My completed novel, "The Succubus Qiangqiang Is No Fool," is available in my column. Feel free to check it out!
[I'll start writing once I reach 300]
Yu Xinghe is a delicate beauty. Matchmakers from miles around adore her looks and feel sorry for her frail health.
They even say, "If only she had a more distinguished background, surely some man hoping to marry up would take her as his wife. What a shame..."
A shame her parents are nothing more than ordinary merchants.
But one spring day, a carriage from the capital came rolling along and took this delicate beauty away.
It turned out she was the biological daughter of Chancellor Lin, who had been lost to him all these years!
*
After Yu Xinghe returned to the Chancellor's residence, the false daughter disliked her, and her birth mother looked down on her. Her father and brothers were just as lukewarm toward her.
They even pushed her into marrying the top-scoring scholar, who owed Chancellor Lin a debt of gratitude, in place of the false daughter.
On the eve of the wedding, the top-scoring scholar suddenly died at home.
Hearing the news, Yu Xinghe hid her face behind a handkerchief. Beneath it was a smug smile.
Good riddance.
He died right on time. Now she didn't even have to lift a finger.
*
At the top-scoring scholar's funeral,
for some unknown reason, Yu Xinghe raised her hand in front of everyone and slapped the crown prince.
The whole place fell silent.
Everyone waited for the brutal crown prince to order Yu Xinghe's execution.
Instead, he smiled and said, "Well done."
*
As the infamous crown prince, Shen Congjun was cruel-tempered, and all his servants feared him. Yu Xinghe was the sole exception.
They first met at an abandoned temple on a rainy night, where Yu Xinghe kicked Shen Congjun while he was half-dead.
The second time they met was at the top-scoring scholar's funeral, where Shen Congjun got slapped by her.
It hurt. It felt great.
Shen Congjun couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes. That very night, he became a midnight intruder, climbed into Yu Xinghe's room, and crouched beside her bed, begging her to slap him a few more times.
Yu Xinghe: ...
Whose dog got loose?
*
Yu Xinghe knew her health was poor and never wanted to hold back some fine young man.
Only the foolish dog Shen Congjun kept coming after her again and again. No matter how many times she pushed him away, hit him, or scolded him, it only made him more excited.
Though he was the lofty crown prince, he willingly bowed his head before her and let her pat him like a dog.
Yu Xinghe gritted her teeth and cursed him: "You asked for this. If I die in a few years, you'll have to stay a widow for the rest of your life!"
Shen Congjun smiled and kissed her palm. "No need to go to all that trouble. If you die, I'll die with you. Isn't that simple?"
He had already forged a dagger engraved with Yu Xinghe's name. Even if he had to die, he wouldn't let her leave him behind.
*
Both are romantically inexperienced.
- Blurb written on January 3, 2026 -
Theme: Love means helping each other fulfill their potential
