Biting into Spring: Spring Mountain and Downriver

The grand affairs of the court are no match for a bowl of lamb offal soup at the West Market; the lovers' tragic struggle between life and death amounts to no more than a breath shared on a bed at midnight. There is no all-powerful male lead falling in love with the heroine from the very first chapter, no peerlessly beautiful heroine waiting to be rescued, and no sweet talk like "I'd give up everything for you." Instead, two worldly, calculating adults who can't stand each other yet depend on each other fall in love in the most ordinary way, in a relationship that feels utterly real.