Late Spring in the Courtyard

[Seeking follows for the upcoming stories "After I Treated My Childhood Friend as a Substitute" and "I Accidentally Helped Three Powerful Men"] During the season of plum blossoms and willow catkins, Shen Tingzhi had just turned fifteen when her fiance wrote to invite her to stay at the Duke's residence. The day she arrived, the sky was overcast and rain poured down. Gathering up her skirt, she hurried along, afraid of showing disrespect to her elders and breaking proper etiquette. Among the lush greenery, she caught sight of a figure in black robes with a red collar. He had long, waterfall-like black hair and downcast phoenix eyes, his bearing lonely and desolate. He was her younger brother-in-law, someone she had never gotten to know at her fiance's home. After hesitating for a long while, Shen Tingzhi held out the umbrella in her hand, sheltering his head with it. Her handsome brother-in-law raised his eyes and took the umbrella from her. His gaze was as dark as the rain-filled sky screen. After a long silence, he slowly said, "Sister-in-law." Under his gaze, Shen Tingzhi's cheeks grew hot. She lowered her eyes, mumbled an acknowledgment, and fled. That night, Shen Tingzhi had a dream. In it, her brother-in-law was no longer gentle and solitary as before. He was possessive and forceful, leaving no room for refusal. Deep in spring, her dream was vivid. Shen Tingzhi woke with her heart and mind trembling. She had planned to keep the whole thing buried in her heart. But she soon realized that this younger brother-in-law, whose fearsome reputation made people shudder, did not seem to live nearly as well as others claimed. He was always covered in fresh wounds layered over old ones, living in a lonely, dilapidated courtyard without even a single servant to attend him. After much hesitation, Shen Tingzhi changed her mind. It should be all right to show him just a little kindness, shouldn't it? * Xie Shiyan was born lowly and had endured scorn all his life. Yet he was the Great Yan Dynasty's God of Slaughter, a name that struck terror into the thirteen border provinces. He had long grown used to wiping away his own blood, living unseen in the dark. Then a young woman came from the courtyard. Rain ran down her slender neck, and though she could barely open her eyes, she still gave him her only umbrella and told him, "Take it." In that silent moment, a shaft of light broke through. He lowered his eyes with a quiet smile and clasped the lingering warmth on the umbrella handle tightly in his hand. From then on, he put on a pitiful, fragile act, drawing the innocent girl closer step by step. But in the end, she still put on a bright red bridal gown and married into his elder brother's household. He lifted her red bridal veil, his cold, shadowed eyes fixed on the girl. Meeting his gaze, her waist went weak at once. With the same hands that had stirred the spring waters in her dreams, he lifted her chin. He drew the girl into his arms, his voice gentle yet possessive. "Who else would Yaoyao want to marry besides me?" * Younger brother steals his elder brother's wife. The dreams are born of desire. The male lead acts like a scheming green tea early on, then forcibly claims her. * Both are each other's first and only, happy ending. * No betrothal gifts or formal wedding rites were exchanged. Her fiance had only verbally agreed to marry her, a master of getting something for nothing. * Updates are at night. During the day, the author will most likely be fixing typos. Upcoming stories from my page "After I Treated My Childhood Friend as a Substitute," a sweet-and-sour historical romance 1. Shen Lingyuan was the daughter of the current Chief Councilor. She was beautiful, gentle, virtuous, and well-mannered. Only Wei Jingzhan, the Crown Prince who had grown up with her, knew that Shen Lingyuan was a complete lunatic. Whatever she wanted, she would get. She loved him and wanted to marry him. From the very first time they met, she had smiled warmly and called him, "Crown Prince Brother." When he ignored her, she waited outside the school under the scorching sun and brought him shaved ice she had made herself. When he refused to eat it, she climbed over the wall on the night of the Qixi Festival to bring him a handkerchief. When he kept her from even entering the Eastern Palace, she waited outside its cold, imposing walls in the dead of winter to bring him freshly made glutinous rice balls. Later, she even resorted to unscrupulous means, impersonating a female tutor to coax him into drinking a bowl of medicine, then pushing him into a bedchamber. Whenever he called her shameless, she would smile gently, kiss his lips, and sweetly coax him: "Crown Prince Brother, don't be angry." Wei Jingzhan had never once treated her kindly, and had never shown her tenderness in bed. Then one day, his elder brother, the former Crown Prince who had been dead for years, suddenly returned. The young woman lifted her skirts and ran toward the elder brother whose eyes looked seventy or eighty percent like his, without even having time to put on her shoes. Only then did Wei Jingzhan realize that Shen Lingyuan's first childhood sweetheart had been his elder brother. He was also the one she had originally intended to marry. 