On the surface:
Delicate little white rabbit & mad dog
In reality:
Scheming beauty & insecure big dog
De Zhong Jinnian comes from a wealthy, influential family. She's innocent, beautiful, pure, and harmless (not really). Only those who know her understand how "dark" she is. She'll stop at nothing to achieve her aims.
Lin Zhong Qiyu is said to have grown up eating at other people's tables. He's a rat in the gutter, rebellious and unruly. He'll do anything that makes money, from street racing to boxing. He skips school, is late, smokes, drinks, and gets into fights. No one understands how he has managed to rank first for years.
The first time she saw him, she wanted him.
She pretended to be pure and harmless to win his affections, and tricked him into giving her his heart and body.
Whether it was love didn't matter.
If he was willing to be her obedient plaything, she could guarantee he'd want for nothing, and give him everything he deserved.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the type to willingly be someone's plaything.
When he wouldn't behave, she abandoned him.
Qiyu knew all along that she wasn't the person she pretended to be. He grew curious about how long she would keep up the act. She wanted to play with him, so he played along, but he still fell for her with his eyes open. He didn't know whether she loved him. He just hadn't expected her to walk away so decisively.
When they met again, she wandered into his territory. He thought he should put a chain around her and make her regret it, so she could never leave him again and would be chained to his side for the rest of her life. In the end, he did none of those things.
It's sort of a possessive romance, but not quite. There are plenty of steamy scenes.
Happy ending.
Theme: Keep striving.
Author, I love you so much