Secondhand Rose

[Next up: Furong Makeup and Bronze Sparrow Terrace. Please add them to your collections w]

Desserts have an expiration date, and so do feelings., Wen Yisui

[Blurb 1]

The young master of the Fu family keeps a beauty hidden away, raising a sweet and pretty young girlfriend at his family estate and giving her the stars whenever she asks, never settling for the moon.

Outsiders think Fu Yan is devoted. Only people in their circle know that he does this simply because Wen Yisui bears some resemblance to the woman he has always longed for, his unattainable first love.

Once that woman returns from abroad, Wen Yisui will have no choice but to step aside.

And that is exactly what happens.

On the first day his first love returns, Wen Yisui receives Fu Yan's breakup text.

Everyone assumes Wen Yisui is heartbroken and sobbing uncontrollably. Even Fu Yan is prepared for her to cling to him and refuse to let go.

But no one knows that Wen Yisui is in a hotel suite, frowning at the unexpected guest in her room.

The man leans against the windowsill. His eyes happen to fall on Wen Yisui's phone screen, and Gu Heng gives a scornful laugh. "Suisui, when did your taste get so bad that you'd actually like someone like this?"

"He's young."

Those three concise words hit Gu Heng right in the nerves.

His expression darkens slightly, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. "Suisui, be good. Don't make me angry."

"Haven't I been good enough?"

The girl tilts her head back, her fair neck held high. Proud as a swan, she is nothing like the docile girl she was in front of Fu Yan.

She enunciates every word.

"You were the one who told me to get lost back then, Uncle Gu."

[Blurb 2]

Fu Yan once thought the biggest lie Wen Yisui had ever told him was that she liked him.

Only later did he learn that Wen Yisui really did like him. It was just that she liked... more than one person.

Wen Yisui was the most heartless one of all.

After losing his composure while drunk, Fu Yan clutches the hem of Wen Yisui's clothes and demands, "Can't you just keep liking me?"

But all he gets in return is her light, airy reply:

Wen Yisui is still gentle, still considerate, as she says,

"Fu Yan, grow up."

She has always been fair to every one of her exes. The person Wen Yisui likes most is always the next one.

1. Set in a fictional modern world. One-on-one romance. Professional knowledge gathered online.

Next up: Bronze Sparrow Terrace. Please add it to your collection!

[Blurb 1]

Overnight, Shen Shi'an is deposed, falling from the lofty position of Crown Prince to that of a commoner. Imprisoned in the cold palace, he has only one maid by his side.

The little maid is sensible and obedient, and works tirelessly. Whenever she has a bite to eat, she saves it for His Highness the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, His Highness pays no attention to her. In Shen Shi'an's eyes, a maid will always be a maid.

He knows Ming Yao is in love with him. He also knows that when he is fast asleep, she secretly calls him "husband."

Only the Crown Princess has the right to call him that. Ming Yao is naturally unworthy.

As torrential rain pours down, Shen Shi'an's fingers clamp tightly around Ming Yao's throat, nearly choking her. "Remember your place."

He speaks coldly, flicks his sleeve, and leaves.

Ming Yao is left kneeling in the rain all night.

[Blurb 2]

After three years lying low and enduring hardship, Shen Shi'an finally wins back his position as heir to the throne and moves out of the cold palace.

A drizzle falls, just as it did on the day Shen Shi'an was demoted.

His eyes are cool and merciless. He slowly turns the Canaan-wood beads on his wrist as he listens to an attendant nervously ask what should be done with Ming Yao.

"She's only a concubine," Shen Shi'an says softly, without a care.

He thinks that Ming Yao is lowborn, but sweet and pretty, and utterly devoted to him. If she becomes pregnant in the future, he can always raise her rank a little.

But Shen Shi'an never sees Ming Yao again.

On the day he returns to the Eastern Palace, a fire suddenly breaks out in the cold palace. It burns for three days and three nights. In the end, the only thing brought out is a body so badly burned it is unrecognizable.

Shen Shi'an goes completely mad. He believes Ming Yao is forever trapped in that fire.

But one day, while making a tour of the south, he suddenly encounters a woman who looks exactly like Ming Yao. She has her arm linked with a man, and the two of them are holding a child's hand.

The family is happy and at ease.

The man also has a beauty mark beneath his eye, just like Shen Shi'an.

That was the place Ming Yao used to love most.

Theme: Strive to live well