(A new story this time. If you don't like it, feel free to remove it from your favorites. Thanks for your support.)
Slum kid with a sunny heart × sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside transmigrating boyfriend | Time-paradox redemption romance
"Jiang Xiaoman, your life must be complete in every single year."
As the only student from the slums in the three hundred years since Zhaoming Academy was founded, Jiang Xiaoman's survival rules were simple.
1. Pretend to be hard of hearing when people mock her for being poor.
2. Run faster than a dog when cornered in an alley.
3. Cry while sticking her homework back together when someone tears it up.
Then one day, a transfer student in fine silks leaned against her desk and offered her a piece of candy.
"Hey, want to team up and take down the villain?"
Jiang Xiaoman: Why did my terrible life suddenly get better?
He taught her to study, taught her debating skills, and taught her how to stand tall in an academy filled with the powerful and privileged.
He showed her the mountains beyond the mountains and the skies beyond the skies, and told her that simply surviving wasn't the only way to live.
"When someone's bullying you, go for their weak spot. Don't cower and cry for help."
"You should be wearing the crimson robes of an official, not trapped in coarse cloth."
"Jiang Xiaoman, you deserve the very best this world has to offer."
The academy's hibiscus trees bloomed and withered, and the pitiful little girl gradually grew into a young woman who could argue circles around the scholars.
But in the year the imperial exams were reformed, he left a lantern on the steps and vanished without a trace.
Years later, Jiang Xiaoman passed the exams to become a female official. At a palace banquet, she met the reclusive regent spoken of in rumors.
His features were picture-perfect, his manner composed. He looked just like that person.
But her boy was only twenty. This regent looked nearly thirty, didn't he?
Jiang Xiaoman wondered: Could he be his older brother?
Drunk, her eyes red, she threw herself into the man's arms and sobbed breathlessly. "Your younger brother promised he'd always stay with me! He lied! Where is he?"
The whole hall erupted! That was the regent, the man least interested in women!
The man looked down at the woman in his arms and sighed hoarsely.
Question: What is it like to be jealous of yourself?
Answer: Thanks for asking. I'm in the middle of transmigrating, rushing back as fast as I can to see my wife.
Reading guide:
1. Gentle older male lead × sunny, growing female lead. They save each other.
2. An ensemble cast and everyday academy life, with side characters who bring both laughter and tears.
Theme: Love yourself well.
