[All chapters on VIP release days are extra-long. Updates at 9 p.m. according to the rankings]
[Reunion at the start / Second chances after heartbreak / Take by force / The powerful one bows his head]
Tan Yunqi saw Xiang Yao again at the negotiating table, three years later.
His immaculate suit and icy profile bore no trace of the gentle, sincere boy who used to dive on Emerald Island.
He twirled a black ring on his little finger, never even lifting his eyes.
"What makes Miss Tan think... I'd still make a losing deal?"
When he loved her, he couldn't keep his hands off her night after night. When he left, he disappeared without a word.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Tan Yunqi had no choice but to turn away.
Three dull knocks sounded on the table behind her. They weren't loud, but each one made her heart tremble.
The fingertips that had once caressed every inch of her skin slowly traced the grain of the tabletop. His voice was casual.
"Let's make a deal."
Tan Yunqi's breath caught, her lashes trembling.
*
Tan Yunqi became Xiang Yao's personal assistant.
At first, she thought this was nothing but a transaction, but
He was the one who stayed up all night revising her proposals; he was the one who took her all over the city to meet his contacts; and he was the one who stood up for her, silencing the loudest old curmudgeons in the woodworking shop.
Tan Yunqi understood less and less, and didn't dare think too deeply about it.
After all, when things went wrong at home, she had hurt him once.
By the time their contract expired, the woodcraft exhibition Tan Yunqi had organized was a great success.
She raised her glass to bid Xiang Yao goodbye, but when she opened her eyes, she was lying in his dimly lit penthouse.
"Don't think you can leave me behind. We're not even."
Brilliant lights outlined the man's tall, imposing shadow. His eyes were deep and obsessive.
"How do you like this room? Is it big enough for you to make wood?"
He leaned down to kiss the corner of her lips, his voice husky and breathless.
"Qiqi, let's make another deal. This time, you can play me, okay?"
#Did you know? Love runs deeper than hate
A few things to know before reading:
1. Both leads are each other's only partners. Happy ending. A bittersweet tone, with plenty of push and pull.
2. Told from the heroine's perspective. They first meet on an island, are bound together by fate, and keep circling each other. She has her own career.
3. The hero can get really obsessive when he loses it. He won't truly hurt the heroine, but he will hurt himself. Please read only if you're okay with that.
4. The professional knowledge in this story comes from public sources. Please forgive any mistakes.
Blurb photographed for the archive on May 22, 2025
Coming soon: Please Stop Tempting Me
[Icy, jealous top male model × beauty-loving, oblivious female photographer]
"Can... I take your clothes off?"
The towering man, at least 190 centimeters tall, glanced down at her indifferently, then went back to looking at his phone.
Jian Yinwen awkwardly lowered her camera and quickly stole a glance at his chest:
Damn, what a physique. It'd be a waste not to flaunt it.
As a rookie photographer, Jian Yinwen never expected her very first job to pair her with Zhuang Yutang, the most difficult model in the industry.
He was as stiff as he was handsome.
Wet-look outfits, bare shoulders, visible abs... He vetoed every idea.
In the end, all she could give him was a teddy-bear pajama set that covered him from head to toe. Wrapped in plush fabric, the man kept a straight face throughout the shoot, which ended in no time.
No one expected the photos to become a trending topic.
[Waaah, he's so adorably grumpy!]
[That shot of his eyes is amazing. Give the photographer a bonus!]
[Who could look at him and not melt?]
Those photos made Zhuang Yutang the fashion industry's top male model, while Jian Yinwen's career took off too.
Invitations poured in from all sides.
Sweet, obedient younger guys and even obscure actors were willing to wear flower crowns and veils, baring their collarbones and cooperating fully, all for a chance to appear in one of her incredible shots...
Only after leaving Zhuang Yutang did she realize that the world outside wasn't raining at all.
Then she worked with the difficult man again.
Jian Yinwen cautiously laid out her wild concept featuring leopard-print fur, prepared for him to reject it.
His brows furrowed and the tips of his ears turned red. After a long silence, he nodded.
Jian Yinwen's eyes lit up. "You really will let me shoot it the way I envisioned?"
The tall man leaned down, surrounding her with his shadow. Three buttons of his black shirt were undone, revealing glimpses of his pale, lean muscles.
She began to stammer.
"W-w-what are you doing?"
He casually spread out the sample photos on the table: a refined movie star, a sunny top-tier star, a wild, dark-skinned beauty. Gorgeous faces filled the table.
He pointed at one of them.
"Am I more handsome, or is he?"
"Who?" Still trying to figure out which beauty he meant, she didn't answer in time.
His cool fingertips had already brushed her dewy lips. His breath grew heavy as he moved an inch closer.
"Whoever it is, I'm the only one allowed in your viewfinder."
"So, will you sign a long-term contract with me?"
#The aloof beauty falls from his pedestal. Good grief!
#He's so proud, yet he still has to chase his wife
Theme: There is always someone who will break their own rules for love
I'm exhausted from reading these two chapters. When can Yao escape from his original family? [Lie down]
Thank you to heaven, thank you to earth, thank you for your hard work~
Teacher, what are you doing? The Guinness record is typing 807 letters per minute. Calculating that each Chinese character requires six letters, you can type approximately 134 words per minute. Since you are not the record holder, let's calculate it as 100 words per minute. According to the standards of the world organization, a person's healthy sleep time is eight hours, and you spend about two hours eating every day, another 20 minutes to go to the toilet, 40 minutes to wash, one hour to exercise, two hours to get inspiration, and then stripping off another hour of dazed fishing, you should have nine hours to type and type 54,000 words, but you only posted these [Hold your thighs] [Hold your thighs] [Hold your thighs]
Dear Chef: Seeing the words is like meeting each other, and the letter is soothing. Falling in love with you is probably the most arbitrary and unreasonable thing in this world. It's not about weighing the pros and cons, or coming up with ideas, but suddenly having you makes me worried about you and I can't let go of you. You are the extraneous branch in my stable years, and the sun, moon and stars in my ordinary life. Whether it's the sunrise in the morning or a nap at noon, I love you. By the way, do you still have any in your draft box?