Spoiled, selfish heroine x gentle, refined hero / entitled by affection x a saint with a selfish side
Yuan Liangxiao is spoiled, willful, and delicate. Since childhood, she's followed Wang Rongzhi around, saying she'll marry him when they grow up.
Wang Rongzhi of the Langya Wang clan is as refined as jade, breathtakingly handsome, and a true gentleman of a turbulent age.
Wang Rongzhi is used to the little girl trailing after him and calling him "Brother Sugar Candy." He likes her lively nature and indulges her delicate ways, but doesn't take her words seriously.
When the family moves south, Wang Rongzhi goes with them to Jiankang. When he returns to Luojing, he finds that the once-spoiled but lovable child in his memories has become especially cruel and selfish.
At last, after discovering that she had harmed an innocent woman, he can't help saying,
"What you've done this time has gone too far. Let's end things here, A-Xiao." He lowers his eyes, but can't hide the disappointment in them.
Yuan Liangxiao sees the distance in his eyes. After thinking it over, she promptly packs her things and runs away. Damn it, she'd rather run off with some money than end up as cannon fodder like she does in the plot!
When Luojing falls, Wang Rongzhi finds among a gang of ruffians the jade pendant he gave Yuan Liangxiao. Once he realizes what's happened, Wang Rongzhi panics.
*
After their reunion, she shuts the door and refuses to see him, so he climbs over the wall. She covers the wall with thorns, so he crawls through the dog door. Yuan Liangxiao angrily blocks that up too, wondering if he's been possessed by someone from another world!
That night, a hazy rain still falls beside her pillow. She hears a familiar, hoarse voice say, "A-Xiao, why don't you call me Brother Sugar Candy anymore?"
*
Yuan Liangxiao has two secrets. First, she transmigrated into a book and is a vicious female cannon-fodder character. Second, she's a refugee, and even that cannon-fodder identity is fake.
As a child, Yuan Liangxiao's wish was to have enough to eat and warm clothes, and to live a good life.
Later, her greatest wish was to marry a suitable man of high status, live in luxury for the rest of her life, and never again have to live in fear.
Eventually, all her wishes came true.
*
Years into their marriage.
When Yuan Liangxiao brings up their falling-out years ago, her eyes still redden with grievance. "Even if I did something wrong, couldn't you have said 'it's all right' before I had a chance to apologize?"
Wang Rongzhi: "..."
Yuan Liangxiao: Feeling guilty.jpg
Wang Rongzhi smiles. "It's all right. Nothing you do could ever be a problem."
As husband and wife, her sins are his too.
Note:
1. The heroine's personality isn't whitewashed, but there's a reason she turns bad. An unbreakable, clinging flower!
2. The hero is a true gentleman, at least early on. No guarantees he won't become darker later. "Sugar Candy" comes from the hero's courtesy name, Yitang.
3. This is a fictional setting inspired by the Wei and Jin dynasties. Please don't take it as historical fact.
Blurb written on 2026.08.12, screenshot saved.
Theme: Keep striving to live
