The Male Lead Insists on Keeping a Mistress

Su Yuanyue transmigrated to an imaginary ancient dynasty with her best friend. To avoid drawing attention, her friend had been disguising herself as a man for years, so the two of them simply pretended to be a married couple. Their lives were going reasonably well.

Until one day, her friend brought home a badly injured man, dressed in fine clothes and handsome enough to make it obvious he was someone important. The two planned to nurse him back to health, trade their life-saving favor for a bit of silver, and then be on their way.

But from the moment they took him in, Su Yuanyue was plagued by terrifying nightmares every night. Whenever she looked unwell, the man would feel an excruciating pain in his chest, sometimes coughing up blood on the spot.

They were clearly born to be each other's undoing. The two of them were so scared they wanted to send him packing.

Yet the handsome man lowered his eyes and clutched her sleeve, confessing in a husky voice, "Whenever I see you, Madam, my heart races. I suppose it must be love at first sight."

"?!" Come on, man, you're coughing up blood! Maybe you should get your head checked.

Only when her sealed memories suddenly returned did Su Yuanyue realize this was her third life.

In her first life, she and her best friend transmigrated to ancient times and saved Chu Yunjin by chance. But he repaid their kindness with cruelty, taking her by force and keeping her locked away in the palace until she wasted away and died.

In her second life, she returned to the modern world and learned that she was merely a character in a book, and that her best friend was actually the villainess opposing the male lead for her sake.

In her third life, she had returned once more, only to find that the man had gone even crazier.

She kept backing away, terrified of angering this madman and trying to change the story already set in motion, but she still couldn't escape her fate.

With nowhere else to turn, she had to visit Chu Yunjin again and ask him for help, already prepared to repeat the same mistakes.

But the man merely lifted her chin gently. His voice was tender, though he couldn't hide the possessiveness beneath it. "Madam, would you let me be your lover?"

Su Yuanyue: "Huh?"

Ignoring her shock, he continued to plead softly, "I ask for no status. I only ask that you take pity on me."

Su Yuanyue: "?!"

Oh my God, you scared me.

As the heir apparent of the dynasty, Chu Yunjin had spent half his life surrounded by bloodshed. Only once had he underestimated his enemy and been gravely injured, and that was when someone saved him.

A gentleman should repay kindness with kindness, but instead he shamelessly fell for another man's "wife," and dreamed of making her his.

Those of the royal family were skilled at taking what they wanted. Even if she was married, she could still divorce. A marriage in name only would never stop him.

Unfortunately, the woman he loved avoided him like the plague. Every time she rejected him, his chest felt as if it were being torn apart, the pain unbearable.

He could only give way for now and find another way to stay by her side.

First, he would be her lover, by her side every day. Once she developed feelings for him, he would get rid of that eyesore of a "husband" standing between them.

P.S.: Both leads have only ever been with each other.

Theme: Keep your moral compass straight