The Male Lead Tortures the Female Lead to Death, Then Breaks Down After Learning the Truth 男主把女主虐死了，知道真相后崩溃了

1. 251 蝶 Butterfly Shadows Return to Dust: My Husband's Enemy Seizes Me by Force 蝶影归尘：丈夫的的仇人对我强娶豪夺 Ni Ah Ni Ge Ni氼啊氼个氼15k WordsCompleted Butterfly Shadows Return to Dust: My Husband's Enemy Forces Me into Marriage 24Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   Title: I'm the Villain in Everyone's Eyes, But I Love Her No Less Than Anyone Else—Reading "Butterfly Shadow Returns to Dust" from Xiao Qihao's Perspective --- The world all condemns me, Xiao Qihao, as sinister, obsessive, and ruthless. They're right. I'm the illegitimate son of the Zhang family, taking my mother's surname, without a legitimate status, and raised under someone else's roof since childhood. I'm jealous of Zhang Zhiming—jealous of his status as a legitimate son, jealous of his substantial family fortune, and even more jealous that he married the only woman I ever wanted in my life. Lin Die'er. --- From the first moment I saw her, I knew I was doomed. She was a daughter of a prestigious family, with exquisite features and an unyielding spirit. Zhang Zhiming was incredibly accommodating to her, yet her eyes were filled with impatience and disdain. I saw it clearly—she didn't love him. Since she didn't love him, why couldn't I be placed beside her? Once this thought took root, it could never be uprooted. I began to spy on her daily routine, hiding behind the artificial hill to watch her sit alone by the pond, lost in thought. When she wasn't around, I would sneak into her courtyard and stare intently at the rouge box on her dressing table. I even made a move on Ping'er, simply because she was the closest person to Die'er. Die'er rushed to me, demanding that I marry Ping'er properly. I smiled and said to her, "The position of my legal wife has always belonged to you." Her eyes were like knives, cursing me as shameless. But I didn't care. I only cared about her. --- I finally got her, but she never belonged to me. I bribed Zhang's mother, forged a letter of divorce, and imprisoned Die'er in a separate courtyard. That night, I said to her: "Your mother-in-law has long since betrothed you to me." She cried, struggled, her heart breaking. I kissed her, but she didn't respond, only tears streamed down her face. At dawn, I pushed open the door and left. She was curled up in a corner, her clothes disheveled, her eyes empty. I thought I had won. But later I learned that she was pregnant with Zhang Zhiming's child. To keep the child alive, she made me believe it was mine. She gritted her teeth, trying to please me, closing her eyes and letting me kiss her, but murmuring another man's name where I couldn't hear. At night, she slept in my arms, murmuring in her sleep—"Zhiming…" Those two words were like a knife, piercing my heart. I tightened my arms, whispering in her ear, "It's okay. It doesn't matter who you call in your dreams. In this life, you can only lie beside me." But I couldn't deceive myself. I had her body, but never her heart. --- I gave her all my kindness, yet she wouldn't even give me a genuine smile. I poured all my love into her. I made the villa exquisite and warm, gathered her favorite snacks and treasures, stayed by her side every day, carefully caring for her, putting aside all my malice, learning to be gentle and accommodating. But the look in her eyes was always devoid of warmth. I was unwilling. I was insanely jealous of Zhang Zhiming. Why? Why could she be so unforgettable to him when he did nothing? I gave everything, yet I couldn't earn a single genuine smile from her. I became addicted to opium, trying to numb myself with it. I wanted to forget her, but I couldn't. --- She disappeared, and the rest of my life was filled with searching and regret. My mother sold her to a brothel while I was in seclusion trying to quit opium. When I emerged from seclusion and learned the news, I searched frantically, scouring every street and alley, but I found no trace of her. The child I believed to be Ping'er's was the one I cherished and cared for. I named him "Yi'an"—meaning "unwavering" and "peaceful." I poured all my guilt, indebtedness, and obsession with Die'er into this child. I believed until my death that he was my own flesh and blood. I never discovered the silver necklace she left behind tucked into the swaddling clothes. --- When news of her death arrived, my world collapsed. Years of searching, and what I finally received was news of her death. The woman I longed for but could never have, the woman who ruined half my life and whom I also ruined, she was dead. She took a bullet for someone else, giving her life for another man. I didn't even get to see her one last time, not even a chance to apologize. I held the golden butterfly hairpin she left in the villa, shutting myself away for three days, refusing to eat or drink. I remembered that night she said to me, "I'm just your trophy." I said to the air, word by word— "Die'er, I love you. Because you are you, not some trophy." No one heard. She won't hear me either. --- I'm not a good person, but I truly loved. Everyone says Xiao Qihao is a villain, a scoundrel, the murderer who ruined Die'er's life. I won't defend myself. But I want you to know—my love for her was no less than anyone else's. I just used the wrong method, the wrong method from the very beginning. If I could have met her sooner, if I could have pursued her openly and honestly, if I wasn't Zhang's illegitimate son, if I could have controlled that jealousy and obsession—would the ending have been different? No one can answer me. She will never come back. --- Epilogue: I poured all my guilt and longing for Die'er into the front lines of the War of Resistance. I could turn my blade against my brother, but never against my country. For the rest of my life, I devoted myself to supporting the war effort, teaching that child to love and be good, and spending my life atoning for the sins I had committed. I made Ping'er my legal wife, and she bore me a son and a daughter. But the place in my heart remained empty. I know I am not worthy to say I love her. But if there is a next life—I hope I can stand before her with dignity and say: "Miss Lin, hello. My name is Xiao Qihao. I am not anyone's illegitimate child, nor anyone's substitute. I am just someone who wants to get to know you." If you have ever loved someone to the point of obsession, read "Butterfly Shadow Returns to Dust." There are no purely good people here, nor purely bad people. There is only a man named Xiao Qihao who loved someone he should never have loved in the most wrong way. The book ends, leaving me with a lingering sense of unease.

