This Is Normal Courtship

Blurb for the new novel: Whatever, My Ex-Boyfriend Was Reborn

Blurb for this story:

The first time Song Li saw Shen Shiyue, he was leaning against his car, head lowered as he lit a cigarette. The orange flame illuminated his face, and his bright eyes shone through the faint rising smoke.

He was brimming with confidence, effortlessly in control like a man born to be on top.

Song Li approached him with an ulterior motive. She tried more than a dozen different personas, from a classical beauty to a girl down on her luck. Young Master Shen perfectly dodged all her deliberate attempts to stage a collision, barely even sparing her a glance.

He was truly virtuous, impossible to tempt with either kindness or threats.

Her first successful close encounter with Young Master Shen came after she deliberately fell, when he considerately helped her up. He even helped fix her wig.

At the perfect moment, Shen Shiyue lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at her with an amused smile. "When are you going to cosplay as an animal? I want to take a picture and post it on my Moments."

Song Li: "..."

Who the hell said he was face-blind?

*

When she was at her wits' end again, Young Master Shen came looking for her. He sat with his legs curled up at a street stall that clashed with his refined air, smoke curling around his fingers. His voice was cool and detached. "Buy me a bowl of noodles."

What? Does he have no shame?

He exhaled a stream of smoke and put it bluntly. "What I can offer you in return is worth far more than this bowl of noodles."

Song Li understood, and yet somehow didn't.

Seeing she still didn't get it, Shen Shiyue clicked his tongue and made it even clearer. "You can trust me. Go ahead and do what you want. I promise the people you hate won't show up in front of you, and you'll get everything you want."

"I don't trade sex for money."

"Neither do I. This is normal courtship."

He looked at her and casually flicked away the ash. "I'm psychologically healthy and pretty open-minded. I don't expect you to return my feelings."

It was a long time before Song Li learned the rest of what he meant:

"But if you think you can use me and then walk away, you'd better stop dreaming."

Dramatic actress x spoiled heir, with a slow-burn push and pull between two mature adults.

Reader's Guide:

The female lead has had a difficult life, but she's resilient.

The male lead is a shrewd adviser who comes up with plans.

The second male lead is ambitious, beautiful, and tragic.

The male lead and second male lead aren't friends in the traditional sense. Their relationship is more realistic: they prioritize their ambitions and interests, and only help others when they can afford to.

Because of his experiences and obsessions, the second male lead believes that interests matter more than life.

Even so, they're friends.

The characters' views do not represent the author's views.

Blurb for Whatever, My Ex-Boyfriend Was Reborn:

On her way to work, Jiang Dou came upon a car accident. She slammed on the brakes, then toppled off her little scooter along with it, becoming a witness to the horrific crash.

She was taken to the traffic police station to give a statement. A man sat across from her, opened a notebook, and began with, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"I used to, but we broke up."

"Why?"

"He cheated?"

The man fell silent for a moment, then repeated in a raised voice, "He cheated?"

Jiang Dou looked up. Across from her sat a man in a black leather jacket, his face familiar, his expression composed as he stared at her without a word.

He seemed to be the very ex-boyfriend she'd just described as unsuitable.

*

Jiang Dou: "Did you get in trouble?"

Meng Huai's hand paused. The young officer beside him handed over some documents. "Captain Meng, the printouts are ready. You can head back now."

Jiang Dou blurted out, "Holy crap!" She sprang up in a panic, tripped on her shoelace, and dropped to her knees, using the fall to kowtow. "Hello, Captain Meng."

"I promise to obey the law, use the crosswalk when crossing the street, stop at red lights and go at green..."

"Since you're so law-abiding, tell me when I cheated on you."

*

Jiang Lai is the story's greatest villain. In his previous life, he and Meng Huai fought until they both went down. During their final confrontation, they plunged into a lake together. Jiang Lai was nearly drowned when he saw Meng Huai, barely alive, still reaching out to choke him, eyes bloodshot and refusing to give up.

Meng Huai must have truly hated him. His eyes looked ready to burst with blood. Jiang Lai refused to back down, struggling to reach for the bullet wounds on Meng Huai's body.

In the end, they both drowned in the icy lake. They couldn't have died with their eyes more open.

But so what? Why was Meng Huai allowed to walk upright in the sunlight while Jiang Lai had to hide in a dark corner, cut off from the world? Why could Meng Huai be with the person he loved, while Jiang Lai's family had to become another honor pinned to Meng Huai's police badge?

Jiang Lai was furious, utterly furious. He felt that it still wasn't enough. There was so much left unfinished. Meng Huai had to suffer just as he had. That was only fair.

Reader's Guide:

The main couple are each other's first and only.

This is a story about the female and male leads saving each other.

It's also about the male lead being reborn and doing everything he can to save the female lead.

And it's about the villain being reborn and doing everything he can to get revenge on the male lead.

Everyone had a miserable previous life, but fortunately, there's another life.

A cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside, ridiculously cool and lonely police officer, reborn x a bewildered orphan from an orphanage who died tragically in her previous life and was sponsored

Theme: Growing through adversity