Tales of Manport [Marriage Before Love]

[Blurb to be improved. It'll be even more delicious than before]

Couple: Fair-skinned, beautiful, wildflower-type sweetheart x gentle, scheming heir to a Hong Kong business dynasty

As the real daughter of the Huang family of Hong Kong Island, Chu Lei has always been treated like an invisible extra by rich young women in high society.

People say she has limpid eyes, a pure and lovely beauty, and a gentle, rather dull personality, nothing like the previous Miss Huang, who was bright and vivacious.

The Huang family still dotes on their adopted daughter as much as ever.

Then Ming Pao Weekly publishes an intimate photo of the adopted daughter with Chu Lei's arranged-marriage partner aboard a yacht, and her parents once again show their favoritism.

Disheartened, Chu Lei applies for a student exchange program and heads to New York to escape the scandal.

Her arranged-marriage partner, Liang Youxuan, tries to win her back and brazenly corners her in the hallway of an academic building. "Your Huang family wants to use the Liang family's influence. Other than me, do you have a better option?"

Chu Lei presses her lips together without answering and looks toward the handsome man who has just finished a business presentation in the lecture hall and is now being fawned over by the dean.

Amid the clamor and bustle,

the man glances over carelessly. Cold light from the chandelier falls across his striking profile. He is refined and distinguished, seeming utterly untouchable.

Liang Youxuan's expression changes at once. "B-Big Brother."

-

Liang Youxuan's elder brother is Liang Shaojun, a Chinese-American and heir to Hong Kong Island's wealthiest Liang family. His mother comes from an old-money family in Manhattan.

Before turning thirty, he has already become a Wall Street titan, moving markets at will.

He looks like a courteous, amiable gentleman, but beneath that gentle exterior he is stern and ruthless. He excels at taking control while appearing to yield, a classic smiling-tiger schemer.

Chu Lei's internship application happens to land at the new investment bank under Liang Shaojun, where she becomes one of his summer analysts.

The merger goes smoothly.

But Chu Lei faints at the celebratory banquet from menstrual cramps and wakes up in Liang Shaojun's private mansion.

The man walks toward her through the dim night, his figure seeming somewhat lonely. He picks up her resignation letter from beside the bed and asks gently, "You got me halfway hooked and now you want to run? Isn't that irresponsible?"

Liang Shaojun asks again, "Did you get close to me on purpose because you wanted to break off your engagement to my younger brother?"

Chu Lei's eyes sting with tears, leaving her unable to answer.

She thought Liang Shaojun would never forgive her, but the next day he takes her to Las Vegas for a whirlwind wedding.

That night, Chu Lei glimpses an overwhelming possessiveness in Liang Shaojun's eyes, usually so gentle and urbane, and he kisses her until she is nearly breathless.

-

As soon as Chu Lei returns to Hong Kong Island,

Liang Youxuan personally comes to apologize and end their engagement.

Everyone in their circle waits to see Chu Lei become a laughingstock. Instead, the Hong Kong media announces her marriage to the new head of the Liang family, whose entire fortune, worth over a hundred billion, is her bride price.

On the eve of the wedding,

Liang Youxuan, still unwilling to give up, comes to accuse Chu Lei of using Liang Shaojun and trying to cling to him.

Liang Shaojun is mildly angered and is about to send him packing.

Sleepy and disoriented, Chu Lei walks over and tugs at his shirt cuff, her voice thick with sleep. "You promised that if it went on for more than three hours, you'd stay in bed with me. You broke your promise."

The man scoops Chu Lei into his arms and raises a hand, letting her cheek rest against his shoulder. He indulges her without restraint, then looks at his stunned younger brother. "Do you see now?"

"I'm not just someone she can lean on. I'm someone she can sit on whenever she likes."

(1) Both leads are each other's first and only; the arranged-marriage partner doesn't deserve to be her first love.

(2) An eight-year age gap: the male lead is 29, the female lead is 21; a 190 cm by 162 cm height difference.

(3) A big bad wolf in a gentleman's disguise falls in love at first sight with the little white rabbit heroine, marries her, has his way with her, and raises her into his darling. A super-sweet romance.

(4) The male lead has a subtle yandere streak, is an older man who favors sons, and is highly possessive. But the heroine is too cute, so he can't bring himself to force himself on her; he can only spoil her.

(5) Sweet, satisfying wish fulfillment and a fantastical Mary Sue romance, with familiar tropes like the real and fake heiress, marrying the scumbag's older brother, and secretly marrying the powerful boss.

(6) 30% Isle of Man, 70% Hong Kong Island. More Hong Kong flavor than Western romance.

[Archive screenshot dated July 3, 2026. Stealing plot ideas will be pursued.]

[Character art commissioned privately]

Message: None for now