By the Anhe River

[Now Writing: Special Someone] Sweet Girl x Scheming Guy; [Coming Soon: Dream Comes First] Secret Crush Comes True

1,

Jiao Zhen ran into Xiao Yao again at the scene of her breakup with her cheating boyfriend.

At the time, she was smearing the dessert in her hand all over the scumbag's face.

Then she turned around and saw Xiao Yao watching the show with an amused look.

Jiao Zhen thought: What rotten luck!

2,

Later, things went badly at work, so she quit and returned to her hometown to recuperate.

One sleepless night, tormented by an inflamed wisdom tooth, she wandered the streets in tears and unexpectedly ran into Xiao Yao, who was out for a late-night snack.

Jiao Zhen cried even harder. How could she be so unlucky?!

Xiao Yao was shocked. "That trick won't work on me. Don't tell me you still like me!"

Jiao Zhen: ???

3,

Once Jiao Zhen was fully recovered and ready to carpool to work, she spotted a luxury car on Anhe Bridge.

Staring at the car in front of her, she wondered, Do rich people carpool these days?

Then the window rolled down, revealing Xiao Yao's face, even more dashing than the car.

Oh wow, what are the odds of ending up carpooling with your archenemy?

"Correction: This isn't a carpool. It's a private car service."

"Have you started doing good deeds?"

Xiao Yao turned to look at her, his gaze tender. "Yeah. Otherwise, I'd be afraid of growing old alone."

Jiao Zhen didn't believe him at all. "Listen, I'm not paying you extra just because you drive a luxury car and I'm your only passenger. I'll give you twenty for the ride."

Xiao Yao: "..."

A heroine with an attitude toward the hero who never forgets a grudge x a hero who has no limits when it comes to her, but loves to tease her

Always catching a glimpse of a beautiful sunset without meaning to, at last finding the courage to confess the feelings kept hidden.

Five hundred years of bickering, just in time for the stars and moon. - Yuan Qiao Ji, Little Song: To Zhu Cuiying

Cover art thanks to my friend Shan Ruan~

==Now Writing: Special Someone==

[Blurb from the hero's perspective, story from the heroine's perspective; love at first sight and a secret crush]

[Strategic, scheming dog x sweet girl who makes a perfect wife]

Xu Yuanshen always felt that Tian Yi was special to him.

The reason was that he had a crush on her, and she was his friend Guan Mingzhang's girlfriend.

So he carefully kept his feelings hidden, only sneaking an extra glance at her during gatherings.

Later, when he heard that they planned to marry after Tian Yi graduated from university, Xu Yuanshen locked himself in his room and drank all night, deciding to give up.

However, the day before the graduation ceremony, Guan Mingzhang dumped Tian Yi.

The next day, Xu Yuanshen bought her favorite flowers and showed up at her door.

Tian Yi: ?

His handsome face lit up with a gentle smile. "Happy graduation."

And so the story begins.

Side Stories:

1,

Guan Mingzhang begged her to take him back, then glared at Xu Yuanshen. "You could have any woman you want. How could you steal mine?"

"Correction: I knew her before you did. If I hadn't made my move too late, you wouldn't have stood a chance." Xu Yuanshen looked down at him with a cold laugh. "Oh, and we're getting married soon. It doesn't matter whether you come, but remember to bring a wedding gift."

The ex-boyfriend: Damn, I'm furious, but I can't argue with that!

2,

Once, the two of them had an argument.

Tian Yi blushed. "You've only liked me for a few days. What gives you the right to..."

"Three years." Xu Yuanshen chuckled, cutting her off, his eyes twinkling like stars. "I liked you before you even knew who I was."

Three years earlier, Xu Yuanshen had seen a volunteer at Qizhi Care Home. The girl had a radiant smile and a small dimple in her left cheek. One glance was all it took to make his heart race.

Three years later, after painstakingly plotting, he finally made that smile his alone.

This world is full of pain and calamity. I want to be the god who grants your wishes, protecting you and keeping you safe and happy all your life.

==Coming Soon: Dream Comes First==

On the day she debuted at eighteen, Xi Wang's secret Weibo account received a message: Happy debut! May you always have hope, and may you always be happy.

Xi Wang casually replied, "Thanks, you too."

On the day she returned to China at twenty-one after ending her contract, Xi Wang's secret Weibo account received the same message again, except "Happy debut" had been changed to "Welcome home."

Xi Wang assumed she was a fan and sent another formal reply: "Thanks for your support."

On the day she was vilified across the internet at twenty-three, Xi Wang received her third message: You won't be defeated. I'll always believe in you. May you always have hope, and may you always be happy.

Xi Wang was touched, but in the end, all she said was, "Thanks. I'll keep doing my best."

On the day she won Best Actress at twenty-five, Xi Wang received another message from her: Congratulations on your award. May you always have hope, and may you always be happy.

For once, Xi Wang asked, "Why do you always send me this blessing?"

Only after a long while did the other person reply: Because it's the best one.

On the day she won Best Director at twenty-eight, Xi Wang stood on the stage and said, "For the past ten years, I've kept receiving the same blessing, but I've never understood what those words really mean. Now I want to respond to the person who sent them.

"Kaixin, without you, there would be no hope."

Kaixin, seated below the stage, was in tears.

Everyone thought she had been secretly in love with Xi Wang for ten years, but only Kaixin knew that she had loved him for longer than that.

[Dream comes first, and you are my faith]

Gifted, spirited director (heroine) x all-around genius (hero)

P.S. No real-life inspiration / extremely long secret crush / campus and city life / slow burn / happy ending

Theme: Break free from constraints and find yourself

2":"[A slightly unhinged, resentful minister x a wily, ambitious black-lotus princess]

#Me and My Mad Minister's Lover

Yun Linzhao slept for three years. During that time, her spirit wandered into the modern world. Just as she was graduating from high school and reaching the summit of Mount Tai on a graduation trip, she returned to her own time.

Her younger brother, whose place in the line of succession she couldn't remember, was now on the throne. The empire was beset by internal and external troubles, and the situation was precarious.

Fragments of a story's plot surfaced in Yun Linzhao's hazy memories, and it seemed that someone else was the heroine and the one destined to assist the prince.

Because she refused to marry for an alliance, the two countries clashed without end, while the protagonist helped the Fifth Prince reclaim lost territory.

She craved power and was ruthless, while the protagonist and the Fifth Prince shunned fame and fortune and pursued equality.

She trusted the wrong person and met a tragic end, while the Fifth Prince, supported by the protagonist, returned to court and smoothly ascended the throne.

At last, on the wedding night, the Fifth Prince sighed to the protagonist: If my sister had been born a man, she would have been my greatest rival on the road to the throne!

Yun Linzhao: ...

Yun Linzhao: Why shouldn't I take the throne?

*

Yun Linzhao decided to find an accomplice.

She looked at Lian Zhongyuan, a strikingly handsome top scholar who had gained power in just three years...

That night,

The princess, wrapped in a crane-patterned cloak, looked back beneath the snow-laden branches. Plum petals drifted down, carrying a hint of chill. She spoke softly, with an air of hesitation: "You're here too..."

Looking at the familiar woman before him, Shen Zhiheng narrowed his eyes without showing what he was thinking.

*

Three years ago, Shen Zhiheng had been used and abandoned, and he vowed to find that woman and make her pay.

Three years later, the woman he'd searched for at last appeared.

Shen Zhiheng watched coldly as she pretended not to know him. Finding the right moment, he sat across from her and said in a low voice, "I once liked someone who was very much like Your Highness. She liked frost-covered plum blossoms, Longjing tea, candied fruit and preserves. But she used me and left me behind."

Yun Linzhao raised an eyebrow in disdain. Tch.

What plum blossoms? I hate the cold.

What tea? How boring.

Candied fruit and preserves? How could they compare to replica sweets that actually suit my taste?

Sizing up the young and handsome minister, Yun Linzhao thought she understood what he meant. Considering the power he wielded, she readily agreed, thinking: I'll just have to let you be my lover on the side.

