After Kissing the Wrong Boyfriend's Brother

A money-loving, smooth-talking ray of sunshine x a rigid, by-the-book, fatherly type

Secret male crush / twin brothers competing for her / a gentleman falls from his pedestal

Zhong Lihe was famous in his circle for being stern and old-fashioned, and for keeping himself pure.

His first kiss, however, was with his younger brother's girlfriend.

Back then, Xu Yizhen was still a little-known online influencer, and she could only gain followers by riding on the coattails of Zhong Zeyu, the spoiled rich kid.

So after accidentally kissing the wrong brother, Xu Yizhen was on pins and needles.

But Zhong Lihe didn't hold it against her, and didn't give her or the incident another thought.

Later, people even said he treated Xu Yizhen better than he treated his own brother.

He really was a gentleman, as pure and upright as the moonlight.

He didn't like her, but still looked after her for his brother's sake.

-

Zhong Zeyu loved to have fun and often left her behind.

Even when they went to dinner together, he'd disappear before the meal was over, leaving her all alone.

Whenever she had to ask Zhong Lihe to take her home, Xu Yizhen was nervous.

She was afraid she'd say the wrong thing and make him dislike her even more.

Until one day, Zhong Lihe asked her, "Are you happy dating Zhong Zeyu?"

If not, then find someone who can make you happy.

-

Later, when Xu Yizhen realized Zhong Lihe was serious, she was so scared that she avoided him for a while.

In the end, there was nowhere left to run, and he bound her firmly to his side.

On an ambiguous night, as passion and confusion swept over them, Xu Yizhen's phone kept vibrating.

The words "Ex-boyfriend" kept appearing on the screen. Just as Xu Yizhen reached out to pick it up, Zhong Lihe caught both her hands and pinned them above her head.

He tightened his grip until tears welled in her eyes, then asked, though he already knew the answer:

"Why aren't you answering Zeyu's call?"

Reader advisory:

The heroine is not a virgin, but the hero is / The heroine is deeply flawed / Please don't nitpick the heroine, thanks

Blurb for the next book, Echo:

An innocent, stunning beauty, sheltered and protected x a possessive, calculating, patient, dark-hearted man who loves her to madness

Rivalry for her affections / Two wealthy families / Taking her by force / A groveling pursuit to win her back / Seven-year age gap

Jiang Tanyin was the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, frail and often ill, and grew up under the careful protection of her parents and older siblings. For more than twenty years, she had followed the rules. But in her junior year of college, she did the craziest thing of her life: she ran away from her engagement ceremony.

All because she had once loved Zhou Sui, back when he was still an unknown.

Her head was full of romance and the belief that true love conquered all. She hid her identity and lived with him in a ten-square-meter rental, playing bit parts with no lines.

But he was the first to give in to reality. He showed up at a hotel with an investor's daughter, and the paparazzi caught his face on camera.

Jiang Tanyin's heart died then and there. She slunk back home and, with her family beside her, apologized to Qin Xingzhi, the man she had left at the altar.

Qin Xingzhi was seven years older than her. By the time she was still in college, he had already taken charge of the family conglomerate.

He was famous in their circle for being ruthless, decisive, and utterly unmoved by love.

Jiang Tanyin had been afraid of him since childhood. Whenever she saw Qin Xingzhi, she would hide behind her parents, and on the day she apologized, she was more terrified than ever.

Qin Xingzhi's expression was unreadable. In his black-and-white suit, he looked as if he were presiding over a business negotiation. "Miss Jiang made me lose face in such a spectacular way. A simple apology seems far too little."

That day, his gaze felt like a punishment. Thin and pale, dressed in a light-colored dress, she trembled under Qin Xingzhi's stare.

Only after a long while did he finally relent. "Forget the apology. If Miss Jiang is truly sorry, why not go straight to the marriage registry and get married?"

He wanted a respectable wife.

-

They married soon after. Three years passed. Qin Xingzhi was busy with work, and though they lived under the same roof, they often went without seeing each other. Their life together was utterly uneventful.

Jiang Tanyin thought this was fine. She had suffered enough from love; she might as well treat marriage as a responsibility.

But she never expected Zhou Sui to become a newly crowned Best Actor and reappear before her, calling her tenderly as he used to: "Yinyin, will you let me explain?"

"There's no need."

Jiang Tanyin's heart was as still as water. She handled everything in a strictly businesslike manner.

Until one day, she woke in the middle of the night and found the space beside her empty. Almost on instinct, she went to look for him in the study, where she heard a voice through the door:

"I'd advise Mr. Zhou to watch what he says. You should know very well that I showed restraint back then."

It was Qin Xingzhi's voice.

-Visit the author's page to bookmark it!

Theme: Love nurtures the self

2":"Pretend siblings / Happy ending / Unhinged x unhinged / Aloof beauty x passionate puppy

The main story is complete. Bonus chapters are in the works. Thanks to everyone supporting the official release. The complete book costs just one glass of lemonade~

Tong Yizhen spent ten years at the Xu household pretending to be a gentle, obedient girl. In truth, she was sensitive, willful, and vain.

Whether she dreamed of becoming a concert pianist or later became a journalist, all she wanted was for the world's eyes to remain fixed on her.

She was afraid of loneliness, poverty, and fading into obscurity.

Xu Zhiwen spent ten years playing the part of a gentleman. In truth, he was obsessive, jealous, despicable, and shameless.

On nights when desire stirred, he would profane her name, then prepare breakfast for her the next morning as if nothing had happened, reminding her not to be late.

He longed for the day Tong Yizhen would tear away his disguise with her own hands, grab him by the throat, and tell him just how vile and shameless he was.

Then he would no longer have to be the calm, self-controlled good big brother in Tong Yizhen's eyes. His gaze could cling to her without regard for what society thought.

In her tenth year living under someone else's roof, Tong Yizhen's blood relatives came looking for her from Hong Kong. Clutching her boat ticket, she left without hesitation.

From then on, Xu Zhiwen hated her for ten years, and thought about her for ten years.

When they met again, Xu Zhiwen was a shipbuilding engineer acclaimed as a genius in his field, while Tong Yizhen was still just a little-known reporter.

The bright future she had dreamed of as a girl had been shattered by reality, and she returned from her own ideal world defeated.

To get the chance to interview him, she was willing to step back into those painful memories.

Mutually exclusive relationships (the older brother does a little DIY)

A bittersweet, mutual secret crush

Contemporary urban setting, with a little campus life

Theme: Love is courage