Marrying My Ex-Husband's Older Brother

Novel blurb:

A passionate, pampered commandery princess x a steady, dependable loyal dog | The heroine is not a virgin, the hero is | The hero's longtime crush finally comes true | The heroine and her ex-husband don't get back together

Jiang Ying never imagined that one day she and Cui Chengzhang would find each other utterly repellent.

They had been childhood sweethearts, and after marrying, they were inseparable. If nothing had gone wrong, they would have become the stuff of legends: one couple for life.

No one knew when it began.

When she took his hand and acted coy, he would frown impatiently.

When she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head to kiss him, he would turn away and make an excuse to avoid her.

Even during the Qixi Festival, when she learned that work kept him away and had no choice but to go out alone to admire the lanterns, she saw him walking side by side with another young woman, chatting and laughing.

She wanted to rush over and have a huge fight with him, but instead she walked straight into a solid embrace.

"...Sorry."

The man was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "Commandery Princess Rong'an, watch your step."

For some reason, Jiang Ying felt reassured.

She looked carefully at the man before her, eyes full of doubt. "Do you know me?"

It wasn't until the next morning that she remembered he was Cui Chengzhang's sworn elder brother, Tan Chuan.

She barely knew him.

-

When they were young, Cui Chengzhang had praised Jiang Ying for her bright, charming beauty, and he had been delighted when she openly showed him her affection.

Only after marrying and spending every day together did he realize how pampered and frivolous she was, with no understanding of dignity, restraint, or knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

When he received the divorce papers, he truly felt relieved.

Yet on Qixi Festival the following year, the streets were still ablaze with lanterns. The moment he looked up, he saw

Jiang Ying's smile was just as it had always been, radiant and bright as a brocade sunset.

Only this time, she threw herself into another man's arms and lifted her head to kiss him.

He heard her affectionately call the man "Brother Tan Chuan."

A voice that had once been so familiar instantly turned into a blade, leaving several bloody wounds in his heart and making him understand what it meant to regret something too late.

-

Tan Chuan placed third in the palace examination at eighteen and became prefect of Jiangning at twenty-six. He was a promising young man with a smooth career in government.

His only regret over the years was that the woman he loved already had someone in her heart, and that person had never cherished her.

Reader's Guide:

1. Tan Chuan is the male lead. Pampered young lady x dependable, hands-on loyal dog. The heroine is not a virgin, the hero is. The heroine and her ex-husband were truly married and genuinely happy together for a time. The male lead has only ever belonged to the heroine, in heart and body. He has had a crush on her for years, and she has always been his one and only.

2. The leads are three years apart. When they reunite, she is 24 and he is 27.

3. This is a fictional setting. Please don't nitpick the history.

4. Inspired by the lyrics, "Turns out that lying beside him, even sleepless, I was never afraid; even selfishly waking him with a fight felt right."

Theme: If you love someone, you have to love all of them