A Snowy Night Wedding

Column: After Marriage, Love Comes Later, Old Marriage Contract

Qin Ningyu got married. Her husband was the eldest grandson of her grandfather's old friend, the designated heir to the Xie Group, and a powerful, high-ranking young master.

She was merely an ordinary employee in one of its departments.

Before the wedding, they'd only met a handful of times. Later, Xie Chiyan returned from overseas.

At a company gala, Qin Ningyu saw her superior from afar on the terrace, being all attentive as she bent down to light the man's cigarette.

He raised a hand to refuse. As the scarlet flame flickered, he glanced sideways, noble and aloof.

Qin Ningyu had no time to react.

His gaze moved away, utterly indifferent.

-

That same night, the first snow fell. Qin Ningyu finished the work her superior had suddenly dumped on her, then hung up on her mother's phone call, which had been nothing but blame. When her blood sugar dropped, she crouched down in a wretched heap.

A Maybach stopped in front of her. The window rolled down, illuminating her reddened eyes.

Xie Chiyan furrowed his brows and offered her his suit jacket.

"Get in."

Qin Ningyu lowered her head to look at the coffee stains on her clothes.

After only a moment's hesitation, the man got out and swept her into the car in his arms.

-

Everyone knew that the eldest young master of the Xie family, so unattainable in the eyes of outsiders, had married only because Old Master Xie had fallen ill and partially stepped down.

As for the wife he'd never mentioned, he probably hadn't given her a second thought.

Later, after countless invitations, Xie Chiyan finally showed up at a drinking party, accompanied for once by a beautiful woman of exceptional elegance.

As soon as they sat down, his friends began giving him meaningful looks.

Xie Chiyan glanced at them. "Aren't you going to greet your sister-in-law?"

His friend: "?"

They were supposed to divorce sooner or later, so why did he seem so invested?

Before long, Qin Ningyu lost three rounds in a row. Hearing someone tease that she'd brought along a "little goddess of bad luck," her cheeks warmed. Not wanting to spoil their fun, she was about to get up when the man pressed her down onto his lap without a word.

Xie Chiyan took off his priceless watch and set it aside. He took Qin Ningyu's hand and pushed all their chips forward.

He leaned close to her ear and murmured soothingly,

"If we lose, it's on me. If we win, it's all yours, wifey."

-

A protective, sly daddy type x a gentle, sunny woman

Marriage first, love later / Six-year age gap

-- Follow the column for Old Marriage Contract --

Feng Yining had been promised in marriage since childhood. Her arranged match was the eldest son of the Pei family, the group's designated head. They met once before getting their marriage license.

At a banquet, the dignified, languid man let others bow and scrape to him, his eyes still betraying his boredom. He was aloof and arrogant.

Before the wedding, they agreed: in public, they'd be a loving model couple; in private, they'd stay out of each other's business.

Only after the wedding did Feng Yining realize that her vision of a life with plenty of money and little to do had been a sham. When the man leaned over and trapped her beside the sofa, she looked up and asked, "When you said we'd be partners, you didn't mean I'd have to sleep with you, did you?"

The man merely glanced at her. "Wife, are you hoping to turn our act into the real thing?"

"..." Feng Yining thought, I've met my match.

-

Later, Feng Yining was injured while away from home. After finishing work late at night, she passed a parked Maybach. A friend who'd come along with the man said from inside the car, "So that's why A Xu left the banquet without a word as soon as he saw the message, then drove all the way to this remote place in the middle of the night. No matter how attentive other women are, they can't get close to that cold fish. But when it comes to his sister-in-law, he's especially concerned."

The man who appeared before her unexpectedly spoke in a particularly cold tone. "You act tough when you ought to let yourself be pampered."

His tone was a little harsh. Feng Yining softly said they should go back, but he scooped her up in his arms.

The man lowered his eyes and saw that her eyes were slightly red. She was clearly in pain. He frowned. "Be good and don't move. You'll cry if you make the injury worse."

-

Feng Yining had thought that, to Pei Shixu, marriage was just a transaction, and their groping and embraces were merely an act. Neither of them had to take responsibility.

Until one night, they went too far and things got out of hand. Feng Yining signed the divorce papers.

But late that night, the man came home with damp hair and cuffs, and asked in a low voice,

"You really have to go through with the divorce, don't you?"

Then one day, Feng Yining went on a business trip out of town and was forcefully cornered by the impeccably dressed man in front of a floor-to-ceiling window.

His fingertip brushed over her damp hair at the temple. His gaze was dark and resentful as he asked,

"Wife, I've played along with the tie and shirt clips. When are you going to give me an official title?"

"Still angry? Is it because I didn't take good enough care of you that night?"

-

Marriage first, love later / No secret crushes / Love grows over time / Seven-year age gap

A cold-faced, secretly flirtatious man in power x a flirtatious young heiress

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Theme: Tomorrow will be better