Leaving My Husband

[Beautiful widow x World-weary, dangerous young master from a powerful family]

Ye Shuang transmigrates. When she wakes, her lips are cracked and her throat is so raw she coughs up bloody phlegm. The estate is so cold her teeth chatter, and the thin quilt doesn't even cover her feet.

The original Ye Shuang, known as Shuangniang, has been married for three years and has given birth to a daughter. Then her husband suddenly decides to make a widow his secondary wife.

Shuangniang is gentle and meek. She obeys her husband's every word and backs down at every one of the widow's open and covert attacks. Somehow, she ends up dying in a filthy, thin quilt, her sickly body consumed by illness.

Ye Shuang: Damn this feudal society! Poor Shuangniang!

College student Ye Shuang has to stay alive! Not only that, she has to get out of this estate!

Staying alive means doing whatever it takes, including secretly taking in a handsome young man.

Ye Shuang studies the boy in secret. Though he's covered in dirt, he can't hide his refined, scholarly air or the sort of integrity in his every gesture that people call "backbone." He looks like a young master from a powerful family who has simply lost his way.

The black jade pendant at his waist is warm and polished. Ye Shuang furrows her brows... hasn't she seen it on the widow before?!

The boy blushes under her gaze and curls the hand hidden in his sleeve, lowering his eyes obediently. "Thank you for taking me in, Sister Xie. One day, Yanqing will repay your kindness..."

Ye Shuang's dark hair, fragrant with the mild scent of soapwort, brushes across his face. She replies blandly, "Don't mention it. Don't mention it."

*

They say the young master of the Lin family, Lin Yanqing, is cold-hearted by nature. His mother died when he was young, and he didn't shed a single tear. As he grew older, his temperament only became more unpredictable and cruel. When he happens to learn that his mother's death was a lie, he decides to ask her why she abandoned him.

But on the journey, he catches a cold and becomes gravely ill. Fortunately, a woman takes care of him.

By day, she looks after every aspect of his daily life, even saving food for him and washing his clothes. She's only careless sometimes, accidentally tucking one of her own undergarments among the neatly pressed clothes.

By lamplight, she sits at his bedside, her eyes crinkling with laughter as she makes up ridiculous stories to lull him to sleep. The candlelight casts a tender glow on her face that makes his heart ache. His cold and ungrateful nature fades away amid these peaceful days.

At night, Ye Shuang's beautiful eyes brim with tears as she tells him how much she misses her daughter and how bitterly she resents her husband.

He reaches out to wipe her tears. His long fingers are burning hot as he cups her face. "I'll find your daughter for you."

After a moment, he narrows his phoenix eyes, then shakes his head. "As for your husband, how about you get a new one?"

*

Years later, on nights when the snow has stopped and the sky clears, the scar on Lin Yanqing's collarbone itches and aches.

He remembers the night the red candles flickered. Their light fell across her face, beautiful as peach blossoms. She said this meant they were married. As he held her waist, he could barely breathe.

He also remembers the night flames filled the sky. She glanced coldly at the woman staggering out while holding the doorframe, then patted the bulging brocade pouch at her waist. "The deal is done. Here's your son. I'm giving him back to you!"

Without warning, she tore open his collar and bit hard into his collarbone before disappearing without a trace.

It hurt. His collarbone ached for years, the pain bringing him a strange kind of satisfaction. It hurt until he was nearly broken, until he wanted to kill the woman who had tempted his heart, taken his body, and sold him.

When he sees her again, she lifts her radiant face and slips out of his grasp with a slight turn of her wrist. "It's been years, Young Master Lin. Are you a high-ranking official now? We shouldn't abandon friends when we're poor, or cling to people when we're rich. I'm going home."

The fragrance of her still lingers in his arms. His face turns cold and his brows knit. He can't be bothered to exchange pleasantries. "Home? Where is your home?"

After a pause, the young man pulls her back into his arms and gently rubs his chin against the top of her head. Then, a trace of icy amusement seeps into his voice. "Shuangshuang, the home you've been looking for all along, is it Suzhou, where Hanshan Temple stands? Or should I say... Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province?"

· Both leads are each other's first and only. Five-year age gap. HE.

· The daughter is not the female lead's.

Theme: Everyone is equal