Soothe Me Tonight

Jiang Ling comes from a small town. She has an ordinary appearance, a gentle personality, and an average job.

But her first love was a scion of an influential family in the imperial capital.

Lu Lei is a top-tier star in the business world: 188 centimeters tall, broad-shouldered and slim-waisted, with a perfectly sculpted face. Even his long, well-defined fingers are exceptionally sexy.

He is decisive and ruthless, known as the cold-faced King of Hell, and has countless admirers.

At their sweetest, Jiang Ling would wear his oversized white shirt and curl up comfortably in his warm embrace while he worked, letting him coax her to sleep.

She was sleeping soundly when someone woke her with wicked intentions. Blushing, she protested, "You just love picking on honest people."

His dark eyes glinted with amusement. His voice trailed off enticingly: "And how exactly am I picking on you?"

Jiang Ling had always known the gulf between them. She rose on tiptoe and kissed his handsome jawline.

She thought that if she worked hard enough, she could stand proudly by his side one day.

But their separation came just like their first meeting: without warning, in the midst of chaos.

-

Years later, Jiang Ling never expected to see Lu Lei again.

By then, she had gone from a small-town girl to the heiress of a wealthy family.

She stood in the middle of the crowd as he approached her step by step, his eyes cold and distant.

Maybe it was her imagination, but when he greeted her, his fingertips brushed across her palm.

For the sake of their business relationship, Jiang Ling was reasonably friendly toward Lu Lei. She never expected that after their reunion, he would act as if someone else had taken over his body.

In the dim, intimate car, he seized her ankle.

"Mr. Lu, please behave yourself."

Eyes reddened, he demanded, "What is your relationship with that man?"

Jiang Ling thought Lu Lei was only interested in her because she was a wealthy heiress. After all, he had always been a businessman who put profit first.

Until one morning, when her nanny pulled her out of bed and, still bleary-eyed, she saw him.

He must have rushed over. His hair was uncombed and his tie untied, nothing like his usual immaculate self.

She thought she was dreaming. Otherwise, why would he be looking at her with such focused affection?

-

When they were together, Lu Lei was usually the one who kissed Jiang Ling awake. He loved her drowsy, half-asleep state and would indulge in her tenderness again and again, without restraint.

Now she looked much the same as she woke, but there was no longer any light in her eyes when she looked at him.

Seeing her hold both hands defensively in front of herself, Lu Lei dug his fingers into his palm and took a step back. He bent down, resting his head on her shoulder, and said softly, "I'm sorry. I left in such a hurry today, I didn't bring you a gift."

She stepped away. "Mr. Lu, I've already made myself perfectly clear."

"I know."

"If you know, then what are you doing?"

"Pursuing you." Lu Lei seemed to want to look right into her heart. His deep eyes held an almost disarmingly sincere look. "Dating should start with pursuing the girl."

Related story: [Deeply Allergic]

In the conference room, Yang Fan was focused on taking the minutes when a pair of long legs suddenly clamped around her ankle.

Her fingers were on the A key, and several rows of As suddenly appeared in the document: AAAAAA...

Yang Fan glanced at the culprit from the corner of her eye. He had a cold, unapproachable face, and his jawline was even more defined than her figure.

She turned her attention back to the screen, lifted her foot to tug at his black dress pants, and rubbed against him.

Shen Yao, who had been leaning back in his chair, immediately sat up straight and cleared his throat, trying to cover it up.

The operations director giving the presentation looked as if his soul had left his body. "Boss, do you have any instructions?"

Shen Yao played it cool. "My throat's dry. Carry on."

After the meeting, in front of all the executives, he said, "Secretary Yang, come to my office."

No one questioned how Yang Fan, fresh out of college, had already earned a seat beside the boss during meetings.

Instead, her coworkers joked that if Yang Fan were a little prettier and came from a better family, the boss would have to marry her to repay the life-saving favor.

−

The first anniversary of their marriage registration was also the day their contract ended.

Shen Yao carefully prepared a candlelit dinner, then got down on one knee, gazing at her with deep affection.

"Honey, marry me."

Yang Fan was so startled that she pulled her hand away and bolted...

The sun blazed outside, while the room was dim and sultry.

Shen Yao kept shifting her around in his arms, refusing to let her fall asleep.

Red marks covered Yang Fan's fair neck. Unable to take any more, she forced out a hoarse whisper.

"I'm still so young. I don't want to enter the graveyard of marriage."

Shen Yao was so exasperated he nearly laughed. He kept at her, teasing and tempting her.

"You said you'd take responsibility for me. Now that you've had your fill, you want to pretend it never happened?"

Yang Fan was... nearly green in the face.

"Which one of us had their fill of whom? Just because you're handsome, you think you can get away with anything?"

Theme: Become your own light.