The Callous Concubine

Ming Heng had been Gu Yunting's mistress for three years. She never got jealous, and outsiders all said she loved him in a degrading way.

At first, Gu Yunting thought so too.

Later, the legitimate daughter of the Earl of Changping moved to the city. The next day, rumors spread that she'd been Gu Yunting's childhood sweetheart, the moon in his heart, and that now she was back, he would likely abandon Ming Heng.

Sure enough, on the night Gu Yunting returned from the Earl of Changping's residence, Ming Heng packed her bags and bid him farewell.

The words he'd meant to use to comfort her turned into a cold dismissal: "Get out, and never come back."

He'd spoiled his obedient, long-suffering little bird, and now she didn't know her place and was testing his limits.

Gu Yunting kept a stern face, thinking Ming Heng would lower her head the next moment. He never expected her to turn and walk straight toward the door.

Ming Heng, now gone, did not disappoint Gu Yunting. She vanished without a trace.

Much later, Gu Yunting saw Ming Heng again.

She was lying against a man's chest, eyes brimming with tears, her expression tender and affectionate. With the hand that had once held his, she cupped the man's face. "Do you know how long I've waited for you?"

Gu Yunting, hidden in the shadows: …

His nails dug deep into his flesh.

So all Ming Heng wanted was a face.

As it happened, he had one.

Now that the real thing had returned, he was no longer needed.

Reader's guide:

* A fictional setting, two substitutes, the male lead falls in love before he realizes it.

* He's the real substitute, and the heroine doesn't fall for him until very, very late...

Theme: Be strong, independent, and love yourself