Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love)

Description

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When they were studying, Ding Meng was a student who excelled in studies, whilst Qiao Yi Chen was a problematic student who constantly helped to raise the class average score. Every single time they took an examination, Ding Meng would scold Qiao Yi Chen like a dog.

When they got married, Ding Meng was a rookie singer who had just entered the entertainment industry, whilst Qiao Yi Chen was a golden producer who produced innumerable hits. Every single time they recorded a song, Qiao Yi Chen would scold Ding Meng like a dog.

…… The Heavens have never spared a single person from its wrath.

This is a story that details the male lead’s journey in empowering the female lead to lord over the entertainment industry, whilst conveniently capturing her heart simultaneously.

Associated Names
One entry per line
结婚协奏曲 (恋爱这件小事)
Related Series
Finding Glowing Beauty in Books (Shared Universe)
Just Blame Me For Being Blind in the Beginning (Shared Universe)
Good Morning, Miss Ghost (Shared Universe)
Amnesiac Queen (Shared Universe)
Divorce: This is a Trivial Matter (Shared Universe)
Sweet Heart in Honeyed Desire (Shared Universe)
Sonata: Fleeing to Avoid an Arranged Marriage (Shared Universe)
Hear My Heart: My World Falls into the River of Love (Shared Universe)
I Seem Unsuited for Dating (Shared Universe)
Midnight Cinderella (Shared Universe)
Slowly Falling For Changkong (Shared Universe)
The Lady’s Facade was Ruined (Shared Universe)
Kiss of Venus (Shared Universe)
Impossible Lovers (Shared Universe)
Twelve Units of Sweetness (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
Just Blame Me For Being Blind in the Beginning (5)
The Friendly Wedding (3)
Reincarnation – Lord is Extremely Hardcore (2)
Good Morning, Miss Ghost (2)
First Marriage Then Love (2)
Flash Marriage (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. showbiz, entertainment
  2. Modern Romance
  3. modern reads
  4. Love, Zuliate
  5. Lidos

Latest Release

Date Group Release
05/12/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c82
05/08/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c81
04/30/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c80
04/16/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c79
03/27/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c78
03/20/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c77
03/05/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c76
02/20/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c75
02/12/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c74
02/05/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c73
01/30/18 A Lazy Loaf of Bread c72
08/04/17 abcpwip c71
07/28/17 abcpwip c70
07/26/17 abcpwip c69
07/24/17 abcpwip c68
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Review
45 Reviews


Sicarius
Sicarius
Jan 10, 2017
Status: c15
So far so good. This novel hits a lot of familiar beats from the genre: fake marriage, secret cohabiting, black-belly male lead, etc. But where it shines is the characters. They're interesting and complex without being melodramatic. That's particularly important in the case of the female lead. Ding Meng was overweight in middle school and had a somewhat tragic high school experience (not a spoiler), but it's never treated as a 'dark past' that she continues to angst over. It's just part of how she got to where she is.... more>> Also, she's a bit naive yes, but she's not actually s*upid, which is a nice departure from the typical. Similarly, Qiao Yichen is a fairly typical black-belly male lead. He's handsome, wealthy, and known for being extremely strict and rude to subordinates. But so far, he's never actually been an as*hole to DM. He's uncompromising in his work, but actually treats the female lead well.

There's no instalove here either, the romance appears to be the slow-burn style which is always great. When the two leads have real reasons to like each other it's much more believable than 'they so pretty, lets be together forever'. All in all, this is a good one, give it a read. <<less
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dysry
dysry
Jun 18, 2017
Status: c60
Marriage Concerto is a cute and sweet story, but like most of Ban Li Zi's works, lacks that added depth which makes a good enough story into a great one. The ML and FL enter into a fake marriage, they bicker but start to respect each other through their work/singing competition, and once they fall for each other, they OD on PDA and bicker with everyone else on WeChat (I guess most celebrities these days spend a lot of time just overreacting to everything on social media, so this bit... more>> might not be too far fetched). Even through the story isn't a carbon copy of everything else she's done (sightly different setting), the conversations, plot developments and even jokes are mostly recycled from her other works. While it's still enjoyable enough, it's too safe and unoriginal to be memorable.

Other notes - at least it doesn't include reincarnation/transmigration. <<less
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Shortk
Shortk
Sep 16, 2020
Status: c45
I feel coerced more than romance. Does that make sense? Like we (the readers) and the MC have been coerced to accept the ML's affections but in actuality I feel nothing special about the two of them being together.

