Dark, brooding ghost of a childhood friend x honest, devoted young wife
On her way home after picking up medicine for her mother-in-law, Su Baoying ran into her childhood friend, whom she had not seen in years.
He said that bandits had robbed him on his way to the capital for the imperial examinations, leaving him penniless and wounded.
Su Baoying brought him home to recover. Over the next few days, he proved just as refined, courteous, and gentle as she remembered. He was nothing like her husband.
After only two months as a guest in her home, Su Baoying's life was upended one calamity after another. Not only did her husband and mother-in-law die, but on the very day of the funeral, her husband's relatives came swarming in to seize the family estate and drive her out.
In the pouring rain, Su Baoying stood in mourning clothes, clutching the memorial tablet, utterly at a loss.
Xie Yu stayed by her side as always and spoke gently: "Don't be afraid, Yingniang. I'm here."
Su Baoying was chilled to the bone. Cradled in his warm embrace, she gave a slight nod.
--
Xie Yu had been brilliant since childhood, almost preternaturally cunning. In just two years, he seized the position of head of the Xie family, and could easily see through other people's disguises.
He knew he was a wolf in human skin. And his childhood friend was a little rabbit, liable to be carried off at the first bite.
She was simplehearted and honest, an easy target for anyone who wanted to bully or deceive her.
Just like now, all it would take was a little clever maneuvering for him to make himself at home in her household.
--
At last, she discovered who he really was.
Dressed in plain clothes and clutching the memorial tablet, she fled in the middle of the night. But she had barely reached the city gate before he caught her with ease.
That night, Su Baoying was locked to a luxurious, elegant bed steeped in Xie Yu's scent.
Her eyes were red from crying. She watched the man before her approach with easy grace, dressed in a lavish moon-white brocade robe, and could only cower helplessly at the foot of the bed.
The man stared intently at her, his phoenix eyes filled with disappointment and hurt.
He leaned over and gracefully caught the little rabbit in his teeth, slowly devouring her. As she trembled helplessly, he held her ear in his mouth and complained, "Baby, didn't you already agree to marry me? Why are you still running away?"
1. The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is.
2. The hero has little sense of morality. His upright gentleman act is a sham, and he is capable of anything.
3. The heroine is very honest. By the time the leads become a couple, she is already a widow.
4. Note dated April 13, 2026.
Theme: Keep striving to live, and good things will come your way.
