Sinking Into Love After Marriage

Radiant, clear-headed actress x aloof, possessive CEO

Just after her former agency terminated her contract, Ling Shuxun received news that her boyfriend was getting engaged.

But she wasn't the bride-to-be.

After slapping the scumbag, Ling Shuxun accidentally wandered into his engagement party.

When he challenged her, Ling Shuxun, fiercely competitive and unwilling to lose face, grabbed a man she'd just met to save her pride. "My fiance."

The man looked coolly impatient, and he was about to blow her cover. The next second, Ling Shuxun kissed him outright, silencing every word he was about to say.

The scumbag and his fiancee gaped in disbelief at the new head of the Chi family, Chi Zhou.

The man rumored to avoid women and act with decisive efficiency was locked in a passionate kiss with Ling Shuxun.

That night, their breaths mingled, and they unexpectedly spent the night together.

When they awoke, the man handed her an agreement. "Be my wife, and I'll make you the hottest actress around."

Ling Shuxun signed without hesitation.

-

To Ling Shuxun, work and money were both more reliable than men.

Besides, she could get married and make money at the same time!

Her "husband" was a legendary workaholic. Making a real profit from this marriage mattered more than anything.

Chi Zhou thought so too.

He'd only agreed to a marriage of convenience with Ling Shuxun to fend off his family's pressure to marry.

More importantly, this woman was a schemer with ambition written all over her face. They could each get what they wanted without investing unnecessary feelings.

As for how well they got along in bed...

They could just sign an additional agreement.

-

After they married, Shuxun played the role of "wife" as requested, enjoying an empty home and spending money as she pleased, savoring the life of a wealthy wife. But then she realized something was off.

Chi Zhou, who lived for work, was putting in fewer and fewer overtime hours. No matter how busy he was, he made sure to pick her up from the airport on time.

He would even take a red-eye flight to the set over a single remark from someone else, then pull her forcefully into his arms.

The once-abstinent, self-controlled man patiently teased her in the bedroom, his voice husky:

"Your eyes are only allowed to look at me."

"You want more, don't you?"

"One impulsive decision of his became a lifetime of falling helplessly in love."

*

Just before Lunar New Year, Ling Shuxun went home to celebrate alone in a fit of pique.

The next morning, amid falling snow, a dark figure appeared at her door.

Ling Shuxun froze. "What are you doing here?"

Chi Zhou approached, carrying the chill of a night spent traveling, and pulled her into his arms. "What am I supposed to do? Every second since you left, I can't stop thinking about you."

Reader's Guide:

One male lead, devoted and faithful / secret marriage first, love later / four-year age gap

Fictional entertainment industry / no real-life character inspirations / imperfect characters

Clear-headed and gentle x restrained and obsessive

Slow burn / bittersweet tension / cold-faced intimacy / mutual healing

1.

Years after their breakup, Yu Qiao still occasionally heard her ex's name:

Jiang Shu, an internationally renowned director with countless awards.

In the capital, Jing City, he was even better known as one of the heirs to a famous conglomerate.

They were worlds apart.

Yu Qiao never imagined they'd meet again, let alone at the live music bar where she sang.

Before her shift was over, she hurried out.

But the man cornered her at the end of the alley, his familiar, strikingly handsome face drawing closer and closer.

"You used to cling to me so hard I couldn't shake you off. Why are you acting so aloof now?"

As pain stung her lips, Yu Qiao vaguely remembered the university gala in her sophomore year.

She jumped straight off the stage and raised the microphone in front of the whole university to ask him:

"Jiang Shu, do you want to be with me?"

2.

At university, Jiang Shu was aloof and refined, a distant, self-possessed beauty who was the hardest to win over on campus.

Though many girls admired him, he never gave any of them a second glance, let alone fell for one.

But Yu Qiao pursued him anyway.

She was bright and passionate, pursuing him boldly and freely, and daring to confess her love to him wherever they were.

Everyone in their department said she was getting above herself and secretly laughed at her.

Until one day, someone saw the usually indifferent Jiang Shu pin Yu Qiao against the net on the court and kiss her as if he'd lost control.

They filmed short films together, watched the sea in the rain, and saw their names appear side by side on award lists. They became the perfect couple everyone envied.

But it all ended just before graduation.

Yu Qiao coldly asked to break up. Looking at Jiang Shu's bloodshot eyes, she smiled.

"I'm tired of you."

3.

At later reunions, their classmates often talked about their story.

But Jiang Shu had gone to America, and Yu Qiao had vanished without a trace.

Everyone said that a proud, solitary man like him, hurt so deeply, must have grown to hate her so much he couldn't even bear to mention her name.

But no one knew that late at night, trembling as he kissed the person in his arms, he would ask over and over in a hoarse voice:

"Yu Qiao, can we start over?"

"Let me be the one to pursue you this time. Please, if you're willing..."

Give me the right to love you.

[I can't live without you. I'll do whatever it takes.]

Theme: Love means helping each other become whole.