2. 252 漂 The Beautiful Girl Next Door Wakes Up and Joins the Army. Officers Fight Over Her 漂亮白月光觉醒随军，首长争又抢 Nan Wanwan南绾绾Modern Romance1.0M WordsCompleted “Second Chance at Love, Spatial Ability, Everyone’s Favorite, Chasing His Wife to the Crematorium, Adorable Baby, Military Marriage” In the third year of living apart from He Shaoyan and fighting over a divorce, Ye Qingzhi began having prophetic dreams. At first, they were just trivial things, until one day she dreamed that her brother-in-law imprisoned her, while her sister became his accomplice and drove her insane before she died a gruesome death. After she died, the man who had repeatedly cl 27.7kReads7.0Score2.5k14d adds

   Reader note

   😭In the third year of their separation and impending divorce, she started having precognitive dreams—dreams of being imprisoned by her brother-in-law, her sister's accomplice dying tragically, and the man who claimed to hate her killing someone and ruining his future for her. Upon waking, she immediately took a switchblade and sent the scumbag to the police station, then went to the military base to try and reconcile with He Shaoyan. Commander He looked wary: "Ye Qingzhi, you're just trying to play me again!" Later, seeing her being eyed by a single officer, he exploded: "That's my wife!" Everyone: Didn't you say she was your cousin? Broken mirror mended + space + military marriage + wife-chasing-after-the-cremation scenario, so addictive!

3. 253 去 I Went Looking for My Family and Mistook the Wrong Guy for My Brother, While My Amnesiac Ex Loses His Cool Every Night 去寻亲认错哥，失忆前任夜夜红温 Luan Jing峦镜Modern Romance537k WordsCompleted [Beloved by everyone + spatial powers + adorable baby + military marriage + rekindled love + reunion after years apart + supernatural abilities] In the third year after Jiang Xuxue retired from the Supernatural Abilities Bureau and returned to the village to farm, her biological parents came looking for her. “Darling, someone deliberately switched you back then. We never abandoned you!” Unfortunately, just after finding her, her biological parents were sent to the far northwest. Her mother press 13.1kReads6.8Score1.4k14d adds

   Reader note

   On the day they got their marriage certificate, Shen Tingyuan wore a new military uniform, and Jiang Xuxue wore a floral dress. The people at the Civil Affairs Bureau asked, "Did you two do this voluntarily?" Shen Tingyuan said, "Yes." Before Jiang Xuxue could speak, he added, "She did too." The staff laughed. Jiang Xuxue stepped on his foot under the table. He didn't change his expression, but his ears turned red.

4. 254 神 The Divine Beggar Comes Down the Mountain 神丐下山 World Explorer探界者Urban3.6M WordsCompleted [Overpowered Urban Fantasy] [Immortality and Godhood] [Multiple Heroines] At the age of three, he was driven out of his home by his second uncle. Then he met a mysterious old beggar, who taught him the supreme cultivation technique, the Heavenly Evolution Art. From then on, he grew at an astonishing pace. He travels across Earth, the Spirit Realm, the Immortal Realm, and the God Realm, breaking through layer after layer of the heavens. He reaches the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, then ascends 2.4kReads8.1Score38414d adds

   Reader note

   I highly recommend the live-action storytelling of "The Beggar God Descends the Mountain"!

