Like a Peach

Highlight: This is simply a sweet romance about mutual healing, with a happy ending and two love-struck leads.

Blurb:

Xiao Mingche has always despised three kinds of women: beautiful ones, gentle ones, and those who act completely differently in public and in private.

Li Fengming, the foreign princess betrothed to him in a political marriage, happens to be all three.

More beautiful than a peony. Gentle and considerate. Proper in public, but a little flirtatious in private.

Everyone says Xiao Mingche is so cold and distant toward Li Fengming, while she responds with such deep devotion. She's clearly a pushover who accepts whatever comes her way.

Only Xiao Mingche knows there's no such thing as deep devotion or a pushover. That woman, Li Fengming, is like a peach: beautiful on the outside and sweet to the taste, but hard at the core.

He's tried every trick in the book: acting obedient and pitiful, getting close with warmth, appealing to her emotions, and tempting her with his looks. And yet, not one of them worked.

On a snowy night, facing the tightly shut door to her bedchamber, Xiao Mingche pulls his cloak around himself. His exquisite peach-blossom eyes are dark and icy.

"Li Fengming, I'm the mighty Regent of Great Qi, and you throw me out in the middle of the night with nothing but a cloak?! You could at least give me a blanket!"

Since their marriage, Li Fengming has diligently amassed wealth, always ready to fake her death and run away. Now she's a little panicked.

After an accident, her husband in name only, who had agreed to keep things strictly formal, has developed a taste for her and clings to her relentlessly. His gaze grows more and more tender and affectionate, too.

This is a problem.

She helps, protects, and indulges Xiao Mingche only because they need to cooperate for their mutual benefit, with perhaps a little pity for him thrown in.

It was a perfectly good marriage of convenience. Why bring true feelings into it?!

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Fengming makes her decision: "Help me lie down! Then bring me my fake-death pills!"

As if! The world is so vast, and there are so many handsome men of every kind. If she can only spoil Xiao Mingche for the rest of her life...

Tsk, however she calculates it, that's a terrible deal.

Little scene:

Xiao Mingche: "You have exactly two choices. First, stay. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is still yours."

Li Fengming, after taking a fake-death pill, weakly asks: "And the second?"

Xiao Mingche: "Second, if you insist on 'dying,' I'll have all your businesses and possessions seized. You won't be able to take even half a copper coin with you."

The 'dying' Li Fengming struggles valiantly and sits bolt upright: Dream on! You can forget about getting me, but the money...

Forget it. Let's talk about the part where you get me.

※ Xiao Mingche: Since she came into my life, I've finally learned how to live like a person. Before that, I was merely alive.

※ The year I held your hand in the snow, I learned that the world could be warm.

A few things to know:

1. For the sake of the plot, the protagonists have clichéd, angst-filled childhoods and imperfect family relationships. Please read with caution if that's not for you.

2. This story is the author's way of unwinding, written for everyone's entertainment. It's not long, so the romance between the leads, especially the male lead, develops rather quickly. Please read with caution if that's not for you.

3. This is a romance-focused, slice-of-life story centered on the characters and their interactions. The plot is fairly ordinary. Please read with caution if that's not for you.

4. The story features several countries coexisting, with everything from gender equality to male superiority and societies in transition toward equality. There are plenty of original worldbuilding details. If you have questions, please ask politely in the comments.

5. The entire story takes place in a wholly fictional ancient world invented by the author's imagination, and has nothing to do with actual history. The author has final say on all explanations of the setting. Historical nitpicking and baseless judgments are not welcome.

6. Please read and discuss civilly. Treat one another with respect, speak kindly, and don't insult the author if the story isn't to your taste.

Theme: Don't get cocky when you win, and don't lose heart when you fail. Staying positive is the way to a brighter future~