To be fair, I think it's because that bc they are married in the contract that the ML thinks he can naturally progress physically although it goes against one of the articles in the contract. As if marriage begets or always has consent for romantic advances. Idk. It's also the fact she's... more>> clueless and he just ignores that while going after her. Ok this all seems like a logical way to pursue anyone, but I think her utter disinterest romantically (that is written) in him up until they goddamn do the deed even makes it feel non consensual despite not being written so. Probably not explaining it well. It's honestly not bad I guess, but not my type of romance. Not interested in them. Honestly if you're a virgo, lol you might be into this type of romance (??)

Besides the romance, I enjoyed her progress through the competition. Felt very genuine and I liked her effort. This book is worth a try, but definitely not for me. The ML is too ugh for me. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
orientalfairy
orientalfair
Oct 14, 2020
Status: c78
This couple was briefly mentioned in “Just blame me for being blind...” BUT WOWWW IT EXCEEDED my expectations, its even better than that one and the romance progression was so natural?? Like none of them ever confess so grandly and everything just progressed so naturally? So heartwarming im gonna die
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
LalaMarkova
LalaMarkova
Apr 05, 2020
Status: --
Never a boring moment, I got hooked with the first chapter because I like how slow burnt and chill their relationship started minus the..
Spoiler

marriage contract of course.

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I think this is my favorite among Ban Li Zi's novels. I also like the bickering couple of I Seem Unsuited for Dating and the straightforward MC of Falling for Chang Kong.

If you're looking for a simple fluffy everyday romance with no blood shedding, go for Ban Li Zi's. I suggest you stay away from her books if you are a type of reader in need of "depth and plot", (pun intented)

thank me later.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
aliensan
aliensan
Feb 16, 2018
Status: c74
Lol I just binge read up to the newest release in two days. XP this story is truly adorable. There barely any drama and it's just full of fluffiness from the banter between the two leads. I loved how they practically kill everyone around them with their affection. Really makes me wish I had my own shameless ML. XP
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Umi Kumayah
Umi Kumayah
Jan 26, 2017
Status: 23
The story is so interesting. I love the way Qiao Yi Chen act around Ding Meng. Maybe he's strict but he's also sweet. I think, even in the highschool, Yi Chen had a feeling for Ding Meng. I can't wait any longer for the next chapter. I love some of Ban Li Zi's novels. I have read Just blame me for being blind in the beginning. I just realize that marriage concerto and finding glowing beauty in the book were published before JBMFBBITB
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dee_ism
dee_ism
Dec 10, 2021
Status: --
It could be cute and fluffy but their dynamic somehow a bit off-putting.

Basically their romantic interaction is: ML being overbearing while FL is disinterest, a bit forced, and a bit annoyed (?)

I have no idea why the writer write it like that, but it makes their romance deeds feels like non consensual when it's actually not. It's weird.

Plot wise is average, nothing memorable, very smooth sailing, no drama, and no climax closure as well.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
chande
chande
Oct 09, 2020
Status: Completed
At first, I read about ML in this story (Qiao Yichen) in other Chesnut's novel (Just Blame Me for Being Blind in The Beginning) where ML becomes a mucic producer for MC in that novel. At that novel, ML was already married to FL (Ding Meng). Glad that I pick up a full story of Qiao Yichen and Ding Meng in this novel.

It's all started from marriage contract. ML and FL decided to marry in order to appease their family. Agreed to live their life separately, FL accidentally found out... more>> that ML is the judge for singing competition that she participated. And then they begin to work together to improve her vocal technique and later to create the greatest album in this era.

Typically, I love this kind of story and I also enjoy other novels from Chesnut as well but I'm quite dissatisfied about certain points in this story.

  1. The marriage contract theme in this novel is a bit forced. It's actually more interesting if they, as a former middle school classmate, meet again after a long time and slowly fall in love with each other through music. Marriage contract in the beginning was unnecessary.
  2. The story is a bit dragging and many unnecessary characters suddenly pop out of nowhere but only appear for 1 or 2 chapters. On the other hand, FL and ML's closest persons (such as their family, their close friends, etc) are rarely mentioned (for example: FL's grandma who made our FL in a rush to marry in the beginning).
  3. I don't know when FL or ML begin to fall in love with each other. For ML, maybe he secretly fell in love with FL in the middle school but for FL, I can't tell.
Apart from those points, I still enjoy this story so much and I love the ending too (little Goudan is so cute).

Spoiler

And there is a brief intro about Gu Xin and Chen Shisi. I read about them in Sonata: Fleeing to Avoid an Arrange Marriage, where they become side characters. I don't know if Chesnut makes dedicated novel for Gu Xin or not but I really enjoy his story.

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TheLovelyRose
TheLovelyRos
May 20, 2020
Status: Completed
I usually dislike stories with marriage contracts because I feel that they are so cliche and overrated. But with this story, it was done well. The marriage contract wasn’t discovered by anyone, they didn’t divorce or anything like that. They just naturally fell in love and decided to give it a go and make it a real marriage. Feelings developed over time.

