She and He

Started on January 11, 2021 This story will not be paywalled. The entire novel is free, with two chapters posted every day at 8 p.m. Happy New Year, everyone! A post-marriage mystery Romance: Love defeated by time and distance hasn't changed, it has simply been forgotten. Plot: Who exactly is trying to hurt my wife? -- Plot version: We never know who the person chatting with us through the internet, across a computer screen, really is. They claim to know you, to recognize you, to understand you. They make up stories about you, and everyone believes them. Sometimes even you believe them yourself. Rumors become shackles, and words turn into monsters. Some people exploit monsters for profit. Some people use monsters to kill. This is an anonymous frenzy. This is a mass pastime shared by people from all walks of life, from every direction. Who, exactly, have we killed? Romance version: An Zigui marrying He Tao was the biggest news at school. The bride came from a wealthy family, was beautiful as a flower, and had a silver tongue. The groom was handsome and dignified, but his father had died young, his family had fallen on hard times, and he was a man of few words. They said all it took for He Tao to win An Zigui over was bringing her breakfast for a week. Breakfast at a little after six in the morning: an egg pancake made with two eggs and a stick of fried dough. An Zigui bit into the pancake and gazed at He Tao's jaw, her eyes damp. "Aren't you tired?" She reached out and touched his arm. "Mm." He Tao shook his head, sweating all over, with a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other. Five years later, rumors had it that they were finally getting a divorce. Their classmates, who coveted An Zigui's beauty, were eager to start bringing her egg pancakes. Everyone had said they weren't right for each other. He Tao was as dull as a block of wood. How could he be worthy of the even more beautiful and capable An Zigui after she started working? But a month later, they still hadn't divorced. Two months later, they still hadn't divorced. Half a year later, An Zigui held the ladder steady and tugged at He Tao's clothes. "Why did you bring me egg pancakes back then?" Two eggs and a stick of fried dough, enough to stuff anyone to bursting. He Tao put down his hammer. "Exams were coming up." An Zigui: "??" He Tao: "Two eggs and a stick of fried dough mean a perfect score." An Zigui: "…" The heroine isn't a helpless flower, and the hero isn't a clueless oaf. An arrogant, guarded, and secretly kind public relations consultant vs. a quiet, reserved, and secretly ruthless registered safety engineer Theme drawn from a famous quote Theme: God shuffles the cards, but we are the ones who play them