
![[ENG DUB] The Kiss Was Just the First Step](https://acfs3.goodshort.com/dist/src/assets/images/pc/common/f901131c-default-book-cover.png)
Serena Rivers spends three years in prison for a crime she didn't commit and uses every single day of it. She trains under four of the most formidable masters the underworld has ever produced and walks out as something entirely different from the woman who walked in. On her first day of freedom she corners the cold prison warden Xavier Stone against the water dungeon wall and kisses him without apology. He is her insurance policy and she knows it. Outside, the fake heiress has stolen her shares, her younger brother demands she kneel, and her former fiance has already moved on with a new bride. She tears up the rejection notice on the spot. Moments later, the Stone family motorcade arrives, the warden reveals himself as the family patriarch, and he shows up with a hundred billion in betrothal gifts and absolutely no intention of letting anyone touch her again. Together, they dismantle every person who had a hand in her three lost years.

At 18, Maeve was kidnapped on a cruise ship. Blair, her childhood sweetheart and first love, took a bullet for her before falling into the sea and dying. Determined to uncover the truth,Maeve agreed to marry Curtis, the heir to a wealthy family.However, on the eve of their wedding, she encountered Xavier—a man from an ultra-wealthy background whose memory had been altered and who was now living under the guise of a car mechanic.

Business elite Marcus Freeman is accidentally electrocuted and wakes up in the body of a gang boss. Knowing his future ends in prison, Marcus decides to use his business acumen to transform his gang, teaching illiterate members to turn the organization legitimate and profitable. Facing scheming traitors within the gang, he exposes their arms-smuggling operation and sends them to jail. Partnering with the beautiful Blair of the Kennedy family, he develops a thriving commercial street. When Calvin of the Wood family pursues Blair, Marcus outsmarts him and,leveraging his knowledge of the future and technology, grows his enterprise, defeats the Wood Group, and successfully converts his gang into a legal business, rising to become a commercial titan alongside Blair.

In her past life, Mia Blair mistakenly believed Nick Judd was the man who saved her life. She fell for him completely, only to be betrayed and destroyed in the end. Given a second chance at life, she vows not to repeat the same mistake and to cherish the man who truly loves her.

Born into wealth, Winona Gray risks her life to save Matthew Finch and ends up paralyzed. To test his love,her father tells her to keep pretending she can't walk. On the eve of their wedding, she plans to rise from her wheelchair and reveal her true identity as the daughter of the powerful Gray family. But before she can, she discovers Matthew's affair with her sworn sister, Rhea Blair—shattering her heart and everything she once believed in.

Esme Olsen and Nate Blair are childhood sweethearts, destined to be together—until the real Lane heir returns, forcing Nate out. They vow to reunite, but the next day, Esme is diagnosed with leukemia. Afraid of holding him back, she chooses to recover before seeking him out or quietly disappear. Unaware of her illness, her greedy father hires thugs to attack Nate and convinces him that Esme no longer loves him. Five years later, he returns as a powerful tycoon, determined to claim her as his own. Love and resentment clash, but in the end, the truth sets them free.

Hank Carver, a descendant of Tina Carver, falls for Wendy Shaw, but Kyle Leed, who secretly loves her, targets him—forcing him to drop out and work as a delivery courier. When his great-grandmother Tina returns, she reshuffles Xancent’s elite families, elevating the kind-hearted Hank. Through trials and revenge, justice is served, and Hank and Wendy finally unite as true lovers.

After her death, Empress Josephine transmigrated into her 30th descendant's 6-year-old daughter, Zoe Hawk. Facing the bullying of her cruel stepmother,Sierra, her cowardly father, Charles, and her domineering half-brother, Ethan, she carefully navigated her way through challenges. Utilizing her past life’s medical skills, etiquette, and political savvy, she reformed the Hawk family and sought justice for the original owner of her body.

