Into the Trap

Scheming for power / stealing someone's partner / charged push and pull

The lights at the dinner party cast a hazy glow. When Shan Zhirou looked up, she unexpectedly met a pair of deep, inscrutable eyes.

Ji Boyu, Wen Chengze's cousin and the newly returned head of the Ji family, leaned back in his chair in a black shirt. He was refined and dignified, yet inexplicably gave people the chills.

"Long time no see," Ji Boyu said, but his gaze passed over Wen Chengze and landed squarely on Shan Zhirou beside him.

-

Later, completely disillusioned with Wen Chengze, Shan Zhirou broke up with him.

In Ji Boyu's suite, Wen Chengze said casually, "She's just throwing a tantrum. She won't really break up with me."

On the sofa, Ji Boyu crossed his long legs. His black shirt was open at the collar, revealing two faint red scratches. He looked up, his voice low. "What if... she does?"

The day Shan Zhirou was forced into an arranged marriage,

she expected a matchmaking event full of rich playboys. But when she opened the door, she saw Ji Boyu sitting at the head of the table.

In everyone's eyes, they were worlds apart, but Ji Boyu caught her by the wrist. "Would you consider me?"

Shan Zhirou had only meant to use him to get out of a bind. She never expected Ji Boyu to build a dream for her with his own hands.

-

Outside the closet, Wen Chengze calls her name. Inside the narrow, dark space, two breaths mingle. Ji Boyu's kiss lands on her lips, refusing to let up. "The person you like... who is it?"

Later, she happens upon a photograph. At eighteen, she is holding a Bernese Mountain Dog, smiling with her eyes curved into crescents.

She freezes in place, and the familiar woody scent envelops her from behind.

Ji Boyu lowers his head and kisses her shoulder, his voice low and hoarse. "Someone's forgotten that she once stole my heart with a piece of candy."

His arms tighten, drawing her deeper into his embrace.

"You can only trick me for the rest of your life, Shan Zhirou."

Gentle with a sting x paternal, sweet on the outside and scheming within

Reader's guide:

1. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. Happy ending. Six-year age gap.

2. Ji Boyu is the true male lead. Refined and dignified on the surface, he has been plotting for a long time and advances step by step.

3. Wen tries to win her back, but the heroine never turns back.

A flexible, easygoing girl x an arrogant, obsessive man

Unexpected step-siblings / possessive love / a torturous love story

Luo Mingting, the heir to the Luo family, is someone no one in his circle dares to provoke. Yet everyone saw the new "little sister" splash tea all over him.

The day Liang Yixue was brought into the Luo family, a blizzard swept across western Jingcheng.

In the main hall, Luo Mingting lounged in a huanghuali armchair. His features were refined and proper, but his eyes were shadowed with cold gloom.

Everyone thought Luo Mingting despised this new sister.

-

At a banquet, someone cornered Liang Yixue and spoke lewdly. "Why pretend to be so virtuous? Can't you use the same tricks your mother used on men?"

Before the surrounding laughter had died away, a champagne glass came flying down from the second floor. It grazed the man's ear and shattered against the wall.

Everyone looked up in a panic.

Luo Mingting leaned lazily against the railing, half his body hidden in shadow. He looked down at them, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Liang Yixue stood frozen in place, her palms slick with sweat.

She didn't know whether he was stepping in to help her or making some other kind of declaration.

On a rainy night, water streamed down the car windows. Inside, the cramped cabin was dark.

Luo Mingting trapped Liang Yixue in the back seat, winding a lock of her hair around his finger. His voice was husky. "You call me 'big brother' when you need something, and Luo Mingting when you don't... Liang Yixue, you're certainly good at using me."

He laughed, but there was no warmth in his eyes. Leaning close to her ear, he spoke in a chilling voice:

"I hear... my little sister has a boyfriend?"

Liang Yixue turned her face away without answering.

Luo Mingting gripped her chin and forced her to turn back. Dark flames burned in his eyes. "He's coming back. You're happy, aren't you?"

-

Liang Yixue only wants to keep her head down at the Luo house for a year, then leave as planned. But Luo Mingting refuses to let her go. When trouble strikes her family, she has nowhere else to turn and goes to him for help.

The chill of the night dew still clings to him, but his fingertips are scorching.

"Begging me?" He looks into her tear-drenched eyes, his thumb slowly brushing her lips. "What will you offer me?"

Her eyelashes tremble violently. He suddenly smiles, lowers his head, and kisses her quivering lashes. His breath burns against her ear:

"Where else can you run, Liang Yixue?"

Later, rumors spread through their circle that the Luo heir had knelt outside his mother's room all night. No one knew that she wasn't the one trapped. He was the one who never wanted to leave that snowstorm again.

Reader's guide:

1. Happy ending. Both leads are sexually inexperienced.

2. Seven-year age gap. She runs, he chases. A dramatic, bittersweet romance full of intense push and pull.

3. The leads are not on the same household register and are not blood relatives.

4. Dragon x snow sparrow. The male lead isn't a good person, but he is devoted to her alone and talks himself into falling for her.

Theme: Becoming a better version of yourself