Mr. Xie Picks Up A

Xie Heng, head of the Xie family, is a distant and self-controlled genius in the eyes of outsiders.

To him, love is a "rigid formula," as one ex once put it, and a potential family-arranged marriage waiting to be checked off his to-do list.

Until he casually "picked up" a drenched stray cat: Gu Yanzhang, an actor who had just been dumped by Xie Heng's cousin, missed out on a nomination, and always seemed to stumble into his sight when he was at his most wretched.

At first, it was just a simple favor.

He had seen the glitter and glamour of the fame game, but never someone like this: onstage, Gu Yanzhang could be a martyr whose soul was being torn apart; offstage, he was a silly beauty whose eyes lit up at the sight of cake. Though battered and bruised, he could always make a resilient flower bloom from the dust.

Xie Heng coolly assessed his worth, yet couldn't help breaking his own rules again and again.

When Gu Yanzhang looked at him with those peach-blossom eyes full of starlight, his passion all in,

Xie Heng finally realized that his reason had long since crumbled, and his usually indifferent heart had fallen for him completely.

[A seemingly calm and distant but inwardly tender, fatherly big shot gong x a resilient beauty of an actor shou who flirts without realizing it]

[An ice mountain melts x broken porcelain becomes a seal]

[Xie Heng x Gu Yanzhang]

A cozy little story that won't be very long.

One-on-one, happy ending, slow burn, mutual devotion, growing together.

Content warnings:

1. Both are virgins, but Xie has had two girlfriends, and Gu dated Xie's cousin and is still trying to win him back at the start of the story. He gradually moves on later. It's all to move the plot along.

2. The writing is average.

3. The author isn't an industry professional, and most of the entertainment-industry details are made up.

Theme: Look, you don't need to chase the light. You are already the light.