Xie Xu, a young gentleman from a prestigious family, had fine clothes, fine food, and a high position from an early age. He had only one worry in life: his childhood sweetheart and wife was always getting jealous for no apparent reason, and constantly suspecting him of things.
She was forever suspecting him of having an affair with a female colleague under the pretext of work, or of secretly carrying on with the cousin who was staying at their home.
He explained again and again and made promises again and again, until one day he could no longer hold back and had a huge fight with his wife.
After that, he discovered that she seemed like a different person, no longer questioning or prying into anything he did.
At first, he was relieved, thinking she had finally come around and understood that she was the only one in his heart.
Until one day, when a distant cousin from the Xie family came to stay with them while preparing for the imperial exams in the capital. He saw his childhood sweetheart take the young man's hand tenderly, her voice full of concern:
"Poor thing. These hands should be holding a brush and writing, not doing rough labor to make a living. From now on, your sister-in-law will stand up for you. Don't be afraid."
His cousin gazed at his wife with dark eyes and smiled. "All right."
It was an eerily familiar scene. Only the people had changed: now it was his wife and his cousin, instead of him and his cousin.
Xie Xu was beside himself.
Song Wangshu had spent most of her life keeping an eye on her husband, who flirted with every woman he met. She was utterly, utterly exhausted.
As she closed her eyes in front of her children and grandchildren, her only thought was that if she had another chance, she would never again live a stifled life under the accusation of being a jealous shrew. In the end, even her descendants failed to understand her, blaming her for ruining their grandfather's and father's reputation as a generous and noble gentleman.
What was the point? She smiled ruefully, feeling sorry for herself.
So when she returned to the year she married Xie Xu, she suddenly understood:
So he flirted with everyone? Hah. She could do that too.
If divorce was out of the question, then in this life, she would be the one playing the role of "Xie Xu."
On his birthday, Xie Xu specially made a bowl of longevity noodles, hoping Song Wangshu would eat with him. But he waited until the noodles had gone soggy before his wife finally returned, strolling in beneath the night sky.
Xie Xu threw down his chopsticks, his eyes red as he gritted out, "You knew it was my birthday today. Why did you only come back at midnight? Did you go see him again?! I knew he had bad intentions! He deliberately called you away today!"
Song Wangshu pressed her fingers to her temple and frowned impatiently. "Stop making a scene. He's your cousin, and he doesn't know anyone in the capital. He ran into trouble, so isn't it only natural for me to help him as his sister-in-law? Besides, you helped my cousin just as much when she was here. Why are you treating your cousin so badly?"
Xie Xu gritted his teeth. "That's different!"
Song Wangshu replied coolly, "I think it's exactly the same."
Xie Jin had two secrets.
First, he was not a junior member of a collateral Xie family branch. By a twist of fate, he had taken on another identity: he was the orphaned son of the former Crown Prince.
Second, he had someone he loved.
That person was his ersatz cousin's wife.
1. Male lead, happy ending
2. Blurb written on December 27, 2025
Theme: Love means giving someone your exclusive favor
