Courtiers

My next novel will be A Touch of Passion, about a society darling from the capital and a female college student. A proud, untouchable beauty descends from her pedestal to steal someone's partner! Blurb at the end~

[Strangers in Public, Passionate in Private | Dark Hero with an Extreme Need to Possess | Powerful Man Goes Mad for Love, Then Pays Dearly to Win Her Back | Height Difference | Six-Year Age Gap]

Cool, proud actress x Refined but wicked investor

When the film Painted Windows became a huge success, Meng Qinghe's agent took her to the celebratory reception to toast the film's investor.

The man was dressed in elegant black, handsome and sharp-featured, with a commanding presence that set him apart from the crowd.

Her agent introduced him enthusiastically, but didn't dare say his full name, referring to him only as "Mr. Huo."

Someone then brought up how Meng Qinghe had once studied Kunqu opera under a master of the tradition. They suggested she sing a few lines, and the moment the idea was voiced, one jeering voice after another rose from the crowd, eager to see her make a fool of herself.

"If you want to hear opera, go to the theater. Why come here and make a nuisance of yourself?"

The room fell silent. Everyone turned toward the speaker: Huo Youze, chairman of Taijie Capital, who until then hadn't deigned to spare anyone a glance.

After the reception, a black-clad assistant led Meng Qinghe out the back door to his car.

As soon as she got in, the man forcefully kissed her, stealing her breath in an instant.

"Blocking me again? Meng Qinghe, how many times has it been now?"

/

The boldest decision twenty-year-old Meng Qinghe ever made was getting involved with Huo Youze after the Meng family went bankrupt and her parents left the country.

At first, her impression of Mr. Huo was simply that he was aloof, refined, and unsmiling.

But during the many nights they spent tangled together until dawn, she saw through the cruelty beneath his gentlemanly exterior, as cold-hearted as his true nature.

Everyone in their circle was afraid to get too close to the untouchable beauty. She insisted on using him, on standing on his shoulders to glimpse the view from the summit.

She thought theirs was a game in which each got what they wanted. But when everything was finally in place and she was ready to call it over and leave, she saw the man's expression darken for the first time.

He gripped her wrist tightly in his palm. His low voice sounded beside her ear. "When did I ever say we were that kind of relationship?"

/

The first time Huo Youze saw Meng Qinghe was at an elder's birthday celebration. He had brought someone's will and was there to negotiate on their behalf.

Standing outside in the courtyard, he spotted a graceful, beautiful figure in the distance. She wore a pale-colored dress and was made up for a Kunqu performance. When she happened to glance his way, he was captivated.

His butler told him that her surname was Meng and that she was the man's newly accepted student.

It wasn't until later, when he repeated her name to himself in the middle of the night, that he understood. That moment had been nothing more than the sort of clichéd romance sung about over and over in operas.

He fell willingly.

#Every glance you give me is a blade that cuts to the bone#

#Willingly, I become your devoted servant#

Reading Guide:

1. One couple, both each other's first. Happy ending. The male lead has never been with anyone!

2. Lots of fictional details. The whole story is pure self-indulgence.

3. Neither lead is perfect. Contains angsty payback romance; please consider carefully before reading if that's not your thing.

/

My next novel will be A Touch of Passion. Please add it to your reading list~

[An Old Flame Rekindled | Powerful Man Goes Mad for Love | Seven-Year Age Gap]

Gentle, scheming faux gentleman x Radiant, spirited college student

A new piece of gossip has recently been circulating among the capital's elite.

Song Shuangyi, the man once considered the most cold-hearted of them all, has been parking his black Cullinan outside Capital University for an entire week.

Rumor has it that someone saw Mr. Song carrying a drenched young woman into his car. They also say she threw an entire bouquet of roses in his face.

The more people dug, the more they found. That obscure college student had apparently once been involved with a younger member of the Song family.

The rumors wouldn't die down. Eventually, one of the people involved admitted it themselves.

"Yes, I stole her away myself."

/

Ren Xinghe first met Song Shuangyi at Capital University's centennial celebration.

At the time, she had been chosen to welcome guests, while he was an honorary alumnus whose seat the dean himself waited on with a smile.

During a break, on the stairwell, she kicked off a pair of ill-fitting shoes. She didn't hold back enough, and one shoe tumbled down the steps, finally landing right in front of him.

"I never knew Cinderella's shoe came flying down from above."

His half-mocking, half-teasing tone rang especially clearly in the quiet stairwell, enough to make her heart tremble.

Song Shuangyi picked up the shoe and walked over, glancing at the girl's heels, covered in bruises and scrapes.

He curled his lips into a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Cinderella, your shoe."

/

As the least respected illegitimate daughter of the Ren family, humble as she was, Ren Xinghe never imagined she would one day get involved with Song Shuangyi, the most prominent figure among the capital's elite.

Knowing how far apart they were, she made sure to leave herself a way out from the start.

When she heard one day that Old Madam Song was choosing a match for her younger son, she blocked all of his contact information in one go.

She thought that would be the end of their relationship. But three days later, on a stormy night, just after she'd finished dinner with a suitor and returned to the apartment building, she was bundled into a car without a word.

The car was dimly lit, making the man's deep-set features especially striking.

She turned away, gritting her teeth. "We're over!"

Song Shuangyi gave a faint, mocking laugh. He lifted her chin with the web of his thumb and forefinger, applying just enough pressure to make her look at him again.

His fingertip brushed her crimson lips as he spoke nonchalantly. "I'm afraid I have to refuse."

"I told you from the very beginning: I'm determined to have you."

Ⅱ Capital power broker x journalism student

Ⅱ Pure-hearted obsessive x clear-eyed and rational

Reading Guide:

1. One couple, happy ending.

2. The heroine has an ex. The hero steals her away.

Theme: Ask yourself, again and again, to save yourself from the flames