Our Newlywed Days in the Rain

My marriage-first, love-later novel, A Dream of Marriage in the Capital's Rain, is now underway. Add it to your reading list!

Three months after their wedding, Meng Yuan finally met the man who was her husband in name only.

Cen Jian'an had just returned from overseas. He was the powerful heir to a major corporation.

No one would have guessed that the Mrs. Cen everyone had speculated about, but had never heard a word from, was just an ordinary office worker.

Before they registered their marriage, they were strangers who had met only once.

They moved in together because their elders insisted. Their main interaction was playing along in front of the older generation.

Then there was the strawberry cake and limited-edition teddy bear she received on her birthday, which she had treasured for years.

She had been so busy working overtime that she'd forgotten her own birthday. She never expected the man to remember.

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Before the wedding, Meng Yuan had listened to her friends worry that her future husband was rumored to be stiff and cold, and that the gulf between their social positions was too wide for the marriage to last.

One day, Meng Yuan accidentally clicked on a topic and was caught in the act. On her screen, in bold: A harmonious married life depends on being in sync when you kiss.

"Let's try it," Cen Jian'an said, leisurely taking off his watch.

When she was hit on, the group's boss, who was aloof and cold and treated people with indifference in the eyes of her colleagues by day, would hold her down at night and say in a low, unruffled voice, "One more kiss."

Later, when Meng Yuan fell ill, she sent him a message saying she missed him.

Cen Jian'an was away on a business trip overseas, but he hurried home that same night, still wrapped in the damp, chilly rain from outside.

The usually cold-hearted man drew her into his arms and gently coaxed her to sleep.

He was also the one who told her, with heartfelt sincerity, "As long as you're willing to be my wife, I won't let you suffer even the slightest grievance from anyone else."

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Cen Jian'an had spent the first half of his life making ruthless decisions. When he turned thirty, his family arranged for him to marry a woman with whom he would share a courteous, respectful relationship.

He never expected that in the second half of his life, he would experience the feeling of being the one to bow his head for the first time.

At a banquet, Meng Yuan went out to look for someone. The man standing on the grand staircase frowned as he called their private doctor. "Is there anything I can do to improve things? My wife thinks I'm too rough and is insisting on moving into the study."

Meng Yuan thought of that night, when her jealous husband had trapped her against the floor-to-ceiling window and asked in a calm, low voice, "Are there a lot of people chasing after you?"

That same night, Cen Jian'an wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and patiently coaxed her. "Honey, move back in. Let's have a baby."

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Marriage first, love later / Love grows over time / Five-year age gap

Mature, doting, powerful older man x Gentle, cool-headed translator

My next novel, A Dream of Marriage in the Capital's Rain, is available to add to your reading list.

Song Zhiyu married a stranger on impulse. Her husband was Lu Group's powerful, high-ranking young heir.

After their wedding, her husband went abroad. He had plenty of money, little work, and rarely came home.

Later, when Lu Siyu returned to the country, he was teased about the wedding ring on his left hand. He replied nonchalantly, "It's just to placate my family."

One day, after Song Zhiyu finished working overtime, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan turned back as she waited for a ride. She received a message: [Want to get rained on? Come over.]

In the car, she took a call from her boss, who was trying to set her up with someone.

That night, they shared a bed in the main bedroom. The man loosened his tie with one hand and said in his unhurried, quiet voice, "Going on a blind date?"

"You were clinging to me and asking for a hug last night. Now that you've had your fill, you're planning to trade your husband in?"

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They all said Lu Siyu was arrogant and had turned down countless wealthy young women. How could he change his ways over a marriage his family had arranged?

Song Zhiyu had no expectations and assumed they would always be polite and distant with each other.

But later, Lu Siyu held her down and complained that she was treating him like a business transaction. "Zhizhi, change my contact name to 'Hubby.'"

He didn't eat sweets, but he learned to make cute cakes just to cheer her up.

He even replaced his usual silver cuff links with adorable cat-ear ones. When people at the office asked about them, he said, "My wife made them."

Then, at a private gathering, everyone stumbled upon them in a dim corner of the terrace.

Lu Siyu had a gentle young woman on his lap, his arms wrapped around her. The usually aloof man was rubbing her flushed earlobe, completely indulgent as he murmured, "Be good. Open your mouth when we kiss."

Later, the man who came home earlier and earlier started turning down every private gathering. Their group chat was full of people asking where he'd disappeared to.

Someone in the know replied that they'd just run into Brother Siyu, carrying a jar of star-shaped candies he'd made by hand. He was hurrying off to celebrate his anniversary and set off fireworks for his wife.

In the early hours of the morning, he posted a photo of their marriage certificate: [Taken. My wife gave me this title.]

Their friends in the group chat: ?? He's showing off again!

Marriage first, love later / Strangers / Love grows over time

Cool, refined, powerful man x Gentle assistant prosecutor

[Lu Siyu was going through a difficult time. Song Zhiyu acted as though nothing was wrong, making him delicious food every day and finding ways to cheer him up. Then he caught her crying alone on the terrace late at night.

That night, Song Zhiyu gazed up at him with reddened eyes, her heart aching for him.

His throat tightened.

For the first time, he wanted to protect someone for the rest of his life.]

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Theme: Tomorrow will be better