A scoundrel's true feelings | Winning her back, the crematorium | Over-the-top angst and villains getting what they deserve | Faking her death
A sinister villain x a sweet little white flower
(1)
College student Li Yao transmigrates into a political intrigue story.
To get home, she has to help the male lead, Shen Lanhui, fulfill his ambition of unifying the land.
As the two spend day after day together, Li Yao gradually falls for this elegant, striking young man, whose refined looks belie his frail health.
But Shen Lanhui is sickly and weak, nothing like the brave young hero the System described.
He usually enjoys brewing tea and writing poetry, and she has never seen him practice with a spear or sword.
At first, Li Yao assumes he's simply recovering from a serious injury and doesn't give it much thought.
Then, on their wedding night, Li Yao receives an urgent notification from the System beneath her red veil and learns two terrifying things:
First, a bug in the story got the male lead's name wrong. The real male lead is called Yan Sui.
Second, Shen Lanhui, the man she saved, is the story's biggest villain.
(2)
As a fine young woman raised under the red flag, Li Yao can't bring herself to start a relationship and then abandon him.
Besides, according to the story, Shen Lanhui wreaks havoc on the world because the poison worms in his body have corrupted him.
Over their two years as husband and wife, he's been tender and considerate, his eyes brimming with love as sweet as honey.
They make love every day and he swears eternal oaths at the drop of a hat. They're as close as intertwined branches. Others tease her, saying her husband holds her in his mouth for fear she'll melt and in his palm for fear she'll fall, and that she must have accumulated blessings over several lifetimes to get such a thoughtful husband!
She is the love of his life. He swears that if he's lying, may lightning strike him and leave him with no place to be buried.
Li Yao naively thinks that as long as they remove the poison worms, he won't do anything wicked, right?
Then, on her birthday, he runs her through the heart with a single sword thrust.
Her blood sprays several feet, disturbing the vast, dense night.
The husband who once wouldn't even let her wash a bowl pulls out his sword without expression, watching her body crumple as her breath slowly fades.
His expression is cool and indifferent.
As if he were looking at an ant.
Reader advisories:
* The male lead is a true villain, evil to the core, and will not be redeemed.
* The heroine fakes her death and comes back to life. There will be a win-her-back arc and a revenge arc.
* Both leads are virgins, exclusive to each other. Both happy and tragic endings will be written.
* Both leads suffer. The plot is outrageously melodramatic. If that's not your thing, proceed with caution or it'll blow you away.
Theme: Love means letting go.
