[1v1, happy ending for both leads + transmigrate into a book + System + food + business management + slice of life]
The day Ye Qinglian transmigrated into the body of a cannon-fodder supporting heroine, she had only three coins to her name and just 90 days left to live.
The System said she could extend her life by setting up a stall. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work. Scallion pancakes, spicy bone soup, grilled sausages, crispy fried chicken legs: she sold her way from a little dockside stall to being famous throughout the city, and from living under someone else's roof to owning a little courtyard of her own.
But the man in black who kept coming to buy pancakes was Xie Zhao, the original story's bloodthirsty, utterly isolated great villain.
She recognized him and should have kept her distance. But when she saw him crouching in a corner, covered in wounds, she couldn't help handing him a "buy one, get one free" pancake.
He kept coming back. He'd put down three coins and crouch in the same spot to eat in silence. He'd leave a few sticks of firewood, quietly chase away the local thugs, then disappear like a shadow.
Only later did she learn that he'd been poisoned in his youth and had lost his sense of taste. Of all the flavors in the world, the only things he could taste were the dishes she made.
"Everyone is afraid of me," he said hoarsely. "But I want to keep seeing the light at your stall."
PS: The heroine grows over time. Having a System doesn't mean every advantage comes from her own hard work. This is a fictional setting with no historical research.
