After Getting Together with My Late Husband's Friend

The boldest thing Ling Xiyue ever did was get together with her husband's friend after she was widowed.

Nervous yet eager to take the plunge, she was still wondering whether she should leave the Shen family when news arrived that her husband, Shen Jichuan, was not dead after all and would soon return.

She met Gu Jingyang one last time, and they agreed it would be the last.

After one night of abandon, Ling Xiyue thought her life would return to normal from then on. Everything that had happened would be a brief, beautiful illusion, over and done with.

But the Shen family had heard that during the years Shen Jichuan was missing, he had been close to Princess Jianing. Hoping to secure an advantageous marriage with her family, they seized the chance to drive Ling Xiyue out with a divorce letter while Shen Jichuan was away.

Ling Xiyue fell seriously ill, and someone stayed by her bedside for days, caring for her without once changing clothes or sleeping.

She thought it was Shen Jichuan. But one rainy night, as they were being intimate, a flash of lightning lit up the room, and she saw the man's face: Gu Jingyang.

Two months later, Ling Xiyue discovered she was pregnant, but she had no idea who the father was.

If she returned to the Shen family, the child might grow up looking like Gu Jingyang. If she married into the Gu family, the child might end up looking like Shen Jichuan.

So she did the second reckless thing of her life: she left with the child in her womb.

At first, Gu Jingyang genuinely meant to help his late friend's widow. He had no ulterior motives.

But as he watched Ling Xiyue, as radiant as the bright moon and as resilient as spring grass, he gradually began to feel something more.

He knew he was crossing a line and had even told himself to stay away. But in the end, he lost to the greed in his heart, drawing closer and pressing his advantage step by step as he tried to make the bright moon his own.

He told himself: If Brother Shen were here, he wouldn't want Xiyue to suffer like this. If she were with me, Brother Shen would surely be able to rest easy in the afterlife.

Later, Shen Jichuan returned and punched Gu Jingyang in the face. "Is this how you looked after her?"

※ In the early part of the story, when the heroine is with Gu Jingyang, her husband Shen Jichuan has been officially declared dead. After Shen Jichuan returns and they resume their marriage, the heroine has no further contact with Gu Jingyang.

※ Later, when the heroine gets together with Gu Jingyang, she has already been cast out by the Shen family. They never remarry afterward.

※ In the end, the heroine marries neither man. The child takes her surname, while both male leads compete to be the father, each convinced the child is his.

※ The heroine and both male leads are flawed people, each with their own shortcomings.

※ Includes a dramatic amnesia plot.

2026.1.7

Theme: Face life with courage