2. As a child, Shen Lingyuan had loved someone. He was gentle and bright, like the moon in the mountains. But then he suddenly disappeared, and Shen Lingyuan was heartbroken. Until one day, beneath the eaves of the school corridor, a dignified young man held a folding fan. Dappled light fell through the trees across his profile. Shen Lingyuan stared blankly, then her eyes curved as she called, "Crown Prince Brother." The young man turned his face and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" His aloof, distant manner was nothing like the Crown Prince Brother she loved. Shen Lingyuan sighed and tried to find ways to cheer him up. It was only because his easygoing bearing and lovely features so closely resembled those of the Crown Prince Brother she loved. # A slightly unhinged, sweet and sunny little childhood friend who tells lies * a seemingly aloof but actually proud Crown Prince, her childhood friend. A first love with sweet-and-sour flavor. "The Lazy Hamster Doesn't Want to Win Over the Big Villain Today Either," a whimsical, sweet romance Mu Liu'er was a timid, pitiful, but voracious hamster spirit. She transmigrated into the body of a righteous sect's young lady, entrusted with a vital mission. The System told her she had to win over the not-yet-powerful villainous fiend and keep him from getting the idea to destroy the world. In the end, she had to die young and become his moonlight, creating the conditions for the righteous path to eliminate the great villain. Mu Liu'er was torn. She didn't want to die young! The System transported her to the great villain's place of imprisonment. The great villain had endured extreme torture. The boy was bound by layer upon layer of seals and shackles, his ink-black hair tied high with a red cord, his crimson eyes full of mockery. Looking at his body covered in scars, Mu Liu'er finally decided to do only half the mission: fool the System, keep the villain in check, and get the best of both worlds. The great villain was injured, so she had to bring him spirit fruit. Mu Liu'er carefully gave him only half a fruit. "You only get this one, okay? You can't have any more." But the great villain was unreasonable. "What if I want all of it?" Before Mu Liu'er could finish refusing, the great villain smiled with his thin lips, his eyes cold. "If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you." Mu Liu'er caved at once. "H-here, you can have it all." The great villain had a tragic past. She was supposed to smile warmly and gently comfort him, telling him this was his home. After thinking it over for a long time, Mu Liu'er said, "You can sleep in my bed for one night. That's all." But the great villain's expression turned peculiar. "You're giving me something you've used?" Before Mu Liu'er could say, "Forget it," the shameless great villain said, "If I kill you, it'll belong to no one." Mu Liu'er: "I-I'll give you everything!" The great villain returned to his old territory. She was supposed to urge him to do good. Mu Liu'er thought for a moment. "Could you maybe not kill people who have nothing to do with this?" The great villain looked pleased. "Sure. You do the killing." Mu Liu'er picked up the knife with trembling hands. The great villain smiled kindly. "Drop it, and I'll kill you." Mu Liu'er: QAQ Bonus scene: Xie Xingci was born cursed and was locked away in the Demon-Slaying Continent from birth, despised and rejected by everyone. He was the vilest and most vicious of them all, cruel, twisted, and volatile. Everyone wanted to get rid of him, except Mu Liu'er. He claimed her as his own and learned to act kind in the way she liked. She didn't like killing, so he hid his blades. She didn't like fiends, so he shattered his own meridians, carved out his bones, and replaced his marrow. But later, she said she was going to leave. That day, flames spread from the demon realm across the eighteen provinces. Xie Xingci's crimson eyes were stained with blood, his beautiful appearance like a red lotus blooming in the hellfire. His barely concealed delight was frenzied. "It's fine. I'll lock you up, and then you won't be able to go anywhere." Theme: Some treat you with hatred, while others treat you with love.