The Hairpin Beneath the Moon

Xie Yunning had been Shen Fuqu’s older brother for twelve years. The refined and graceful eldest son of the Xie family, he had always treated his younger sister with warmth, propriety, and devoted care.

He thought he could put an end to these forbidden feelings by leaving. But three years passed, and she had not faded from his heart. Instead, his feelings grew wildly until he could no longer hold them back.

After Shen Fuqu’s mother died when she was five, her aunt took her in and registered her under her own name, treating her as her own daughter. Shen Fuqu knew her aunt cared for her, so she had been sensible since childhood, never arguing with anyone. Xie Yunning was five years older than her and the eldest legitimate son of the Xie household. He had always felt for her and looked after her, but at some point, that care had turned into longing. Her older brother’s possessiveness grew stronger by the day. Shen Fuqu thought that, now she was old enough to discuss marriage, she could find a dependable scholar to marry and live a peaceful life. She didn’t want to put her aunt in an awkward position, and she didn’t want to become entangled with her brother. She had to run: away from his increasingly heated gaze, and away from her own heart, which was growing harder and harder to control. She went to meet prospective matches and sought quiet at a convent, but every time she ran, he pursued her more fiercely. Every time she retreated, he chased after her all the harder.