Fake stepsiblings + age gap
1.
I first met Shen Lanxi at the wedding banquet for my mother's remarriage.
My mother married into a wealthy family, and Fu Zhiwei attended awkwardly as her unwanted baggage. She felt out of place amid all the clinking glasses and polite chatter, so she slipped out of the banquet and into the villa's back garden.
She sat sideways on a bluestone slab, a handful of fish food in her hand. That's when Shen Lanxi appeared.
The man was strikingly handsome, with a high nose and deep-set eyes. He held a cigarette between his fingers, its tip faintly red, looking refined and distinguished. As if just passing the time, he came up to her and said, "You can't feed them like that. These fish are delicate."
Fu Zhiwei stood up, at a loss. "Sorry, I didn't know."
Shen Lanxi's gaze fell on the blush at the side of her neck. He flicked away some ash and smiled. "What's your name?"
The fish food had made her palm sweat. Before she could answer, the man was called away.
2.
After that, Fu Zhiwei heard his name many times.
His name was Shen Lanxi, the powerful head of the renowned Shen family in Nancheng. He was also the younger brother of Zhao Houshan's former wife, Fu Zhiwei's stepfather.
In public, she called him "Uncle." He only ever replied, "Mm."
Their stations in life were worlds apart. Fu Zhiwei had thought she'd never get the chance to introduce herself to him.
Until, much later, at another evening banquet, Fu Zhiwei slipped away early again. This time, though, she made her way through the mingling guests and into Shen Lanxi's room.
A misty haze covered the glass.
His low murmurs left Fu Zhiwei flustered. With her back to him, she said in a broken voice, "Can you please be quiet?"
Shen Lanxi put an arm around her waist and smiled, his eyes full of mischief. "I can't, Weiwei."
- Refined scoundrel x cool, beautiful girl
- A drawn-out push and pull in the early and middle stages; the female lead deliberately approaches him; eight-year age gap
- The male lead is the biological younger brother of the female lead's stepfather's ex-wife (the ex-wife and stepfather divorced amicably). The stepfather's family has close business ties with the male lead's family. As for the man and woman, she sat sideways on a bluestone slab, a handful of fish food in her hand. That's when Shen Lanxi appeared.
Theme: Face life bravely