There was no second male lead drama or any over the top second female lead trying to steal Qiao Yichen away from Ding Meng. There were a couple of... more>> possibilities but it was handled very well by the author and it didn’t turn annoying.

Overall, this was a pleasant surprise of a story. I really enjoyed it. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
potatosince1992
potatosince1
Feb 09, 2020
Status: Completed
It was honestly so-so.

How should I say this, I guess to me it lacked substance?

Halfway through I was reading it, I was already wondering why am I still reading it. Since it's obvious that nothing is to be resolved anymore. There's also no character development. It seems to me like, after they've consumated their relationship and made it official, the rest of the chapters are just fillers.

It was very stagnant.

But I love the dialogues, FL is pretty witty. Love it.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
sara123
sara123
Dec 22, 2019
Status: c82
goshhh, such a cute couple. Mostly, the novels that I read were all smut.. But reading this gave me a new feeling/experience that I could not explain through words. You won't shed a single tear reading this instead you will get a stomach ache because of laughing.

All I could say the entire time was "aww soo sweet" " awwwso cute"

thumbs up to the translators

lol rip grammar
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Angel921
Angel921
Apr 06, 2019
Status: c82
It started off kinda slow for me. The ML was all into the FL but she was pretty oblivious to his love for her. I felt an imbalance there. Even after she started liking him, I felt like he liked her way more.

The story was an easy ready. Translations were done very well. It wasn't too long or too short. Just perfect.

Spoiler... more>>
Spoiler
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It was weird to me that she never once said I love you to ML. Even her actions weren't showing that much throughout the book. As for ML, he said it plus many of his actions showed he truly loved her. <<less
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JRose.092x
JRose.092x
Sep 12, 2018
Status: c82
I loved it. Yes it had a marriage contract in it, but once it was signed it was more or less quickly dealt with. There was no heavy drama involved whatsoever. I couldn't help but smile at my screen while reading about our MCs antics. Nothing in this novel is made to bust your brains while trying to understand a deeper meaning. It's just about the blossoming love between a rising singer and her producer husband. So it's a very easy read. I would definitely read it again.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
YouToon
YouToon
Feb 24, 2022
Status: Completed
The female lead in this is FABULOUS. The original relationship with the ML and how she views their adult relationship as a kind of karma cracks me up. I love the pace and major arcs of the story. The world building, characterization and pacing are spot on.

My one detractor is I don't reread this as often as I would like because it has way to much commentary from the peanut gallery for my taste. The netizen’s are a huge character in their own right. Thats both a strength and major... more>> weakness of this story. However, given our character’s professions, thats actually a pretty ingenious use of a necessary evil related to their jobs. Both leads are a bit OP but its not annoying.

I strongly recommend this for anyone who loves bickering friends to lovers romances. Its a lot of fun. <<less
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Cerene
Cerene
Jun 16, 2021
Status: Completed
Slow burn romance of two childhood sweethearts. No part of the story felt rushed. The plot is simple and fluffy without much drama like every other story of the author Chestnut. I especially liked the endingsecond part of this story, unlike the other stories of Chestnut which I found boring and rushed. We can call the FL naive and innocent, but she wasn't s*upid. The "contract marriage" thing is cliché, but the story isn't. So give it a try.

╮ (╯▽╰) ╭
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Yennie
Yennie
Apr 18, 2021
Status: --
Marriage Concerto is a very adorable novel! The characters were nice, especially our main characters, their interactions were so cute >< The plot flows pretty well, and the events that happened in the story were also interesting. The only problem I have with this story is that the ending of it wasn't too special nor outstanding, which can be very difficult for a person who easily forgets things like me to remember XD If you're looking for a sweet showbiz novel with a gentle female lead and straightforward male lead,... more>> then I really recommend this novel! Anyways, I'll give Marriage Concerto a 8/10 <<less
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Vjha
Vjha
Aug 31, 2020
Status: c82
This is well-done. While not exactly original, it is a fun read. The pace picks up a couple of chapters in, and unlike a few other novels I've read, it doesn't get repetitive or mind-numbingly boring.
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Saphie
Saphie
Jun 05, 2020
Status: Completed
Ah, my second most favorite Chestnut novel after GMMG. The arange marriage part makes you think it will be that kind of cliche novel. But its not. While the setting is cliche the execution is not, it has its own charm that makes it different from other arrange marriage plot. I love it!
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Hpbq
Hpbq
Jan 16, 2020
Status: Completed
I recommend this novel to everyone it's so damn good and is one of my all time favourite

The translators did a wonderful job translating it

you will surely love it don't think much and go for it ?
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