My Three-Thousandth Day Pretending to Like Lan from Colorcloud Kingdom

Blurb: The first day I met Lan Qiuying, I didn’t actually like him. I liked his three older brothers, who all looked exactly alike. But they were ten years older than me, and I couldn’t tell them apart with any confidence, so I settled for pretending I liked Lan Qiuying instead. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. I wasn’t the only young lady who had confessed her feelings to Lan Qiuying, and he seemed to have his heart set on someone else: a woman who might become a concubine to his womanizing father. That only made me more confident about pretending to like him. With relationships this complicated, of course I wanted to get involved and stir things up. As for why I chose him, I suppose I was shallow and valued his status. He was a legitimate son of the Lan family, with older brothers to shield him from the elements. He was clever, too. If I became his wife, I’d be guaranteed a life of wealth and luxury. To play the part of someone in love, I acted considerate, gentle, and understanding. I also became close with his younger sister, Lan Shisanji, and looked for chances to see him and compliment him. And so I pretended to like him for ten years. Everyone knew I liked him. Some even praised me as the most devoted woman in Lanzhou. I hardly felt worthy of the title. I had never thought that if he married someone else, I would throw a fit and insist I’d never marry anyone but him. I had long since accepted that I might choose someone else in the future. When I accompanied Lan Qiuying to the imperial examinations, I found myself developing feelings for Li Jiangyou that I couldn’t quite explain. He was terrible with directions and so blunt he could hurt people, but he wasn’t a flirt, and his family background was respectable. He was the adopted son of the head of the Hong family, one of the Seven Great Clans. It was hard not to take an interest in Li Jiangyou. He didn’t mind me getting close to him. In fact, when I begged him, he even wrote me a poem praising spring. Watching his cheeks turn red, I felt my heart race. For the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to truly fall for someone. But just then, Lan Qiuying seemed to be moved by my years of devotion and said he wanted to marry me. Me: “…” Theme: Treasure the present