The spirit of Lucille Payne, an ancient general, transmigrated into her descendant who bore the same name—only to discover that the Payne family had fallen into decline. Her sister-in-law had been secretly transferring away the family's assets, while her own brother and sister remained blindly obsessed with romance. Refusing to accept this decay, Lucille took action: she thwarted her sister-in-law's schemes, encouraged her brother to enlist in the military, and helped her sister regain confidence through a dance livestreaming career. In the end, she succeeded in restoring the Payne family to its former glory.

Tyler Bell, Chief of the Royal Secret Service, wakes up five hundred years in the future inside the body of a Bell family descendant who shares his name. His old friends have become lonely immortals,waiting all this time for his return. This modern world has no deadly court politics or backstabbing nobles—just three loving "aunts" who dote on him. When his aunts panic that the family is under threat from the Obsidian Sun and Doverfield warriors, Tyler just scratches his head. "You call that a threat?"

Tessa is deeply hurt by her husband Shawn Moore's endless favoritism toward his first love. She leaves the marriage with her daughter and nothing else, and they survive by selling melons on the street in hardship.One day, she sees news that he gives unimaginable wealth to his first love. Looking at her worn clothes and her daughter's broken shoes, regret hits her hard. If given another chance, she vows she will never chase his love again—money becomes her priority.

Talented jewelry designer Ada Prescott's life has hit a low point after her boyfriend cheated on her and her sister falsely accused her of plagiarism. While getting drunk in a bar, she accidentally meets her ex-boyfriend's uncle, Max Worthington, the heir to a powerful plutocracy. By mistake, the two become a contractual couple. At first, Ada doesn't have a crush on Max and wants to end the relationship, but as they get along, Ada gradually falls in love with his thoughtfulness. And Max on Ada is early "premeditation" - Ada has not remembered, years ago in an encounter, he actually fell in love with her at first sight...

Frank Church gave up his status as a wealthy heir to marry Lynn Cooper. On their daughter Tianna's birthday, the little girl waited alone by the road for her parents. Meanwhile, Lynn was out with her first love Harry Zimmer and his daughter Yana. While driving together, they accidentally hit Tianna,leaving her critically injured. Lynn chose to take Yana—who had only minor injuries—to the hospital first, delaying Tianna's treatment and ultimately leading to her death. Despite Frank's repeated pleas, Lynn refused to visit their daughter, insisting that Tianna was fine. Devastated and betrayed, Frank finally turned his heart away forever.

Tina Garcia's daughter, Candy Leed, clings to life after a terrible accident. She holds on, hoping her doctor father, Leo Leed, will arrive in time to save her. However, when Leo finally appears, he prioritizes his first love and her daughter, who are only pretending to be injured. He rushes them to the hospital and takes good care of them. Meanwhile, Candy, having lost too much blood, tragically passes away as she misses the critical window for treatment. Heartbroken, Tina then learns of the affair between Leo and his first love. Consumed by grief and anger, she vows to make them pay for what they have done to her daughter.

Trusting a scumbag, Shannon Clarke not only lost her baby but was also forced to donate her cornea to her husband's first love. The constant heartbreak woke her up. Shannon: "Let’s... get a divorce!"

After years of secretly dating her billionaire boss, Mable is shocked by his engagement news, realizing she's been a stand-in for his lost first love. Fleeing his pursuit, Mable stumbles into a whirl of fate, love and scandal.

On their fifth anniversary, Emily discovers that she has merely been a “stand-in” for her boyfriend’s first love, Evelyn. Emily immediately breaks up with Ethan and returns to her old life as an up-and-coming researcher. Having long concealed her status as a brilliant scientist, she earns the support of Daniel, the youngest professor at a prestigious university, and ranks first in gaining admission to the PhD program under her dream advisor. Through hard work and resilience, Emily proves her worth to others and simultaneously exposes the carefully constructed persona that Evelyn built for herself. Only then does David realize exactly what Emily is truly capable of, as well as the love she poured into their relationship, leaving him filled with nothing but deep regret as he watches her flourish in her newly reclaimed life.

After years of sacrifice for her family and betrayal by the man she loved, a woman presumed dead is rescued by a powerful mafia godfather—only to be forced to choose between a ruthless new future and the first love who realized his regret too late.