms for a long time, until she had to return to China for her engagement.
“Nan Nan, have you packed your bags?”
She heard her mother’s voice from outside the door, but couldn’t answer.
With only a wall between them, Lu Zezhao pinned her against the door, restraining her hands.
“Did I say we were done, Little Butterfly?”
Arrogant, unruly swan x aloof, privileged young gentleman
Nan Yu x Lu Zezhao
"She won’t be his kept woman. He’ll be her devoted servant."
P.S.
1. While the leads remain step-siblings, there is no romantic tension or entanglement between them.
2. Both leads are virgins.
Theme: Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance
