Tunan

The territory of the Hai Kingdom consists of land and sea. Its subjects include land-dwelling, upright, hairless apes and aquatic merfolk, so the king and queen of the Hai Kingdom rule the sea and the land separately.

Tu Nan: I have three ambitions in life. First, marry a stunningly handsome man, the kind of beauty one rarely sees and cannot help but admire. Second, study mathematics, become a landmark figure in the field, learn everything there is to know, and write an encyclopedia. Third, travel across the Ten Continents and Seven Oceans and become a resident of future generations' textbooks. The sea god granted my wishes, but granted two of them.

I met a handsome man by the roadside and fell for him at first sight. The second time I saw him, I confessed my feelings. He became my twenty-eighth boyfriend, and we got along pretty well. He did have a few little issues, but a good-looking face is the best thing of all.

When I was worrying about the cost of traveling, he told me to take an exam and become an official. The pay was excellent, and the particular exam he recommended paid especially well if I passed, so I could save up enough money in no time.

I took it, got promoted and a raise all along the way, and soon had enough saved to quit.

But I didn't get the chance. I was told that I had passed the selection for queen of the Hai Kingdom. The king's position is inherited by blood, but the queen is chosen through an exam. Anyone in the country who wants the position can take part, and the winner becomes the future queen, ruling the land. It was then that I discovered my handsome man was the king's great-grandson, the next king after next.

I firmly chose to resign and break up with him. No one was going to stand in the way of my dreams of becoming a mathematician and traveling the world. But, well, commoners have no rights. My handsome man dragged me back, and I was married in front of all the Hai Kingdom's officials and nobles, trussed up like a sticky rice dumpling.

P.S. The story is tentatively set during the Second Dynasty of the Hai Kingdom. You don't need to have read the author's other books in this series; just remember that the male and female leads aren't human.

The leads love each other, but the heroine loves beauty even more than freedom. Once she actually gains power, though, it corrupts her, and power ends up mattering more to her than beauty. As for the hero, he has psychological issues, including skin hunger, due to the environment he grew up in.

P.S. Many different races will appear in the story. Tu Nan will eventually become the most powerful person of all, but try not to identify too closely with the supporting characters. If you do, try to identify with characters of the heroine's own race. If you insist on identifying with a character who isn't a merfolk, look up what the colonial empires of modern Western Europe did to their colonies, and you'll realize the heroine is practically a saint to her non-merfolk subjects.

P.S. This might also be a potential dealbreaker: The hero is 182 centimeters tall, with white hair and blue eyes, and hair long enough to reach his waist, usually tied up in a bun or braid. The heroine is 185 centimeters tall, with black hair and blue eyes, and a short bob with straight bangs. For reference, her hairstyle is like Bai Yue Kui's in Ling Cage. Her hair is already so short that there's no need to worry about buns or braids.

Ongoing works:

Tu Nan: The rise and fall of a merfolk maritime empire on which the sun never sets. It is also something of a sequel to Who Can Be Immortal.

Zhendan Era II: Short side stories for Immortal and Tu Nan.

Tales from the Yellow Springs: Also a side story for Immortal, but set in the underworld.

Completed works:

A Guide to Survival After Rebirth in the Apocalypse: A nontraditional apocalypse rebirth story.

Zhendan Era: A collection of short and medium-length side stories for Immortal, plus a watch-along story.

After the Fall of the Heavenly Court: Disaster and the revival of spiritual qi have crawled in through the internet cable. Also known as a player's adventure through a Mobius loop.

Who Can Be Immortal: A chronicle of the heroine's rise to kingship. An ensemble story set in a fictional world, with no women fighting each other over men. The heroine and her female rivals only compete for the throne.

Huaxin: Yan Emperor's adventures in his youth, the fourth prequel to Immortal.

Gesheng: The struggle to balance power and love, the third prequel to Immortal.

A Painted Match: A fish falls in love with a hairless ape, the second prequel to Immortal.

Wangshu: Teaching values starts in childhood, the first prequel to Immortal.

Phoenix Perches in the Parasol Tree: What happens when a schemer loses her memory.

A Record of Encounters with Nonhuman Creatures: In a world where demons run wild, the manor lord wants to quit.

Yaoguang: A demon falls in love with a god, and loves them madly.

A Family of Three Species: Three family members, three different species.

The Pillar of the State: Treacherous minister versus renowned minister.

The Headstrong Physician: A mental patient's journey of self-healing.

Theme: All things flourish and wither in their proper order; this is the way of nature and morality.