Long-Suffering Illness

Coming next: Reborn Princess's Revenge on Her Husband~

In the bitter winter of the seventeenth year of Tianyuan, young Gu An arrived in Sanqiao City under an assumed name. The first girl he saw was Ruan Jiujiu. Though little Jiujiu was small and had a soft, sweet face, she was the ringleader of the kids in Sanqiao City, leading them into mischief all day long.

Gu An had barely arrived when he crossed this formidable girl and got beaten until he was yelping. That was how the two became friends through fighting. As time passed, they fell in love, each returning the other's affection. Back then, everyone thought they would end up together.

But things rarely turn out as people hope.

A cool autumn breeze rustled through the trees. A bright, sunny day suddenly turned stormy. Fourteen-year-old Ruan Jiujiu, her heart stirred by her first love, eagerly went to find Gu An and confess her feelings, hoping to break through the barrier between them. But she never expected to find a stunning beauty beside him.

The woman was elegant and graceful, dressed in finery. She gave Ruan Jiujiu a gentle curtsy. "So you're the little sister Gu Lang told me about." Then she slipped her arm through Gu An's, looking very intimate with him.

At that moment, Ruan Jiujiu felt as if the sky were falling.

How could eight years of affection be cast aside so easily, like something worthless?

She asked timidly, "Who is she?"

Gu An only gave her a cold look and said, "My fiancee. I'm busy. I won't have time to play house with you anymore."

Ruan Jiujiu's eyes widened in disbelief. But seeing was believing, and so was hearing. Her long fingernails dug into her palm, yet couldn't mask the stabbing pain in her heart.

She remembered their years together: eight years as childhood friends, from laughing and playing as children to caring for each other, wishing they could be together every day. And all of it had earned her nothing but his words about playing house. Looking at this cold Gu An, she wondered if their years together had been nothing more than a fleeting dream, one that only she had ever believed in...

But she didn't know that, through countless days and nights to come, Gu An would keep a poorly embroidered sachet against his chest, calling out again and again, "Jiujiu, Jiujiu." Jiujiu was the sickness in his heart, one he would never recover from. When news reached Gu An that Ruan Jiujiu was to be married, his eyes bloodshot and his hair loose, he stood alone amid the falling snow and offered his blessing: "May you be joined as lotus blossoms on one stem, and enjoy a hundred years of lasting peace."

He regretted it, but there was nothing he could do.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting~ My next upcoming story is Reborn Princess's Revenge on Her Husband.

It was only after her family was destroyed, her country fell, and her closest relatives were all killed that Ying Yun learned how much effort Song Li had put into getting close to her back then, and just how vile the heart beneath that gentle face truly was.

As a princess of a fallen kingdom, Ying Yun was forced by Song Li to marry one of his subordinates. She was the grand gift the emperor who had unified the two kingdoms bestowed upon his subject. She was also made to wear the brilliant red wedding dress she had long dreamed of wearing as a young maiden. But the times had changed, and all she could see in the dazzling red robes and candles that night was a sea of blood, with the people of Nanyan demanding her life.

That night, laughter and clinking cups filled the front hall. Inside the bridal chamber, Ying Yun, the bride, had palms covered in bloody marks.

With red-rimmed eyes, she challenged Song Li, who had come to gloat: "Why did you destroy my capital and persecute my father and brothers?"

Song Li only sneered. His gaze held both amusement and the faintest trace of pity. "Little princess, have you been cooped up in your gilded cage for too long?"

Later, Ying Yun traded her life for another's. When she awoke, the river of time had carried her back to before she met Song Li. In her hands were no longer fashionable embroidered handkerchiefs or odd little gifts from her brothers. Where no one could see, the little princess of Nanyan took up a knife and kept it by her side every day, waiting for the chance to kill her enemy with her own hands.

Just as in her previous life, Song Li would always find excuses to wait along the paths Ying Yun took.

But he soon realized that the kindhearted princess looked at him strangely. And... why were so many people trying to kill him?! It had to be the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, or Fifth Uncle... Looks like I need to keep trying.

Still, he would often sigh to himself: "Today, I still haven't won that princess's heart."

Theme: Love and duty can go hand in hand