5. 255 徒 Disciple, Go Ascend to Immortality 徒儿，你飞升去吧 World Explorer探界者Urban416k WordsCompleted A six-year-old comes home from school to find that his parents have been murdered. He cries bitterly, then passes out. When he wakes, he finds himself in a strange place, where the first person he sees is an old man dressed in white, with white hair… 256Reads—Score—14d adds
6. 256 重 Reborn with the Luck of a Koi 重生后，成了锦鲤命 World Explorer探界者Urban381k WordsCompleted College student Ye Yuchen, reborn and renamed Ye Chongsheng, sets out on a path in business and immortal cultivation. Before long, he and his senior schoolmate Gu Ruoxi become a couple, and from then on... 184Reads—Score—14d adds
7. 257 战 War God: Wolf Soul 战神狼魂 World Explorer探界者Urban1.7M WordsCompleted A new book is out. Please check it out: When Ye Yunfan was five, he was kidnapped by human traffickers. Luckily, his master rescued him, kept him by his side, and taught him medicine and martial arts. Ten years later, he enlisted in the army. At eighteen, he was sent to the northern frontier, where he fought his way through one challenge after another. A few years later, he led a special unit renowned around the world, the Wolf Soul. He earned the title of Wolf Emperor, with four Wolf Kings unde 2kReads7.3Score19614d adds
8. 258 六 A Six-Winged Seraph, Pampered by Humans into a Top-Tier Star 六翼炽天使，被人类宠成人间顶流 Who Could Be My Match谁与为偶Modern Romance1.3M WordsOngoing Six-Winged Seraph? Everyone's favorite? Savior? She's all of them! Not one-on-one | Absolutely divine daddy | Angelic brute's wall-to-wall love | Jealous king | Abstinent angel | Tech tycoon plays third wheel | Contract-bound hottie | Loves one person to death | Beloved by all, building her career | Livestreams herself tearing into gods and demons | Cyber tech versus Western fantasy magic I was once Heaven's top-tier star priest, known as Heaven's biggest bug: a rebellious six-winged seraph. 61Reads9.2Score1314d adds

   Reader note

   The six-winged seraph he personally judged—she no longer loved him, and she fell from grace. [The male lead is high and mighty, but the ascetic god has gone mad.] The ascetic ultimately loses control for love! Heartbreakingly tragic.

9. 259 替 The Stand-In Won’t Put Up with This Anymore! 替身她不伺候了！ Wu E屋诶Modern Romance80k WordsOngoing I spent five years as a substitute for his first love. Gu Tingchen said the thing I imitated best was her eyes. Every month, he deposited money into my account, but he never once looked me in the eye. Then, the day his first love returned to the country, he handed me a check. “She’s back. It’s time for you to leave.” I smiled, took the check, and moved out of his villa that very night. He never saw me fold the check into a paper airplane and toss it out the window of my private jet. Three month —Reads—Score—14d adds
10. 260 春 Spring Banquet 春日宴 Egrets in Pairs白鹭成双Ancient Romance664k WordsCompleted She kept male favorites and toyed with powerful ministers! For eight years, the arrogant and tyrannical Princess Danyang, Li Huaiyu, wreaked havoc across the court and country. She died on the day the new emperor ascended the throne, bleeding from every orifice in a truly gruesome death. The officials celebrated and the people rejoiced: Evil gets what it deserves! Good riddance! Yet on the seventh day after her death, Princess Danyang returned to life in the body of the Bai family’s Fourth Mis 13.5kReads9.4Score2.3k14d adds

    Reader note

    He successfully tortured the female lead to death. In the beginning, he used every means to make her soul disappear, and in the end, he used every method to ensure she achieved her goal.

11. 261 没 No Ox Dies of Exhaustion; There's Always More Land to Plow 没有累死的牛，只有耕不完的田地 The Undying Phoenix涅槃不灭鸟Eastern Fantasy280k WordsOngoing "Y-You... you really want to marry me?" said a filthy, disheveled beggar woman in tattered clothes, her face full of disbelief. Thirty-seven-year-old Zhao Haisheng gently lifted the beggar woman's hands, caked with black mud, and swore to the heavens with utter conviction: "Heaven above, I, Zhao Haisheng, swear here and now that I will marry this woman, Chu Ruoxue. If I speak a lie, may the heavens strike me with five bolts of lightning!" Then Zhao Haisheng pulled her into his arms. The professi 333Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    It started off sweet, but after learning the truth 😢😢

12. 262 厉 President Li, Your Wife Doesn’t Want You Anymore 厉总，夫人她不要你了 The Kun Who Can't Fly in the Sky不会天上飞的鲲Modern Romance120k WordsOngoing [Chasing his wife after losing her + relentless pursuit by the male lead + the heroine never looks back + angst before sweetness] On a rainy night, a strange man pinned her against the wall and took her first time. When she woke up, she discovered he was Li Hanchuan, CEO of the Li Group. He tore her clothes and tossed her a contract: “Be my woman, and I’ll cover all your mother’s medical bills.” To save her mother, she signed. He treated her as a stand-in, a sleeping pill, and a bedmate at his —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    They chased after him relentlessly.

Other lists with Butterfly Shadows Return to Dust: My Husband's Enemy Seizes Me by Force