Transmigrated as a Drama Queen and Player, I Keep Courting Death

Pei Zhe, Duke Wen's heir, is as refined as jade and as elegant as an orchid. Known among the capital's noble young men for his impeccable conduct and noble character, he is deeply favored by the emperor.

But his parents' deaths and the mourning period delayed his marriage, and at twenty-seven he is still unmarried. Old Madam Pei is beside herself with worry.

Pei Zhe is cold by nature. He has followed the rules of propriety since childhood and knows nothing of love. His friends and family call him rigid and old-fashioned, and at first he believes they are right.

Until he meets Shen Jiao, when Pei Zhe discovers that he is not only lustful and lecherous, but also despicable in character.

*

Shen Jiao is merely the illegitimate daughter of a sixth-rank official. She has little learning, but a curvy figure and a coquettish, vulgar beauty.

At first he watches coldly as she clumsily tries to climb the social ladder, shamelessly pursuing every eligible man with influential connections.

His friends and family are taken in by her, so Pei Zhe coolly warns them that she is no suitable match.

He once caught her sweet-talking and deceiving several men at once.

Yet his friends remain infatuated and even intend to marry her.

*

Shen Jiao is vain and loves power. While meeting the young master of the Loyal and Righteous Earl's household in secret, she suddenly disappears, taken away in a carriage.

In a secret chamber, fine iron chains bind her limbs, and red silk covers her eyes. The young woman is like a startled little rabbit, tempting someone to bully her.

Pei Zhe abandons his usual upright demeanor. He touches her face with his fingertips and makes her guess who he is, unsettling and unhinged.

Later, their relationship becomes ambiguous.

Pei Zhe covets her beauty and warns Shen Jiao to behave herself. She refuses, turning around to accept a marriage proposal from one of his friends.

Pei Zhe can no longer sit still. He intercepts them halfway and forcibly marries her.

Old Madam Pei is both delighted and worried. She is glad her grandson has finally come around, but frets that Shen Jiao is lowborn and has a poor reputation.

After the wedding, Pei Zhe is very satisfied. Shen Jiao takes excellent care of him.

She wants money, and he gives it to her.

She wants status, and he grants it.

Even knowing she is greedy, vulgar, and fond of throwing her weight around, he doesn't mind. He can afford to keep her.

Who could have guessed that one day, while drunk, a friend would reveal the truth: Shen Jiao had once made a wager with them, and Pei Zhe himself was the stake?

When the truth comes out, Pei Zhe sits motionless all night.

What would be so wrong with letting her win for once?

But then the woman leaves him a divorce agreement and runs away.

Pei Zhe laughs in anger. She really does love to play!

The heroine's story:

After transmigrating, Shen Jiao, an aspiring actress barely known even among minor performers, finds herself in the body of a sixth-rank official's illegitimate daughter.

Her father doesn't care for her, and her stepmother is hard to please, so Shen Jiao promptly seeks a way out by climbing the social ladder.

She shamelessly begs for every opportunity to attend banquets with the powerful, using every trick she can to hook a big catch who will let her live in comfort.

Pei Zhe catches her cheating several men at once and grows disgusted with her. But she doesn't know when to quit, insistently dancing on his last nerve.

*

That bunch of playboys treats her as a joke. They make a bet using Pei Zhe as the stake, and Shen Jiao, greedy for money, accepts. She's fishing either way, so why not fish for him?

Who could have guessed she'd hook a crocodile?

Behind Pei Zhe's self-righteous facade, she finds a repressed and lustful man, and a yandere to boot.

Shen Jiao tries to cut her losses in time, but Pei Zhe forces her to marry him.

After the wedding, she diligently serves him like an employer.

Her employer is lustful. As long as she caters to his preferences, he is generous with money and lets her throw her weight around.

She rules the roost at home, dresses in gold and silver outside, and bosses servants around. The social status of a duke's wife is quite the thing.

Shen Jiao decides that using her husband's power to throw her weight around isn't so bad.

Until the truth comes out, and Pei Zhe pretends nothing happened.

Shen Jiao is filled with dread. She promptly gathers up the money and runs for her life. With his despicable methods, surely he'll skin her alive and tear her apart!

[Coquettish, greedy, drama-loving player who transmigrates × outwardly proper but secretly repressed, lustful yandere crocodile]

Reader's guide:

1. Fictional setting, both are each other's first and only, one-on-one, happy ending.

2. The heroine is a self-serving perfectionist who can't endure hardship, has no moral bottom line, and only wants to marry up.

3. Neither of them is a good person. Once you strip away the pretenses, he's greedy for sex and she's greedy for money. A perfect match!

4. Sweet romance, sweet romance, sweet romance, sweet romance!!! The hero is head over heels and great at hiding it!!

Theme: Even in adversity, keep fighting against the current.