Binding Night, Sinking Day

Emotional Version:

The day Jiang Wanyu returned to the capital, the Jiang family held a grand welcome banquet for her. That was the first time she met Song Baixi.

The man who held power in the Song family came from one of the capital's most prestigious and powerful families. He was languid and aloof, a man who kept everyone at arm's length.

She stood among the crowd, watching him for a long time.

Not far away, the man's features were cool and austere. He listened casually to the flattery of the people beside him, but just as she was about to look away, he turned toward her without warning.

His gaze was like a hunter watching its prey, his eyes dark and deep.

They met again at an auction. As she argued with someone, she was accidentally shoved and stumbled. An arm suddenly caught her around the waist.

The man's cool voice sounded above her. "Miss Jiang, your heels are a little high. Be careful when you walk."

The man rumored to be cold-hearted had an arm pressed tightly against her waist, strong and scorching hot.

Rumors spread that the Song and Gu families were about to form an alliance through marriage. Almost everyone thought it was a done deal.

At a private banquet between the two families, Jiang Wanyu spotted the man standing by a floor-to-ceiling window in the corridor outside the private room. The cigarette between his fingers glowed red, then dimmed.

She stopped in front of him. "Surely you don't want to marry into the Gu family, Mr. Song?"

"I can help you."

The man narrowed his eyes and studied her thoughtfully, his gaze profound. "How?"

Jiang Wanyu's eyes were clear. She rose onto her toes, leaned close, and bit the cigarette from the corner of his mouth. "Like this."

His eyes darkened. He stared at her for a long time, his expression unreadable. "Miss Jiang, it's easy to get on my boat. As for when you get off, that's up to me."

Their relationship was ambiguous, and neither dared to give their whole heart.

Only when the music ended and their affair came to a close did she decide to leave with her head held high. He refused to let her go.

They made a miserable mess of things.

Fortunately, he was a man of good breeding and understood that some things could not be forced. In the end, he merely stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, cigarette ash scattered across the floor, and gave her a long, dark look. "You really have to go?"

When she nodded without hesitation, he gave a faint, mocking laugh. "Yuyu, do you remember what I told you?"

The darkness in his eyes settled into calm. He lifted his chin. "Go on."

After they separated, Jiang Wanyu made no effort to keep up with the news from the capital. She never learned that their affair had become the talk of their social circle. Those in the know said that the most heartless Mr. Song had willingly made himself a stepping stone to help his beloved reach the top, all to win her smile.

Jiang Wanyu simply lived her life in peace.

Until one night, when she came home late and found a familiar, tall figure standing outside her door. The man stood on the flagstones and turned at the sound of her approach, looking at her calmly. "You're home this late?"

It was as if they had never been apart all those years.

Jiang Wanyu was about to turn and leave when he grabbed her from behind and pulled her into his arms.

His arms tightened until they trembled. He leaned down and asked through gritted teeth, "You really don't miss me at all?"

Jiang Wanyu looked at his shadow on the ground without turning around. "We broke up."

He let out a mocking laugh. "When did I ever say we broke up?"

He had told her: it was easy to get on his boat, but not easy to get off.

Plot Version:

Jiang Wanyu grew up with her younger brother, Jiang Chiye. He was considerate and sensible, always respectful and protective of her, and she had never had reason to worry about him.

Until one day, she received a call from the police station. Jiang Chiye had taken his own life, and she needed to handle his affairs.

Jiang Wanyu had never imagined anything could happen to him, much less believed he would kill himself.

Later, she found the last person Jiang Chiye had seen before he died.

After that, she came alone to the capital, put on a flawless mask, and appeared before the "fiance" of the eldest Gu daughter.

Read on if you don't mind the following:

* One-on-one romance. The male lead is a model of virtue, chaste, and falls first. The female lead falls for him much later.

* The female lead is genuinely scheming and not kind-hearted. A fake heiress who will stop at nothing to climb the social ladder, she approaches the male lead at first purely to use him.

* This is not a romance-only story. Supporting characters have their own plotlines that take up a significant portion and serve the main plot. The second female lead does not love the male lead, and the female lead's scenes with other women are not about men.

* None of the characters are perfect, but none have irredeemable moral failings. The plot serves the story, so please don't overanalyze it.

Theme: Life comes first.