Spring Fills the Hall

[An awkward work born of writing in isolation and a burst of enthusiasm. 0.0]

[The first 500,000 words have been revised. I'm not satisfied, and I'll revise them again later. The next nearly 300,000 words are just the raw first draft.]

[Not recommended right now. It's so awkward that even I'm embarrassed.](°_°)

Blurb:

Jiang Ning, the most hated person in her clan, ran away to the mortal world and vowed to make a name for herself. Instead, to stay alive, she was falsely branded the great demon lord everyone was calling for people to kill...

"It's not nice to give people nicknames. What if that demon lord is a fake? Wouldn't it be unfair if she were misunderstood?" Jiang Ning said to everyone she met.

All she got in response was, "What the hell do you know?"

Jiang Ning didn't take it to heart. But lately, when she heard rumors that the demon lord was about to fall, she couldn't help asking, "Can a fake demon lord fall too?"

Everyone laughed at her for being an idiot, and everyone called her a demon-loving sycophant. She still didn't care, though she couldn't help wondering who would bring her down.

Then she really did meet that person: !!!!

-

Thirteen years ago, Qin Buran saved a little girl.

The girl clung to him and followed him everywhere.

He didn't like having a little tagalong at his heels. Whenever he spoke sharply and told her to keep her distance, she'd look pitifully at him and ask, "Could you please not hate Jiujiu?"

He didn't hate her at all.

In fact, knowing she couldn't find her family, he secretly planned to keep her by his side. But then she vanished into thin air without a word! What ingratitude!

He remembered this for thirteen years. He thought the memory would fade and that their paths would never cross again, but life is full of surprises. At a demon-slaying banquet, he saw the demon lord he had once driven away.

He had imagined every possibility and prepared himself for her to seek revenge...

He never expected the demon lord to come straight up to him, beaming with delight, and say:

"Hey, do you still remember me?"

-

[Bonus scene]

Jiang Ning's Diary of Falling Flat on Her Face

[March 21, overcast]

A lot of people said I was doomed today.

I refused to believe it.

Then that night, a sneak attacked and drove me away.

Damn you!

[March 31, sunny]

I was bullied. Of course I had to get revenge.

Who would've thought?

My enemy is my savior, the person I've been thinking about all this time!

Fighting would hurt our friendship, and revenge would hurt our feelings.

Let's just forget about revenge.

[March 31, sunny]

My savior and I are really close.

I believe if I go right up to him,

he'll recognize me.

So I did.

And then

Good news: he recognized me.

Bad news: he said I was a walking corpse.

|Chatterbox vs. says one thing but means another|

A note about this story:

1. Not a female-power fantasy, and not a romance-only story. There will be plenty of plot, with the companions' stories woven into the main narrative. Ensemble cast.

2. Happy ending!

Content warning: long and slow-burn

Theme: Self-acceptance and defining yourself