[This novel is not contracted for paid publication]
[If I don't think I can finish it, I won't put it behind a paywall. The goal is simply not to make readers spend a penny more than they have to.]
My name is Fujiwara Rio, and I was born into the distinguished Fujiwara clan. My branch of the family is said to have a long history, dating back as far as the Heian period. We've produced countless powerful ministers and court nobles, and we're the very picture of a prestigious family steeped in scholarship.
But that's not the point.
Right now, I'm in the middle of a major crisis.
My father made one tiny mistake in an otherwise flawless business career and got played. Now the family business is drowning in debt. The other party threatened that unless we wanted to go bankrupt, I had to get engaged to their son, whom I'd never even met. Otherwise, they'd reduce our whole family to ashes.
I'm troubled.
I never imagined that the trashy romance novels I used to sneak a peek at under the covers last semester could happen to me, a high school student.
...Maybe I could just close my eyes and put up with it. A lifetime flies by anyway.
But then, justice suddenly came from on high. Atobe, the young master who'd known me since childhood but could hardly be called my childhood friend, calmly made a steady suggestion:
"Get engaged to me," he said. "I doubt they'd dare snatch you away from the Atobe family, even if they had a hundred times the nerve."
Me: ?
After confirming that the young master's mental state was indeed stable, I was deeply shaken. Huh?! Get engaged to you? Me? Are you serious?!
In the end, I agreed. The young master really is a good person. Not many people would help someone to this extent.
To keep things from getting too difficult for him, I told him that if he ever met a girl he liked, he could end our engagement at any time.
Then I dutifully and conscientiously played the part of his fiancee. Providing emotional support, being sweet and considerate: those are my specialties. I was born knowing how, so it's no big deal.
Ah, what a mistake.
Life is just one person playing you, then another person playing you. They keep playing you, and I'm the only big fool around.
---That was what I thought when I saw a note that read, "Engagement day 186: Got Rio to apply hand cream to me herself. It went naturally. Do it again next time."
◆ Check out my friend's upcoming novel: [Haikyuu!!] Fallen into a Fox's Den by Xianwei Ningmeng.
A four-way square battlefield of love, with three foxes putting on a show.
---Reader's Guide---
● A trashy, feel-good bedtime read: a sweet school romance with everyday life, a marriage-before-love setup, and a long-planned courtship. (How is an engagement not a marriage?!)
● I'm trying a different flavor of romance. The logic only needs to be plausible enough, so don't overthink it. Muah.
● The cover was drawn by my beloved friend Xianwei Ningmeng. Love her!
● Not too long, around 200,000 to 250,000 words.
● Blurb written on 2024/5/9.
Premise: Good love inspires people to grow
