Martial King's Retired Life - Chapter 9Book 15:

The prospective college student Luo Ji, who is enjoying the last summer of the third year of high school, has undergone earth-shaking changes at this moment after accepting the invitation of the game friend and becoming the player of the game of “Civilization Rise”.
This is a war game between the world and the world, and it is a fierce collision between civilization and civilization!
To annex the five continents, sweeping across the three oceans, and see how Luo Ji led his people, in this powerful enemy look around, the battlefield of the heroes to fight for a battle to the most powerful imperial civilization!

- Description from uukanshu translation

“Hubby, I don't want anymore, I feel terrible...” “Baby, be good, finish up this medicine.”The handsome man embraces the woman in his arms, coaxing her tenderly as he feeds her the medicine.Joanna Lawrence stumbles upon Ashton Heath, the most esteemed scion in all of Closia City, and ends up sleeping with him for the night. After he offers her benefits in exchange for their marriage, the newly appointed Mrs Heath suddenly has the power to have everything she ever wished for.“Hubby, I slapped the Movie Queen Faye today, was I too much?”“Baby, does your hand hurt? Let me rub it for you.”“Hubby, I maxed out your credit card, are you angry?”“Baby, are you happy with your purchase? Let me know when you need more.”“Hubby, I'm tired today, I don't want to move...”

Love is like a battle... A bloodless battle. And every battle has casualties. But this battle leaves even more torturous wounds. Because the wounds of love are left on one's soul.

He might be covered in scars that this battle of feeling left behind, she was the cure he never even knew he was looking for.

He hid his emotions in the maze of his heart, but what to do, the wife he brought home, fancies puzzles.

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Raelle Xiang likes to have everything under her control. Being a CEO, she has always been very calculative. All her life revolved around profits. She'd avoid anything and everything that she couldn't control or calculate; for instance, feelings!

Something intangible like feelings were too bothersome for her.

Shui Xian has turned cold and aloof after the divorce that left him devastated. With enormous wealth, exceptional family back, he was still considered the ideal man but even after years, he was still single.

He chose to bury himself in work to forget the heartbreak and bitterness that someone left behind.

But what happens when this cold President gets into an arranged marriage with the feisty CEO?

One is broken by love and yet cherishes the pain it brought.

The other has always considered love to be a manipulative emotion.

One has a cold personality, the other is simply cold.

One is all about facts and logic, the other still believe in emotions.

With their similar personalities yet contradicting beliefs, what chaos this marriage is gone bring?

Will love manage to ignite?

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.