Three Years as His Stand-In: He Never Loved Me

[Imposter romance + fixation on a first love + gentle but scummy male lead + desperate pursuit of his wife + clear-eyed heroine who cuts her losses + childhood friend redemption + intensely painful love and push-pull] As Wen Zhiyi lay dying, she underwent a heart transplant. The surgeon was He Nanchu. A genius in his field, he was cool and noble, yet endlessly gentle and caring toward her. She thought he was a salvation sent from heaven. She fell deeply in love with him, loved him for five years, spent three years married to him, and gave him her whole heart. Then, on their third anniversary, he drunkenly murmured another woman’s name. Only then did she piece together the cruel truth: The heart beating in her chest had belonged to Shen Chuxia, his first love, who had died in a car accident. He married her, protected her, and cherished her, but never because he loved her. He did it only to safeguard the last beating life of his first love. She was a carefully crafted substitute, a vessel for his obsession. Even knowing the truth, she couldn’t bear to let go. Again and again, she humbled herself to test him, hoping that a little of his tenderness might belong to her. But throughout their three-year marriage, his favoritism was always reserved for the heart, and his coldness for her. When the last trace of love had been worn away, she handed him the divorce papers, left with nothing, and resolutely headed to the seaside to heal. Only after she was gone did He Nanchu finally realize the truth: it was never the heart he had been protecting. He had long since fallen in love with Wen Zhiyi herself. From then on, the genius doctor laid aside all his pride and began a lifelong campaign to win his wife back. Meanwhile, Lu Huaijin, her childhood friend who had silently protected her for years, was already waiting for her by the sea. His steady, enduring devotion would heal every wound. On one side was belated, desperate remorse; on the other, unwavering and gentle protection. Who will she choose, bearing all those scars?