[Next Book: Sweet Green Tea]
"Only the stuff I don't want would I put up for everyone to share."
"What is An Tang, anyway? You think I'd like her?"
"It's just for fun. Don't take it seriously."
Everyone in Hong Kong City's upper circles knew that An Tang was deeply in love with He Yanyu. She had once taken a knife for him and nearly lost her life.
No matter how He Yanyu treated her, her gaze was always full of love, burning and dazzling.
*
On the night of He Yanyu's birthday, the young heirs in their circle teased him: "Young Master Yu, Miss An must have gone to a lot of trouble preparing your gift again this year. We're so jealous."
He held a cigarette between his fingers, looking unconcerned. "It's all useless junk. What's there to be jealous of?"
He Yanyu was used to trampling on An Tang's feelings. After all, she loved him helplessly and would never leave him.
And yet...
That very night, An Tang suddenly vanished without a trace.
There was no sign of her anywhere in Hong Kong City.
*
An Tang had suffered from severe psychological illness since childhood. Wen Huaizhi was her cure.
After Wen Huaizhi fell gravely ill and slipped into a coma, her old condition returned. Just as she was crumbling in despair, she met He Yanyu in Hong Kong City.
That man had the same face as Wen Huaizhi.
From then on, An Tang sought temporary relief in a poison, treating He Yanyu as Wen Huaizhi's substitute to help manage her illness.
After three years together, An Tang's condition was under control.
One day, she received a call from Wen Huaizhi.
"Tangtang, your brother misses you."
Overcome with joy, An Tang wept and took a flight back to England that very night.
*
After An Tang disappeared, He Yanyu panicked and searched for her like a madman.
But when they met again, it was at a funeral.
Dressed in black, a white flower pinned to her chest, An Tang's eyes were vacant, as if her soul had left her.
Only then did He Yanyu learn that she and Wen Huaizhi had been childhood sweethearts, and had loved each other deeply.
He was nothing but Wen Huaizhi's substitute.
*
That night, rain poured down. He Yanyu, consumed by resentment and jealousy, begged An Tang not to leave him.
An Tang touched his face with her icy fingertips.
"You're not Huaizhi." She smiled. "But you can become more like him, one step at a time."
"An Tang may leave He Yanyu, but she'll never leave Wen Huaizhi."
At that moment, He Yanyu saw a tender cruelty in her eyes.
Later, He Yanyu became Wen Huaizhi.
He loved her so much that he was willing to become the image of his rival.
*
[Content Warnings]
All the red flags are in the blurb. The groveling arc is hell-level.
The male lead is a shameless jerk early on, then becomes an absolute simp.
The female lead has severe psychological illness, but seeks medical treatment. Please read the themes.
Coming Soon 1: Sweet Green Tea
[1]
That night, Meng Zhen arrived at his older sister's house with a suitcase.
A party was underway in the lavish hall, the lighting hazy and dazzling. Song Zhiyi, in a black spaghetti-strap dress, looked alluring and seductive as she tugged on her boyfriend's tie and kissed him.
The hedonistic atmosphere was full of cheers and teasing.
Like a little lamb that had strayed into a wolf pack, Meng Zhen walked up to Song Zhiyi and obediently called her, "Sis."
Song Zhiyi smiled seductively. "Didn't you say you'd be here in a few more days?"
Newly of age, Meng Zhen was lean and tall. He glanced at his sister's boyfriend without a word, dark emotions roiling in his eyes.
"I missed you," he said.
[2]
Ever since Meng Zhen moved in, Song Zhiyi went out partying every day and often didn't come home.
Then one day, she got a call from Meng Zhen and heard his plaintive complaint:
"Does Sis hate me? Why are you never home?"
"If you don't want me here, I'll move out right now."
[3]
Song Zhiyi loved novelty and changed men as often as she changed clothes. Meng Zhen hated every boyfriend she dated and was always picking them apart in that sugary, passive-aggressive way of his.
She joked, "If you keep this up, I'll never have a boyfriend."
Meng Zhen smiled innocently. "Then let me be your boyfriend, Sis."
When they got together, everyone was stunned. Someone asked Song Zhiyi, "What is it about Meng Zhen that has you so completely smitten?"
Song Zhiyi rested her chin on her hand, her long, thick lashes fluttering, her alluring red lips curving into a slight smile. Every gesture of hers was seductive and gorgeous.
She drawled lazily, "He's sweet enough and tea enough."
"Anything else?"
"He's got stamina."
Coming Soon 2: A Dream on a Pillow
Blurb:
Tao Meng first met Gu Chen at Hong Kong City's most famous singing house.
At the time, he sat in the center of the front row, leaning toward the woman beside him to whisper.
In the half-dim light, he seemed effortlessly flirtatious.
*
The eldest son of the Gu family was charming and amorous, a wonderful lover who wandered among the flowers but never spoke of love.
When Tao Meng was with him, at the height of their relationship, Gu Chen fell out with his family over her.
"I don't fear going to hell. I just want to marry her."
*
Tao Meng had a beautiful dream.
Unfortunately, a playboy was still a playboy. Gu Chen's scoundrel nature was part of who he was.
On the day they broke up, Gu Chen wrote her a check for a huge sum.
"I like novelty. You're too obedient for me."
With a single payment, he put an end to her hopes, spared himself her pursuit, and bought back his freedom.
*
Later, as life took them through countless twists and turns and feelings became tangled, the heartless fell in love, while the amorous became devoted.
He sought her out again and again, but all she said was, "That's all in the past."
Theme: Beautiful people and things will remain hidden in your heart forever, impossible to shake off or forget, even if you find a counterfeit
I don't know why, but I prefer Wen Huaizhi to He Yanyu. If Wen Huaizhi had not passed away and had no blood or disease, would An Tang have been stable with Huaixian for the rest of his life? (I like Huai Zhi more than the male protagonist. If you don't like it, don't complain. I just want to say it out. It doesn't mean anything. It's just about telling my feelings.)
In fact, you can keep abusing me, but you can't see the male protagonist. What should I do?
I like them both so much. Wen Huaizhi and He Yanyu are just like white roses and red roses. I can't let go of either one. . .
I think the change in the male protagonist's character is due. In the early stage, the male protagonist's character was paranoid, which no one would like. But the troubling point is that after the personality change, he became Bai Yueguang's character. I think the heroine will eventually fall in love with the hero, but what I find hard to accept is that she actually looks like Wen Huaizhi. Summary: This is a true stand-in.
Although He Gou was really a bitch in the early stage, he was too humble. This book is really good to read. It's hard to get over Huai's death, but I think He Gou also really loved the heroine.
Without the extra, I might have fallen into it.
I really like this ending. The warm and healing extra is the most beautiful love in my imagination. Love is nothing more than having someone waiting for you to come home under the warm light of rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. Naughty children and parents who never grow up are what I expect the future to look like.
The heroine doesn't like the male protagonist's humble love (personal opinion, don't criticize if you don't like it)
It's pretty good-looking, but it feels like it could be a little more brutal. Of course, this kind of intensity is already very, very good in JJ
I really want to see the male protagonist propose with Huaizhi's ring. It's really hard to let go of Gentle White Moonlight.