Surrendering to a Summer Night

[Collecting favorites for my next sweet romance in the same series, A Drowsy Wedding]

■ A restrained, stoic high-flower x a clearheaded, stubborn comic artist

■ The powerful one bows his head | Older man, younger woman | Redemption | An intense push and pull

1.

When Wen Ning was eighteen, she secretly fell for someone. He was like fireworks over the sea: distant and dazzling.

She had never dared hope for a future with him, yet they spent a year entangled together, with her as the girlfriend he kept hidden from the light of day.

Zhou Linze was born into one of Harbor City's prominent families, but bore the label of an illegitimate son. On the surface, he was as warm and polished as jade, concealing his edge. Beneath that facade, he was ambitious and bided his time in secret, waiting for his chance.

2.

That day, a torrential rain poured down. Wen Ning went out in the rain to deliver an umbrella. Gripping its ribs behind a folding screen, she saw the tall, elegant silhouette inside the room speaking to someone.

“I was only interested in her for a little while. You know me: I'm a neat freak. Not just any woman can get into my bed.”

“She was clean, obedient, and easy to handle. Does Big Brother really think I would marry her?”

Wen Ning felt as if she had plunged into an icy abyss. Every tender night and indulgent caress from the past seemed to turn into a poisoned needle, stabbing into her.

Once she came to her senses, Wen Ning told him, “I'm tired of this. Let's end it here.”

3.

When they met again, love surged more fiercely than hatred.

At a hotel, the door opened. She said, “Don't turn on the lights. Kiss me.”

/ Love is a moon soaked by rain, veiled in dense mist /

One man and one woman. Both are pure in body and heart, and only ever belong to each other. Happy ending.

A story of a man winning back his wife, mature leads, and an urban fairy tale.

Enjoy!

Coming soon: marriage first, love later | secret crush comes true | everyday sweetness, A Drowsy Wedding

■ Zhou Mian, a fussy insomniac, x Lu Qingchuan, a cool and aloof sleep therapist

Zhou Mian had suffered from insomnia for a long time. At last, she worked up the courage to start treatment. On the very first day, the senior specialist she'd booked with canceled at the last minute, and a doctoral student of his took his place.

Zhou Mian entered the consultation room. The young male doctor seeing her was wearing a mask and studying the computer screen in front of him. When he saw her come in, his gaze swept lightly over her. “Give me your appointment slip.”

The doctor looked over Zhou Mian's medical records and said in a cool voice, “Director Jiang already took you through one session of relaxation training. Today is your second. All right, let's begin. Go lie down over there.”

Zhou Mian froze, staring blankly at the man in front of her.

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

Lying on the treatment couch, Zhou Mian heard her heart pounding furiously.

“Lie still and relax. Don't tense your muscles. Good...”

“Breathe with your diaphragm. That's right, breathe in... and out...”

His low, magnetic voice seemed to surround her, and Zhou Mian couldn't relax at all.

Just then, someone knocked. A young nurse poked her head in. “Dr. Lu, sorry to bother you. There's an elderly woman from out of town waiting outside. She wants to squeeze in for an appointment.”

Lu Qingchuan turned his head. “All right, I'll be there in a moment.”

*

Zhou Mian met Lu Qingchuan again seven years after graduating from high school.

By then, she had been secretly in love with him for ten years.

*

By the end of her tenth treatment session, Zhou Mian's insomnia had improved a lot.

But she'd discovered a bug:

It seemed she could only fall asleep when Lu Qingchuan was there.

So, one sunny morning,

Zhou Mian asked Lu Qingchuan, “Dr. Lu, sorry to bother you.”

“Would you marry me?”

*

Their marriage of convenience was set to last one year. When the contract expired, Zhou Mian drafted a divorce agreement.

At the time, Zhou Mian was away on a business trip, having flown halfway around the world.

In a foreign country, under pressure, in an unfamiliar bed, her insomnia returned.

That night, rain poured down outside. Zhou Mian was on the bed, repeatedly practicing diaphragmatic breathing, when she heard the doorbell. She got up to answer it.

She froze when she saw Lu Qingchuan, drenched from head to toe, standing outside.

Zhou Mian: “What are you doing here?”

Lu Qingchuan: “I came to help my wife sleep.”

That night, Lu Qingchuan pinned her beneath him, their fingers interlaced as he panted heavily.

Lu Qingchuan: “Divorce is a big deal. Couldn't you at least discuss it with me?”

Zhou Mian: “I didn't discuss marrying you with you, either. So shall we discuss it now?”

The next second, Lu Qingchuan's kiss silenced her.

Through the haze, Zhou Mian heard him say, “There's nothing to discuss.”

*

Zhou Mian had a private account on Weibo called “I Saw Qingchuan.”

It was filled with all her girlish thoughts.

“His name sounds so nice.”

“Oh no, I think I've fallen for him!”

“He's graduating soon. I wonder if he saw the gift I secretly slipped into his desk... (When I went to leave it, I found his desk was already full of gifts...)”

“I heard he applied to medical school. Of course he did. It suits him so well.”

“Insomnia again, and I'm thinking of you again.”

“Someone confessed to me. That guy is really nice too, so why can't I forget you?”

“LQC! I've decided to forget you!”

“!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to see a doctor today and ran into him, but he was kind of cold to me... Maybe he doesn't even remember me anymore.”

“Nice to meet you. Please sleep with me!”

After they married, Lu Qingchuan gave Zhou Mian a new computer. While transferring the data from her old one, Weibo was still logged in to her private account. He saw the account named “I Saw Qingchuan” and read the fervent affection Zhou Mian had poured into it. Delighted and surprised, he replied to each post one by one:

“Mianmian, your name is lovely too. It's so soft. Makes me want to kiss you.”

“I think I fell for you even earlier than you fell for me...”

“I really don't know which gift you left in my desk. Can you tell me? And that bouquet of irises you received when you graduated, did you know I sent it?”

“I know you studied international relations. It suits you perfectly, future diplomat.”

“When I stayed up all night working in the lab, I thought of your name to keep myself awake.”

“Yeah... I regret more than anything that someone beat me to confessing to you.”

“Zhou Mian, I'll always remember you.”

“I didn't forget you. I was nervous, and the more nervous I get, the colder my face looks...”

“I want to marry you and help you sleep for the rest of our lives.”

Theme: Love means having a will of one's own.