My Poor Ex Became My Sister-in-Law

The autumn rain fell cold and unceasing. At a tense family gathering, Xu Tingyun waited for the legendary widow of her late older sister.

She'd heard this sister-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. Plain-looking and unremarkable, she'd somehow secured a marriage, a will, and shares in the Xu family after her elder sister fell gravely ill.

Now she had returned from abroad. Besides burying her sister's ashes, she surely had another plan in mind.

At last, the widow appeared in a black dress. Xu Tingyun realized with a shock that she was the ex she'd treated so badly: the family tutor who had watched her grow up and run away with her.

It had been a sweltering, humid summer. Xu Tingyun learned to do laundry and cook, while Lin Xi worked more than ten hours a day.

Through the long nights, sweat soaked the cheap sheets in their rented room. The woman's pale cheeks flushed, her gentle eyes brimming with moisture.

But in the end, they had run out of options.

Late at night, Xu Tingyun crept into the kitchen to find a drink.

A soft laugh came from the corner, dimly lit.

"After all these years, you still haven't improved at all."

A cold, rough hand gripped her wrist. A huge diamond on the ring finger gleamed in the dark.

"Sister-in-law... we can't..."

"Call me Teacher."

* Rekindled romance / two equally matched leads / eight-year age gap / same-sex marriage

* Spoiled, scheming heiress vs. aloof, brooding, wicked widow

Theme: Have the courage to pursue the beauty in life.