After Our Marriage of Convenience, My Husband Won't Divorce Me?

[Marriage first, love later. Rich-family melodrama.]

1.

The first time Shang Sizhou met Xia Yuan was at a banquet held at his family home.

It was an ordinary evening reception. He stood before the second-floor French windows, gazing down at the elegantly dressed crowd.

By chance, he saw his eldest nephew, the Shang family's current eldest grandson, order someone to shove Xia Yuan into the cold autumn pond as a prank.

The butler beside him hurried to explain, pointing at Xia Yuan and saying that he was Shang Qijun's tutor and everyone was just playing around with him.

Shang Sizhou couldn't be bothered with his family's mess and was about to leave, but then he saw Xia Yuan climb out of the pool in a sorry state.

Xia Yuan's white shirt was soaked through and clung tightly to his perfectly proportioned body. His face had been washed by the water, but he didn't look bedraggled. Instead, he looked pure and lovely, like a lotus rising from clear water.

Shang Sizhou paused and couldn't help stopping to ask the butler, “What's his name?”

2.

The next time Shang Sizhou ran into Xia Yuan, Xia Yuan had been pranked again and was wearing a costume.

When he saw Shang Sizhou approaching, Xia Yuan hurriedly moved out of his way, embarrassed. But Shang Sizhou asked, “They're deliberately tormenting you. Why don't you quit?”

It was rare for anyone to openly acknowledge Xia Yuan's predicament, so he was a little surprised. After hesitating, he replied, “I need the money. Your family pays the most.”

Shang Sizhou didn't respond. Xia Yuan smiled casually. “I'll put up with anything for money.”

Just as Xia Yuan thought Shang Sizhou was about to leave, he heard him ask, “How much do you make in a week?”

Xia Yuan didn't understand what he meant, but answered honestly. “Three thousand.”

Shang Sizhou nodded, then pointed at his nephew Shang Qijun, standing in the middle of the crowd at the party. “I'll give you a hundred thousand if you slap Qijun across the face.” He looked Xia Yuan right in the eyes. “Do you dare?”

Xia Yuan's eyes widened. He went to the Shang residence once a week, four times a month, and earned a little over ten thousand at most. Now all he had to do was slap Shang Qijun once to get a hundred thousand?

When Xia Yuan still hadn't answered, Shang Sizhou's expression cooled. “So you don't dare?”

With that, he turned as if to leave.

Xia Yuan froze, then found himself following and grabbing Shang Sizhou by the arm. “...Two hundred thousand. And I want it paid on the spot.”

3.

Everyone said Xia Yuan had hit the jackpot by climbing into the Shang family's good graces and marrying their fourth young master, Shang Sizhou, despite being a man himself.

After the wedding, Xia Yuan waited on Shang Sizhou hand and foot. If Shang Sizhou stepped forward, he never dared to get ahead of him. If Shang Sizhou told him to stand, he wouldn't dare sit down.

People made fun of him in private, saying he had no shame, doing everything to secure his place as Shang Sizhou's same-sex husband. If Shang Sizhou told him to kneel, he would lick the soles of his shoes.

The gossip always reached Xia Yuan one way or another. He would smile after hearing it and reply, “Sizhou works hard when he's out. I just let him rest whenever he's free. Isn't that a husband's duty?”

The person who passed on the gossip was speechless, thinking that Xia Yuan really did have thick skin. Nothing got through to him!

Once he turned around, Xia Yuan's smile instantly vanished. In his heart, he flipped off that gossipmonger who couldn't wait to stir up trouble.

He told his friends, “Shang Sizhou is generous. He pays, I put in the work. We each get what we want. I know exactly where I stand, okay?”

But just as Xia Yuan decided the time had come to end his marriage to Shang Sizhou, before he played the role so long that he started believing Shang Sizhou actually loved him, Shang Sizhou looked down at the divorce agreement in his hand, frowned at Xia Yuan, and said coldly, “...Xia Yuan, we've been married for three years. Did you think I was just playing around with you?”

A domineering CEO on the surface, but actually a fussy, unhinged top x a bubbly bottom on the surface, not so bubbly inside, who bottoms for money

Shang Sizhou 😎 x Xia Yuan 🥺

Theme: Be bold and say you love them!