Land of Wild Strawberries

Older man and younger woman | Rekindled love | The powerful one falls first | Coercive love

1

When they first met, her hair was streaked with grease, and she was rushing to deliver takeout to a hotel as beautiful as Monet's garden.

The elevator rose straight into the clouds. The doors opened, and she came face-to-face with a man who seemed higher than the heavens, surrounded by the wealthy yet drinking milk with an air of utter detachment.

He smiled warmly, then found fault with her: "You got my delivery wrong, miss. You'll have to compensate me."

She hurried to apologize, unaware that she had just stepped into a cage.

2

The wealthy all disliked Ni Kelin, saying he was arrogant and not to be trifled with.

Yet a girl as insignificant as an ant was willing to kneel before him to take back everything she had lost.

She thought, "I want to rise above everyone else."

From then on, she suffered for those words.

The man liked to give orders at midnight, watching her pedal a battered bike down silent, empty streets. Sometimes he would suddenly thrust a violin worth millions into her arms, then mockingly savor her panic.

The Ni family servants came and went in a steady stream. Only she was "kept" there, in a peculiar way.

When her scholarship was revoked and her father's new family threw her out, she was drenched by the rain. A black Bentley pulled over by the roadside.

The window rolled down, revealing his face, amused as if he were watching a joke. "Little clown, see? I'm the only one who likes you best."

3

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she would always be worthless to the old-money crowd.

Rumors cut like knives, stabbing through her humble pride.

In a fit of anger, she left, eventually disappearing with her meager belongings.

"A cat you can't tame."

He cast her aside with a sneer, so coldly that even onlookers were stunned.

.

Later, his name continued to appear in the news. His reputation was in tatters, yet no one dared cross him.

Every time she heard about him, an unbearable ache and regret rose in her chest.

At last, their paths crossed again. His familiar, chilling presence was unchanged, but he wouldn't spare her a glance.

She pretended to be calm, but couldn't sleep night after night.

Just as she was about to give up, the voice etched into her bones sounded behind her.

Fingers gripped her shoulder with an irresistible force. "How did it feel to pretend you didn't know me for so long?"

She tried to pull free, but he had already seized her wrist.

His grip tightened. He bent down, his breath scorching the side of her neck. His tone was amused, but the end of his words was ice-cold. "Had enough of running?"

"Boss!" She struggled in panic, but the old form of address slipped out.

He ignored her and demanded, "Does the little clown still love me?"

His fingertips touched her cheek. It felt like a threat, yet somehow more like a humble plea.

"Will you marry me? You can take your time deciding afterward."

"I'm begging you."

[Reading Notes]

* A cunning old-money man who seems teasing but is devoted at heart x a resilient, tragic beauty who grows from humble beginnings into an independent woman

* The male lead is pure in both body and heart. The female lead has a brief, insignificant romantic experience along the way.

* Happy ending

* I couldn't think of a blurb, so I just wrote down the characters I had in mind...

Content warning:

This story emphasizes class differences, and the leads have very off-putting personalities. If that's not your thing, feel free to move on~

[Please add my upcoming story to your favorites~]

Rekindled love / Childhood friends / Groveling chase

Zheng Xuemin is clear-headed and restrained from head to toe, except for the wedding she had at twenty, when she married the person who loved her least.

For more than twenty years, she lived a bleak life with calm composure. She was treated cruelly over and over, yet kept trying to be a good wife and daughter-in-law, working diligently and cooking for her family every day.

Until an unexpected incident disrupted her uneventful life.

-

Zhou Rongchen has always been a carefree playboy, but he was blessed with an exceptionally handsome face and became a popular actor soon after his debut.

More than anything, he hated being controlled. Yet for the first half of his life, he was held in the palm of one woman's hand. He played up his flirtations with other actresses in the media, and spicy rumors popped up from time to time, but he was also afraid that the woman at home would expose his real situation and damage his career.

He was juggling everything, keeping both the side piece and the wife around, and thought he had it all perfectly balanced.

He enjoyed it, until one day he realized his wife had beaten him to it...

She had cheated.

Reading notes

The male lead will not be changed.

Both are virgins. The male lead is a playboy in spirit, but his cucumber is clean.

Theme: Those who help themselves will be helped by heaven.