Hold Me, Hold Me Tight

Blurb:

Jin Minxian first met Bai De during an accident at an art exhibition he had sponsored, when a piece of glass injured someone.

The man was impeccably dressed in a suit, with cool, refined features. In everyone else's eyes, he was the untouchable chairman of the Bairui Group and a university professor.

They argued over a trivial matter when they first met, each sticking to their own opinion.

Jin Minxian held a grudge against him from then on. She assumed they would never see each other again, but by an odd twist of fate, they became neighbors.

Jin Minxian thought that if she simply avoided him, they wouldn't get into arguments. Whether fate was playing a trick on her or someone had arranged it, no matter where she went, they kept running into each other.

At first, she just wanted to avoid him. Gradually, she found his endless nagging annoying and fatherly. Then, inexplicably, she started thinking of him, his face appearing in her mind.

She was frustrated and anxious, wishing she could make him disappear from the world.

Afraid of marriage and having children, Jin Minxian chose to ignore her feelings for him.

They bickered and stumbled through an awkward month before Bai De finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Jin Minxian, how much longer are you going to pretend not to understand? Don't you feel anything at all about the things I've done for you and the things I've said? Is your heart made of iron?"

"I..." Jin Minxian couldn't answer.

Seeing her hesitate and struggle, Bai De felt as if he were forcing her. Perhaps there had never been a place for him in her heart. What a joke: he was the one who had given in, the one who had fallen for her, and, in the end, the one who had gone mad with love.

He swallowed his pain and his eyes reddened. "I understand. You've never had feelings for me. I've been imagining the whole thing. I swear I won't show up in front of you again after today."

With that, he turned and left.

Realizing that if she didn't do something now, they might never have a future together, Jin Minxian called after him in panic. "Hey! Who says you're imagining things? Who says I don't have feelings for you? Actually, I've always really, really liked you!"

A friendly note:

This is a little story about personal growth and self-fulfillment in a relationship. It's not simply a case of disliking each other before falling in love, with lots of bickering along the way. Please be patient and read to the end, dear readers. Don't jump to conclusions based on a few scenes you dislike.

Character profiles:

Before falling in love, the male lead is cold on the outside and warm on the inside, seeming serious and aloof, like an unattainable beauty. In reality, he's an immature man who gets flustered and anxious easily. Once in a relationship, he's devoted and deeply in love, with a moderate possessive streak.

At first, the female lead dislikes him because of what happened at the art gallery. Afraid of marriage and having children, she doesn't realize that her feelings for Bai De are love. Later, after a friend betrays her, she gradually comes to understand her own heart.

A cross-border entanglement: They dislike each other before falling in love. The male lead is of mixed Chinese and English heritage. On the surface, he's a university professor, but in truth he belongs to this country's aristocracy. He has a half-brother on his father's side, and he himself runs a medical company, making him a consummate business elite.

The male lead is two years older than the female lead.

Setting: This story takes place in an alternate version of Britain.

Theme: Don't let storms hold you back. Be resilient and tenacious like a blade of grass.