The Gloomy Tycoon's Darling

[The main story is complete]

With nowhere else to turn, Jiang Zhao sold himself to a nightclub.

Each bottle of liquor earned him a 3,000 commission, enough to cover two months of his family's living expenses.

But on his very first night, he offended someone powerful, and after his shift, his coworkers ganged up on him.

In the freezing snow, a hard shoe ground painfully against Jiang Zhao's fingers.

Just before he could beg for mercy, a black umbrella opened over his head.

The powerful man he'd offended appeared out of nowhere. Crouching down, he lifted Jiang Zhao's chin with a finger through a handkerchief. "They've really put you through the wringer."

"Want me to help you?"

-

So Jiang Zhao became Fu Yanxiu's lover.

The Fu family wielded immense power, and countless people would do anything to become its lady of the house.

Jiang Zhao dutifully shared Fu Yanxiu's bed, chatted with him, ate with him, looked after him, and obeyed his every wish.

He held out until the contract expired, then quite reasonably asked to leave.

And right in front of him, Fu Yanxiu

ripped up the contract that had kept him.

-

Rain poured down, and thunder and lightning crashed overhead.

Fu Yanxiu had gone abroad on business, and Jiang Zhao finally found a chance to leave the Fu residence.

But in the next moment, a powerful flashlight beam flashed across his field of vision.

The instant he looked up, bodyguards in black closed in from every direction. At the only gap, Fu Yanxiu approached step by step beneath an umbrella.

The man's tall figure loomed in the light, enveloping Jiang Zhao completely. Fear spread through his bones like a rising tide.

Jiang Zhao gritted his teeth and shouted, "The contract is over! You can't, you can't keep me trapped here anymore!"

Fu Yanxiu suddenly laughed.

He leaned down and easily gripped Jiang Zhao's chin between his fingers. His gaze roamed brazenly over the kiss marks scattered across Jiang Zhao's shoulders and back. A cool, heavy kiss landed on the corner of Jiang Zhao's lips. "You think you're the one who gets to decide?"

[Content warnings]

1. I'm putting the neighboring story on hold because I have no inspiration. If that bothers you, feel free to remove it from your collection.

2. Old-school wealthy-family sugar daddy romance, with a plaything becoming the one in his heart. Cliche drama everywhere.

3. Every plot point serves the romance between the leads. The author loves every character equally.

Pre-release novel, After a One-Night Stand with the Male Lead: If you like it, please add it to your collection.

Shi Sheng transmigrated into a book.

He became a sickly male supporting character in an old-school melodramatic novel.

He couldn't lift anything heavy or do any hard labor. Even climbing a flight of stairs left him clutching his chest and gasping for three minutes.

To avoid dying too young, he spent over a decade working as a tool-like housekeeper for Jing Heng.

At last, the day Jing Heng became head of the family, Shi Sheng had saved enough for a hefty retirement fund. Then one wild, reckless night changed everything.

He and Jing Heng...

Had sex?!!

-

Shi Sheng tried to pretend it had never happened.

He told Jing Heng, "I was planning to return to my hometown anyway. No one besides you and me will ever know about this."

"Don't worry, young master." Shi Sheng lowered his eyes, looking perfectly respectful. "It won't affect your relationship with your future wife."

At the time, Jing Heng held a cigarette between his fingers. His gaze was dark, and his every movement carried the authority of the family head.

"They found a camera in the room."

"You can't leave until we find out who did it."

-

Shi Sheng believed him.

He had no choice but to move back into his old room.

But as time passed, more and more things began to seem wrong.

His limbs were always weak and sore, and wherever he went, he felt as if someone were watching him. Then one day, after a shower, he found large patches of kiss marks on his back.

They ran from his shoulders and neck downward, layered over and over, their blue and purple hues unmistakable.

He staggered to Jing Heng's study, intent on saying he was leaving that very night.

But the study door wasn't fully shut. Through the crack, Shi Sheng heard Jing Heng's low, husky voice:

"He can't leave."

"You have no idea how badly I want to lock him up."

[Content warnings]

1. A chaotic melodrama stew, with old-school coercive possessiveness.

2. Written to indulge the author's tastes. If it's not for you, just click away.

Blurb screenshot dated 2024-11-14

Theme: Struggle upward through adversity