Isn't My Fiancé My Little Brother?

Lin Mingzhu transmigrates into a melodramatic school romance as Ji Shixing's childhood-friend-turned-rival, appearing out of nowhere. She's required to follow the plot: be abandoned by everyone, lose her family, and meet her end in a grave.

At a banquet, surrounded by clinking glasses and lively chatter, she's soaked in filth and hiding in a secluded corner, utterly disgraced. Meanwhile, the people who bullied her and the admirers of Ji Shixing laugh and toast together.

Then a black coat is draped over her shoulders, shielding her from all her humiliation. Lin Mingzhu looks up to see the male lead, Ji Shixing, bending down to stroke her head.

"I'm sorry," the man says, his voice lower and raspier than usual, speaking gently. "Would you like me to take you home?"

With tears filling her eyes, she throws herself into his arms, loops her arms around his neck, and kisses him passionately.

For the first time, Lin Mingzhu thinks Ji Shixing isn't so bad after all.

Only later does she learn that the banquet was held for Ji Weichen, a character the book mentions only in passing. All she knows is that he's the mysterious head of the Ji family, rarely seen in public.

He's also Ji Shixing's twin brother, and she mistook one for the other.

*

At dusk, Lin Mingzhu and Ji Shixing sit in the garden drinking tea. Ji Shixing picks flowers from the garden, then bends down with them in his hands, teasing her shyly. "Mingzhu, we've graduated. It's time to make our engagement official. You live your life, I'll live mine, and we won't interfere with each other."

As it happens, Lin Mingzhu looks up toward the balcony and sees Ji Weichen leaning against the wall in his dressing gown. The curtains flutter, revealing his silhouette.

Seeing him, she casually brushes Ji Shixing off. "Let's wait a few years. We just graduated."

As soon as she finishes speaking, Lin Mingzhu takes the flowers to the second-floor room.

Ji Weichen wraps an arm around her waist. The flowers are crushed between them, then he tosses them into the trash.

Lin Mingzhu looks up. Two red marks wind across the man's collarbone, left there last night when they were wrapped around each other and she had her arms around his neck.

Blushing, she suddenly buries her face against his broad chest and falls silent.

His breath brushes Lin Mingzhu's ear as he declares, firmly and decisively:

"We're getting married tomorrow."

Please note:

1. One male lead, happy ending.

2. The male lead and the second male lead are twins. The heroine is engaged to the Ji family, but not specifically to the second male lead. Everyone simply assumes she'll marry him.

3. Cliched, melodramatic romance.

Theme: Only by standing on your own two feet can you find love.