The Bet [Marriage Before Love]

Everyone in their circle knows Xie Yuwei can’t stand Yan Zheng. None of their friends ever imagined the two of them would one day share a bed.

-

Yan Zheng knows that, in Xie Yuwei’s eyes, they’re probably enemies who can’t stand each other. He never used to care. As time passed, he thought, surely Xie Yuwei would eventually turn around and see him.

It wasn’t until he realized she liked someone that he suddenly felt a flicker of alarm.

It was a clear morning after the rain. Xie Yuwei was crying so hard she could barely breathe. The clean-cut young man beside her looked at her sorrowfully, one hand hovering at her side as he helped her along.

Through a screen, Yan Zheng watched them for a long time, his expression blank.

The young man was talented and successful, only a few months older than Xie Yuwei, with a gentle, refined manner. Even their family backgrounds were a good match.

Yan Zheng had no idea how good his chances were.

“Find a suitable excuse to transfer that young man elsewhere,” Yan Zheng said quietly to his secretary, watching the young couple lean against each other. “Just keep him away for a month.”

A month would be enough time for him to get a lot done.

-

Everyone in show business knows that rising film star Xie Yuwei has someone powerful backing her. She’s so young, yet even investors in the industry are afraid to cross her. Her background must be extraordinary.

Xie Yuwei never comments on the rumors. Thanks to the supposedly powerful man, hardly anyone dares to mess with her. She enjoys throwing his name around to keep her secret marriage under wraps, living a carefree life in the industry.

Then one day, after filming wraps, the actor who starred opposite her can’t get back into character. He gets drunk at the wrap party, corners Xie Yuwei in a quiet corner, and solemnly promises, “Leave him. I’ll treat you right.”

“He can invest in your films, and I can introduce you to good opportunities,” the actor says in a low voice. “I don’t care about your past with him. I’ll love you properly. If you’re willing, we can get married tomorrow.”

Xie Yuwei leans against the wall with her arms crossed, trying to think of a tactful way to turn him down, when she hears steady footsteps approaching. Before she can turn around, the man’s shadow swallows her whole. “Sorry.”

The man rumored to have an unusually close relationship with Xie Yuwei lowers his head slightly and looks down at the actor harassing her. “That would be bigamy.”

[Reading notes]

Dazzling, fearless rising film star × outwardly composed, old-fashioned CEO

Not a patron-and-star story. The two are married through a powerful-family alliance.

Older man, with an eight-year age gap | One-on-one | Both leads have no prior romantic or sexual experience

The heroine sees him as her enemy; from the hero’s perspective, she’s his childhood sweetheart.

The heroine once had a crush on someone else, but the hero stole her away. He has only ever loved her.

The hero appears refined and elegant, but is secretly a scheming stalker. Before she falls for him, the heroine wants to dump him every day.

No real-life inspirations. Please don’t associate the characters with real people. Comments on individual chapters are open~

Theme: Financial independence