Stealing a Moment [Poaching Someone's Lover]

[Crushing on your best friend's dream guy] [Stealing someone's partner] [A secret affair]

Small-town striver. Ambitious woman x older man. Gentle heir.

Tang Hua always thought her feelings for Wei Yuan were a naive infatuation, or maybe the kind of projection onto a celebrity that was all over the internet, a desire to admire someone stronger than herself.

Over her three years at university, this infatuation deepened amid a strange love triangle, until she was hopelessly caught up in it.

Every day, she watched Wei Yuan dote on his childhood sweetheart in every possible way: carrying her bags, buying her milk tea, saving her a seat, helping her study. He was always patient and attentive, his eyes full of tenderness. She couldn't help imagining again and again how lucky it would be to be the one he cherished.

His childhood sweetheart often put herself down and confided in her. "Huahua, everyone says you and Wei Yuan look like a better match!"

Tang Hua did her best to deny it. The gulf between their families could never be crossed, and her childhood friend was the last person she wanted to lose. But when Wei Yuan returned from studying abroad, it became harder and harder to suppress her feelings.

An accident turned those less-than-innocent thoughts into a secret affair.

Tang Hua tried desperately to keep the three of them together, but he said, "If you don't tell her and I don't tell her, how will she ever know?"

To fulfill a longing she'd carried for years, she gave in to her own greed. In their stolen time together, she found the love she'd dreamed of, and tasted pain that cut to the bone.

Li Qingqing found out all the same, and their relationship collapsed completely. Tang Hua lost her best friend, while news kept coming of Wei Yuan's happy engagement to a well-matched heiress.

He asked her, "Do you regret it?"

Tang Hua lowered her head and smiled. "I do. But if I had another chance, I'd still make the same choice!"

Tenacious small-town striver and ambitious woman x scheming heir to a wealthy family.

What to expect: Can a relationship that goes off the rails ever get back on track? A group of urban men and women struggle with worldly desires. No one is perfect, but this is still an adult fairy tale for a night in.

Important: I don't want to spoil anything, and I'm not sure what might be a dealbreaker.

A note: Men and women alike should become more fully themselves through intimate relationships. That's what growth means!

Currently serializing: The Old Flame Rekindles, "How I Tried to Placate a Big Shot and Fell Flat"

Blurb: A domineering self-made tycoon who loves flattery x a small-town girl who's a jack of all trades.

An old flame rekindled | Marrying up into a wealthy family | Exes try to steal her away, only to end up in the ashes

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The first time Tan Zongnian met Zhang Lu, he thought she had a sweet smile, was innocent, and would be easy to fool.

On a whim, he took pity on her, spent a little money to cheer her up, and gave her some advice so she wouldn't suffer a major loss out in the world.

Zhang Lu thought it was all a misunderstanding.

But he was a big-shot buyer, and she was just a lowly salesperson. She had to know her place and take his advice!

Her friends urged her to keep at it. If she leveraged his influence to close another five million in sales, she could shave ten years off her mortgage.

But after going back and forth like that, she escaped her servitude with his help, only to end up on a pirate ship.

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They exchanged letters for three months, met five times, and shared countless meals. She owed him more favors than she could count.

Tan Zongnian tapped the table with his hand, visibly displeased. "You've got some nerve, two-timing me!"

The man seated beside him was Zhang Lu's first love.

Zhang Lu blushed but stubbornly retorted, "What do you mean, two-timing? Do you think I'm a giant with legs long enough to reach your aircraft carrier? I've only got one foot aboard, and I haven't even found my balance!"

Tan Zongnian's voice dropped. "You're already on board. Don't try to wriggle out of it!"

Zhang Lu felt that, as the third party, she absolutely couldn't back down. She stood up straight and said, "I haven't even bought a ticket. At most, I'm a stowaway."

Hah! They weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend, and he was already putting her on trial. No way!

Tan Zongnian glared at her and snapped, "Zhang Lu, just try cheating on me. I'll break your legs!"

Zhang Lu regretted it.

She'd thought this was a gullible, easy-to-placate old engineer. She hadn't realized he was a full-blown tyrant.

Bad-tempered, petty, stingy, and absurdly controlling. Apart from his money, and a face and physique that were good enough, he didn't meet a single one of her boyfriend criteria.

Tan Zongnian had been very annoyed lately.

He'd thought she was a pure, fair-skinned young woman who'd be easy to handle. He hadn't expected her to be full of schemes and so flirtatious. All those sweet words, and not a sincere one among them. He wasn't short on women, so why was he so set on this little white tea?

Damn it! He just couldn't let her go. He'd transplant her into his home and cultivate her properly.

She'd called him an aircraft carrier, a man with a belly big enough to sail a ship through. He couldn't let a little boat outdo him. Where would that leave his dignity?

After wrestling with it all night, Zhang Lu decided: She couldn't keep chasing the big shot. He was sharp on the tongue and burned going down. She was delicate and frail, and couldn't swallow the needles that came with the wealthy. To keep her life from turning into a struggle, she had to run!

When Tan Zongnian went back, he couldn't find her.

The butler reported, "Mr. Tan, you said Miss Zhang could do whatever made her happy. She's been moved out for a month now."

Sigh. A man who's been away from home for a month getting dumped? That's only to be expected.

PS: The timeline runs from 2007 to 2018. Mature man (39) and mature woman (29). Everyday push and pull, blurred values, and flexible, shifting boundaries. A serious story, but lighthearted overall, a little sweet treat in my genre. The leads are neither good people nor bad people. They have big appetites and not much conscience. The main thing is to do what makes yourself happy.

=>> Recommended completed stories in the same vein

"The Boss I Raised Lost His Secret Identity": Reunited after a breakup, sex first and love later, secret identity revealed. A lively heroine who dares to take risks and go after what she wants. A gloomy, gentle big shot.

"Impossible to Resist Him": The man has a secret crush, schemes in advance, sex first and love later, and a chase where she runs and he follows. An energetic heroine who dares to love and hate. A gentle, devoted big shot with a tendency toward social withdrawal.

=>> Completed fantasy romances

"The Little Bunny Is Kissed Daily by Her Wolfish, Sharp-Fanged Owner": A fierce, cold black dragon of an emperor x a tiny bunny from the grasslands who lives on rice. After the bunny becomes the black dragon's empress, she declares, "From now on, I'll take responsibility." The adorable yet fierce little bunny gets kissed and ravished by the black dragon in this imperial daily life.

"The Chicken Spirit Who Carried an Egg and Flew Away from Her Substitute Immortal Venerable": A nurturing immortal venerable x a palm-sized little yellow chicken spirit. Raising a pet into a wife, marriage before love, and sweet, spicy everyday life between spouses in a wealthy world of immortals.

Theme: Embrace love and hate, and live freely.