[Not a female-power fantasy, romance-focused, male lead has no romantic history]
Mu Ying never expected to run into Jin Xiuzhuo again in Nancheng.
Three years ago, she had used every trick in the book to snag his cousin, Shen Yu'an, in hopes of marrying into a wealthy family. He had witnessed the whole thing: her scheming to seduce Shen Yu'an, successfully getting together with him, then being publicly exposed for lying just before their wedding and fleeing the capital in disgrace.
He was aloof and superior, able to see through her vanity and disguise at a glance.
He thought nothing of her tacky little schemes.
He despised her.
Mu Ying was afraid of him, too.
Her peaceful life in Nancheng had been hard-won, and she feared he would expose her. So she followed his wishes to the letter, kept her distance, and made sure he wouldn't see her again.
But how did keeping her distance end with her in his bed?
Mu Ying was bewildered. "Jin Xiuzhuo, aren't you the one who hates me most?"
Her flushed face was reflected in Jin Xiuzhuo's dark eyes. "I do hate you so much. So why do I want to sleep with you this badly?"
Mu Ying shyly touched her face. "Am I really that beautiful?"
Jin Xiuzhuo: ...
Jin Xiuzhuo has a secret he keeps buried in his heart.
He likes his cousin's girlfriend: a simple, honest woman who wears every thought on her face, a little too pleased with herself and not nearly as clever as she thinks.
Her tricks for seducing his cousin were painfully amateurish, but his cousin was an honest man, too.
He watched them fall in love, watched them live happily together, and could only stand by.
Until, on the eve of their wedding, all her lies were exposed in public, and she and Shen Yu'an were forced to break up.
At last, he got his chance, but she ran away right under his nose.
Three years later, he unexpectedly ran into her in Nancheng.
This time, he was the one who found her first.
He wouldn't let her go.
