My Lovesick Cousin Bows to Me

The groveling-and-winning-her-back trope. My new story, My Aloof Husband Regrets It, is now underway. Visit my author page to check it out.

This story is all about a man desperately trying to win back his wife. The plot is melodramatic, and the logic is, well, a bit loose. Everything serves the story and its leads.

Everyone in the capital knew that Wen Ling'er, the general's young cousin, was determined to marry her cousin Huo Qinian. She did everything she could to win his favor, stooping as low as she could, but he never once looked at her properly.

All she got in the end was a heart full of wounds and a cold remark from the man: "Cousin, show some restraint. I am already betrothed to another young lady."

Wen Ling'er finally came to her senses and turned back from the wrong path. There were countless men in the world, and she would kick him aside and live freely and happily.

Everyone waited to see her make a fool of herself, but she transformed overnight, rising from humble beginnings to a life of luxury and affection. So many people came to ask for her hand that they nearly wore down her doorstep.

Huo Qinian watched his cousin about to become another man's wife, calling someone else "dear brother." Only then did he realize that it wasn't that she couldn't live without him. He was the one who couldn't live without her.

He had never failed to get the person he wanted. If his cousin married someone, he would kill that man. Whom would she marry? Only him.

Little Scene One:

The cold-hearted General Huo has finally fallen for her: "Lingling, be good. Come home with me."

Wen Ling'er gives him a disdainful look. "??? And you are?"

The general's thin lips curve into a smile. "Your husband."

Wen Ling'er smiles sweetly and points to the young master of the Chancellor's household beside her. "Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm engaged. This is my fiance. General, please show some restraint."

The general's phoenix eyes narrow. He climbs into Wen Ling'er's bedroom in the middle of the night, pins her in his arms, and coaxes her with a gentle, sinister smile: "Be good, Lingling. Say it again. Who's your husband?"

Little Scene Two:

Young Master of the Board of Rites: "Miss Ling'er, I wrote this poem for you."

General Huo raises an eyebrow and sneers. "Even a three-year-old would turn it down." (Three-year-old Huo writes furiously, composing several love poems overnight.)

Young Master of the Court of Judicial Review: "Miss Ling'er, I brought you this luminous pearl all the way from the Western Regions."

General Huo raises an eyebrow and sneers. "Nothing special." (Lingling, here's the key to my private treasury.)

Young Master of a wealthy merchant: "Miss Ling'er, I bought this whole mountain just for you. You can plant whatever you like."

General Huo sneers repeatedly. "All you can smell is money." (Lingling, how about I give you the whole realm?)

A practical heroine who seems sweet and soft but is actually sly, and loves a fierce puppy of a man X a tragic, handsome, and strong male lead who's a lovesick puppy: sickly and possessive at first, then a foolishly devoted sweetheart.

# He digs his own grave, then has to grovel to win her back

# The leads misunderstand each other, but the male lead is not a scumbag

# They like each other, but the puppy is all bark and no bite, and he has "issues"

# Both are each other's first and only

Blurb for an upcoming story:

The groveling-and-winning-her-back trope, happy ending

"May today's auspicious ceremony unite this fine match... May you be of one heart and one mind, and build a happy home together... May you pledge yourselves as mandarin ducks."

Zhao Zhirou, princess of the Great Qing dynasty, got her wish and married the capital's perfect gentleman, Yan Zhou, leaving everyone in an uproar.

They all said Yan Zhou was the most celebrated gentleman in the capital, a man who cared nothing for wealth or romance, aloof and self-controlled, devoted to propriety, and who had remained single for years.

But Zhao Zhirou refused to believe he was incapable of falling in love. Before their wedding, she sent him pastries every day, defended him in front of others, and even confessed her feelings in public.

After they married, she made soup for him with her own hands, injuring them in the process. She searched everywhere for rare books, hoping to win even a little of his affection. She took care of the household so he would have nothing to worry about...

Yet he looked at her indifferently and said:

"If His Majesty had not decreed this marriage, why would I have married Your Highness?"

"Your Highness should know better."

"I do not love you."

Every word was cold and merciless, like a blade, worthy of the aloof gentleman he was said to be.

But she could not control her own heart. On Yan Zhou's birthday, she still couldn't stop herself from taking a knife meant for him. While she lay unconscious, however, he never once came to see her.

When Zhao Zhirou woke from her coma, she finally came to her senses. If even a love as humble as dust couldn't warm that heart of stone, why should she keep humiliating herself?

She was Princess Qing'an, beloved by the emperor, born to wealth and privilege. She had beauty, money, and men at her beck and call. Why hang herself from a single tree?

Zhao Zhirou stopped trying to please him and announced in front of everyone, "I am divorcing my husband."

Everyone was stunned. The usually aloof and reserved gentleman Yan Zhou not only knocked over his wine cup, but his face darkened.

"Your Highness should act your age. Stop throwing childish tantrums."

Later, Zhao Zhirou tossed her divorce papers in front of him, but Yan Zhou refused to accept them. Ignoring everyone else's eyes, he shed his usual coldness and indifference and pursued Zhao Zhirou relentlessly.

The girl's affection and love had become a taste he couldn't forget, keeping him awake night after night. How could he ever let it go?

The gentleman Yan Zhou abandoned all restraint and propriety, pinning the girl to the bed as he murmured with tender obsession, "Zhizhi, since you've disturbed my heart, you'll have to take responsibility for it forever."

Zhao Zhirou's heart was still, her eyes cold. "I don't love you anymore."

Later still, Yan Zhou became humble as dust. Just as she once had, he tried to please her and begged her, sinking helplessly into his feelings for her.

But then he saw her find a new love and climb to new heights. The girl whose heart and eyes had once held only him never looked his way again.

People sighed. Yan Zhou, the capital's celebrated jade-like gentleman, the aloof and noble Yan Zhou, had fallen from his pedestal and become an ordinary man tormented by love.

# Melodramatic, old-fashioned plot

# Both are each other's first and only, happy ending (screenshot from May 7, 2021)

Theme: Before loving someone else, love yourself first.