A long-dormant flame catches fire | 12-year age gap | Mild coercion | Powerful man learns to yield
CEO × actress
[We were meant to meet in Beijing, in the bright, scorching summer]
When Jiang Bei first met Shen Zhou, she was three months shy of turning eighteen and studying acting at the Beijing Film Academy.
The Beijing summer was so hot it was hard to keep your eyes open. Looking into the sun, she saw a figure beneath a tree
Tall and elegant, with gentle features.
Her roommate stood beside him and waved. “Xiaobei, want to head to the set together? My uncle is driving us!”
Jiang Bei couldn’t refuse. She met the man’s eyes as he squinted slightly against the sunlight and greeted him timidly. “Hello, sir.”
The man nodded, smiling politely but distantly. “Hello.”
Their eyes met, and Jiang Bei’s face flushed with heat.
By autumn, the leaves in Beijing had turned yellow, and the days felt calm and desolate.
On her birthday, Shen Zhou gave her a velvet box.
It was small and delicate in his hand, yet large enough to cover her entire palm.
His voice was as calm as ever. “Happy birthday, little grown-up.”
The girl seemed dazed. It took her a long time to thank him. “Thank you, Uncle Shen.”
After that day, she didn’t see Shen Zhou for more than two months. After filming wrapped, she always felt at a loss for what to do.
Then she heard someone say, “It’s snowing.”
Only then did she realize she’d been thinking of someone from autumn through winter.
Before her new drama began filming, one of the investors specifically asked to meet her. Jiang Bei tried to get out of it, but couldn’t.
As they exchanged toasts, she saw the face she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for more than two months through the hazy light.
“Don’t recognize me anymore?” The man’s words carried a faint trace of alcohol, mixed with his own crisp, cool scent. His dark eyes were deep and unreadable.
“Uncle Shen...”
“If you didn’t want to come, why didn’t you refuse?”
“...I didn’t dare.” She felt wronged.
“It’s only been a little while, and you’re already acting like a quail. Where’s that boldness you used to show around me?”
As if a long-planned understanding had finally been reached, Jiang Bei had a towering tree at her back.
It had started as a fair exchange, with each getting what they needed.
Three years later, Jiang Bei was the first to fall in love.
She was still accepting an award the night before, but the next day, news broke that she was retiring to pursue further studies.
She said she was going to London to improve her acting. Shen Zhou didn’t try to stop her, considering it the last thing he could do for her.
Years later, Jiang Bei returned after finishing her studies. She’d thought she’d never have anything to do with Shen Zhou again, until he waited all night outside her apartment building.
“Is this really necessary, Mr. Shen?”
The man restrained her hand as she tried to push him away, his voice unsteady. “You and that kid fell for each other while filming?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“None of my business? How am I worse than him?”
Jiang Bei was done playing the CEO-and-kept-canary game, so she chose to stay silent.
“Xiaobei, marry me.”
[Reading guide]
Both leads are sexually inexperienced.
No intimate scenes before the heroine becomes an adult.
The heroine can be spoiled, timid, and scatterbrained. She isn’t a strong, independent heroine, but will grow step by step. The hero is definitely no saint. In short, neither lead is perfect.
(Blurb written on 26.5.27)
Theme: Keep climbing step by step until you stand shoulder to shoulder.
