A marriage of convenience that turns real, a long-married couple's flirtatious push and pull, a sweet little romance
Blurb:
Cui Jianing married Qin Fang for money. Her stepmother was cruel and greedy, and she urgently needed a husband in name only to reclaim the dowry her mother had left her.
Qin Fang married Cui Jianing for appearances. As a general, he had never lost a battle; as a merchant, he had amassed a fortune greater than a kingdom's. But a hidden ailment left by a war injury made him the subject of gossip throughout the land. He needed a wife in name only to fend off the rampant rumors.
They hit it off at once and made a pact: three years, business only, no feelings. The day the term expired would be the day they divorced, and neither party could back out for any reason.
After they married, nothing much changed, except that Qin Fang turned down more and more engagements to hurry home, while Cui Jianing became increasingly fond of lingering outside his study.
One day, after drinking, Cui Jianing failed to resist temptation and consummated the marriage with her husband in name only.
At dawn, Cui Jianing watched Qin Fang silently pull up the quilt to cover the red marks on his body. Feeling bad, she said, "Since it's come to this, next time you can take the lead. Then neither of us loses out."
Qin Fang was a merchant, and merchants valued fairness above all. So he gave it a try, then promptly passed out.
Only then did Cui Jianing remember the rumors. She pulled Qin Fang back out from under the quilt he was trying to wrap himself in and asked, "What's actually wrong with you?"
Qin Fang leaned close and whispered a few words in her ear. Recalling what had happened on their wedding night, Cui Jianing slapped her thigh. "That's easy! I know how to cure you!"
With the best of intentions, Cui Jianing pressed Qin Fang down and tried again. This time, he was fine. Qin Fang refused to believe it was that simple, figuring it must have been luck, so he tried again. Still fine. He thought perhaps it wouldn't work somewhere else, so he tried again...
For some reason, people outside started saying they were a loving couple. The two decided they couldn't keep experimenting like this, and added another clause to the contract: treatment was allowed only on the first and fifteenth of every month.
Three days later, the two, having broken their promise, lay speechless amid the wreckage of the study. Cui Jianing felt a little guilty. Qin Fang comforted her. "It's fine. You just like treating me, that's all. A doctor's compassion knows no bounds."
So the two tacitly ignored the new agreement and kept treating him again and again, until they accidentally made a baby.
Qin Fang said again, "It's fine. Before the child is born, whether to keep it is up to you. After the child is born, whether to keep it is still up to you. I'll provide all the money you need."
Moved by that last sentence, Cui Jianing gritted her teeth and gave birth to the child.
In the blink of an eye, the three-year term arrived, and the day of their divorce drew closer and closer. But somehow, the contract disappeared.
Qin Fang was quite troubled. "Without evidence or documentation, it's hard to sort anything out. This is a real headache."
Cui Jianing wholeheartedly agreed. "Exactly! We should wait until we find the contract before discussing the divorce."
One day, their two-year-old folded a yellowed sheet of paper into a boat. The little boat promptly capsized and sank to the bottom of the lake.
Qin Fang, who had secretly put the contract in his son's hands, breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness. Now she won't leave me.
Cui Jianing, who had personally sunk the paper boat with a pebble, also breathed a huge sigh of relief and thought, Thank goodness! Now I don't have to leave him!
The child, pretending not to know anything, spread his hands helplessly and thought, This family would fall apart without me.
The blurb has been backed up with screenshots.
Theme: Opening a mystery box and finding true love.
