Love Comes After the Dusk [Pregnant First, Love Later]

My next novel, White Day, Sleepless Night, is now available.

Blurb:

Yu Mu had a face that put people at ease at first glance.

Her friends all thought she was refined and quiet, the kind of well-behaved girl who would never do anything outrageous.

But, as it turned out, she did exactly that.

And the man in question was the head of one of North City's top families.

Gu Kuangchi.

His cool, aloof eyes always seemed to hold an indescribable tenderness when he looked at someone beneath the lights.

They understood each other without a word, maintaining the polite distance of adults and never asking too much about each other's lives beyond the bedroom.

Their private relationship, known only to the two of them, ended when Yu Mu left North City.

A month later, at a matchmaking dinner in Shanghai.

Yu Mu frowned at the familiar face before her, her pregnancy test report crumpled beneath her hand.

She instinctively looked behind him. “Did you come to the wrong room?”

The man curved his lips, deliberately making his words sound suggestive.

“Have I ever gone into the wrong room when you were in it, Miss Yu?”

Intent on keeping their relationship separate, Yu Mu got straight to the point.

“I'm pregnant.”

“The child isn't yours.”

She thought he would leave then and there. Instead, Gu Kuangchi pulled out the chair across from her and replied frankly,

“Perfect. That'll make this marriage alliance even more straightforward. We can each get what we want.”

He gazed into her eyes and smiled meaningfully. “Just like before.”

From registering their marriage to holding the wedding banquet, it all took less than a month.

Their friends assumed their families had been pressuring them, and that they had merely gone through the motions without any real feelings for each other.

After the wedding, their friends gathered for a get-together. As they chatted, the conversation eventually turned to Gu Kuangchi, who hadn't touched a drop of alcohol.

One friend joked casually, “Now that you're married, Brother Chi must be worried the alcohol will upset his wife, so he's quit drinking.”

Everyone knew what their relationship was like, so they laughed it off.

The man at the head of the table didn't hear them. He idly fiddled with his phone, apparently waiting for a message.

Another friend reached for a cigarette. Gu Kuangchi looked up, his brow furrowing slightly.

Without a word, he stood and headed outside.

The others had no idea what was going on. They secretly followed him, only to hear someone's deliberately lowered voice in the hallway, sounding as if he were trying to coax someone into cheering him up.

“Do you miss me?”

“I miss you.”

Everyone's jaws dropped.

Wasn't this completely different from what the rumors said?

The next second, they heard the end of his question rise noticeably.

“What about our baby? Do they miss Daddy?”

Everyone: ???

Reader's guide:

1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners. One-on-one romance.

2. See the author's note in Chapter One for details.

Enjoy!

Blurb for my next novel, White Day, Sleepless Night:

Xie Songbai, head of the Xie Group, was renowned overseas and always kept a low profile, avoiding cameras. Unexpectedly, a brief shot of him at an overseas press conference set off a frenzy of discussion back home.

Amid all the comments marveling at his stunning looks, a blurry screenshot of his ring finger quickly rose to the top of the discussion:

[Is that a wedding ring? Is President Xie married???]

While everyone wondered who his wife was, Qiao Mian had no time to think about anything else. In a fluster, she opened their chat:

[Who told you to wear your ring in public!!!]

That night, Qiao Mian was woken from her sleep.

A scorching presence drew closer, forcing her to retreat step by step.

His low, husky voice was slurred. “Put it on me.”

It took the person on the sofa a moment to focus on the silver band on his ring finger. In a hoarse voice, she said, “You're already wearing it.”

Only when he guided her hand over did she realize what he meant by “put it on.”

After three years of a marriage spent mostly apart, Qiao Mian planned to get divorced and focus on her career. Unexpectedly, rumors suddenly spread that she was the other woman in an actor's marriage.

Overnight, she was caught in a storm of public opinion, buried under a flood of abuse.

Then a gossip account broke the news:

[The affair rumors are false. Actress Qiao Mian is married, and her husband is the stunning big shot from the other day.]

As soon as it was posted, the comments were full of ridicule.

The top comment even read: [Yeah, right. If it's her, I'll eat my hat.]

In the discussion about Qiao Mian's secret marriage, this post was pushed right to the top.

After the rumors gained traction, a post from a new account appeared on the trending page

@User9683129891:

[@QiaoMian When are you going to make me your official husband?]

Netizens assumed it was another attention-seeker and were getting ready to attack, when the Xie Group's verified account reposted it:

[On behalf of our boss, @QiaoMian, when are you going to give him a title, Madam Boss? [Pleading]]

Netizens, slow to catch on: ???

Two minutes later, @User9683129891 posted again:

A screenshot of a netizen's comment.

[You still haven't told me what to eat.]

Public opinion turned around in an instant: Now that's a man who knows how to protect his wife!

Some quick-thinking netizens even found out on Baidu:

Xie Songbai's birthday: 19960831

Qiao Mian's birthday: 19980901

So it wasn't just some random username after all!!!!

[Bright, spoiled actress x profound, restrained gentlemanly big shot]

Theme: Be brave enough to love.