Hard to Resist [Marriage Before Love]

[A Shameless, Irresistible Heir x A Resilient Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage] Four-year age gap

1. No one knew that the rebellious heir had turned Beicheng upside down for one reason: Zhou Zhiyu had said, "We are not meant for each other."

Gu Keli thought that if she cared, then he would bring all the filth of his past to light and show her that knowing the truth was what made them a perfect match.

Zhou Zhiyu had no idea that the brooch in her hand was priceless, and could ensure an ordinary person lived a worry-free life.

2. The Gu family was one of Beicheng's most distinguished clans, with strict family rules and an unwavering devotion to proper etiquette.

But somehow, Gu Keli had turned out a carefree, unruly man who did whatever he pleased.

The Gu family patriarch was driven half-mad by his eldest grandson's antics, yet had to admit that the young man was exceptionally capable.

The rebellious heir had a face that charmed girls and women alike, yet somehow passed through a garden of beauties without picking a single flower.

Then, without warning, he announced he would marry Zhou Zhiyu, the adopted daughter of the poor Zhou family of Beicheng.

Rumor had it that Zhou Zhiyu was no adopted daughter, but the illegitimate child Mr. Zhou had fathered outside his marriage.

With the wedding approaching, Mrs. Zhou publicly released a DNA test report, confirming Zhou Zhiyu's identity as the daughter of a mistress.

She claimed Zhou Zhiyu's background was too shameful, and offered to have her biological daughter, Zhou Tingnu, fulfill the engagement instead, in order to save the Gu family's face.

Gu Keli scoffed at the idea. Unaffected by the turn of events, he continued enthusiastically making wedding preparations.

Society admired Zhou Zhiyu's skill, but also thought she would never be able to handle that carefree heir, and that they were bound to divorce sooner or later.

3. Zhou Zhiyu had been adopted by the Zhou family as a baby and raised by a nanny at a country estate. She had everything she needed, but no one to love her.

The only warmth she knew in childhood came from the boy next door, who once fished her out of the lotus pond in the backyard.

The day she left with her family, he slipped her a brooch depicting a fish playing among lotus leaves. "Use this to make your wishes come true. Don't lose it."

When they met again, she had just agreed to marry into another family as the Zhou family's adopted daughter. The boy next door stopped her. "I'm richer than he is. Why don't you marry me instead?"

She rubbed the brooch in her palm and cruelly turned him down. "Mr. Gu, there's too much distance between us. We are not meant for each other."

Everyone knew the Gu heir despised children born out of wedlock. How could she become a stain on his reputation?

4. After they married, Gu Keli began observing proper etiquette, just like the rest of the Gu family.

But only in front of Zhou Zhiyu did he let his wild, roguish side run free.

When passion swept over him, he curled his fingers around her earlobe and brushed kisses across her lips, calling her again and again in a low, husky voice: "Little Fish, Little Fish."

A young fish emerges from a lotus-filled pond after the rain.

They first met as children by the lotus pond.

From then on, he wanted to give that stranded little fish an ocean of her own, where she could always live freely and without worry.

[A Shameless, Irresistible Heir x A Resilient Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage] Four-year age gap

Content notes:

1. Both leads are faithful to each other and each other's first love, with absolutely no inappropriate involvement with anyone else.

2. The heroine is not the daughter of a mistress. Someone deliberately set her up.

3. The heroine grows and develops in her own right. She is not a helpless flower dependent on others.

4. Don't scrutinize the details. The author made up a lot of things for the plot. If something is wrong, it's because I made it up.

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Snow Is Falling All Over Ireland

Blurb:

Inspired by the line, "Snow is falling all over Ireland.", James Joyce, Dubliners

Six years after their breakup, heavy snow falls in Ireland.

Ye Weizhou runs into Lin Anran again.

The woman who left him, declaring she wanted a better life, is now a junior employee at a company, rushing around every day over trivial matters.

He still remembers the day they broke up. She had been proud as a swan, her tone dismissive: "What makes you think an illegitimate son like you is worth giving up a bright future for?"

Now, as her client, he lights a cigarette, his smile full of contempt. "Lin Anran, you left me just to live like this. Do you regret it?"

"No," Lin Anran says without hesitation.

Ye Weizhou searches her face for signs of a lie, only to realize she's telling the truth.

She truly doesn't regret treating him so cruelly.

Ash falls onto the back of his hand. The sting wakes him to how ridiculous his six years of self-deception have been.

Theme: He breaks every one of his rules for her.