Until one day, as Yun Linzhao looked at that beautiful face, she suddenly realized it matched a fleeting image from a shadowy corner of her memory.

Yun Linzhao, who had planned to coax him onto her bandwagon: ...

#Help! The man I drugged and ran away from is here to confront me!

#And I've been treating him like a kept lover! What do I do?!

*

Reader's Guide:

1. The heroine transmigrates from ancient times to the modern world, then back again. The original heroine is not villainized.

2. Both leads are virgins. Besides the hero's romantic feelings for him, the heroine has an overwhelming amount of familial and platonic love.

3. The princess eventually ascends the throne. This is a fictional setting, so please don't nitpick historical accuracy.

Theme: Cherish what you have and persevere

3":"This is my first time writing a novel, so please be kind~

Theme: Write down the ending you want for yourself

4":"Bandit Ou Zhuo vs. sharp-tongued Yu Xiaoqin

Who will come out on top? Stay tuned...

A happy ending, in harmony

When the beloved comes home, she brings harmony to the family

From joyful beginnings to staying together at the end

Theme: Heaven still favors those who love wholeheartedly.

5":"Coming Soon: Shock! I Heard I'm a God?

**

Blurb:

Su Ning is a famous ice-cold beauty in the cultivation world, with countless admirers.

She's also extraordinarily gifted, and her cultivation journey is like she's got cheat codes. By all appearances, she has the heroine's script in her hands.

But...

She woke up one day to find she'd transmigrated into a book, becoming a green-tea supporting villainess with the same name as her.

And the System even ordered this ice-cold beauty to play the green-tea villainess, saying she could return to the cultivation world only after completing the plot.

Su Ning: ??

Is this something a person can even do?

At first, she was unwilling and thought there was no way she could play a green tea.

Later...

She discovered that the original story's pure, delicate heroine was actually the real green tea, and saw her, the true heiress, as a thorn in her side, always speaking in a fake-sweet, manipulative way.

Su Ning couldn't stand by and let people walk all over her!

No matter what the original heroine said, she fired back without mercy.

But whenever the original heroine went to complain tearfully to other people in her saccharine way, Su Ning would pick up the green-tea villainess's script and instantly tear up, looking utterly heartbroken.

"So that's what you think of me, little sister... But I don't blame you. I must not have been good enough. It's my fault."

Original heroine: ??

A man passing by: ?

I never knew you were this kind of ice-cold beauty...

*

After Lu Sichen transmigrated into the book, he recognized the ice-cold beauty at a glance.

While they were stuck there with no way back to the cultivation world, his only enjoyment was watching her act. He never expected that, little by little, he'd fall for her...

-

Lu Sichen before transmigrating into the book:

"Women only slow down my sword."

"Those people are so boring, chasing after that so-called ice-cold beauty all day instead of cultivating."

Lu Sichen later:

"Damn it! Why is she smiling at another man again?!"

"How can she have dinner alone with another man?"

"How can she..."

"..."

Until one day, he could finally take no more. He cornered her against the wall, his gaze seductive yet restrained, and his voice low. "Had enough of playing, ice-cold beauty?"

Su Ning's heart gave a jolt.

But then he added, "You... can come to me."

Su Ning: ??

An outwardly cold, inwardly warm ice-cold beauty who diligently plays the green tea x a seductive, arrogant genius swordsman who watches her act and gets jealous every day

**

Please add Coming Soon: Shock! I Heard I'm a God? to your reading list!

Yan Qingyu is an ordinary person, but she often has extraordinary dreams. They're just dreams, though.

Except...

"Since when did the NPCs in my dreams get so realistic?"

Still... no matter how realistic, it's just a dream.

She believed that even after she woke up.

After a long while, a cold, eerie voice sounded in her mind. "You have half an hour of rest remaining. In half an hour, you will enter the game again and face the Gate of Fate's judgment."

Yan Qingyu: ??

She stared in disbelief, her head buzzing. While wondering if she was hearing things, she inexplicably went online and searched for keywords like "Gate of Fate" and "creatures of the uncanny." To her surprise, she found plenty of posts, all published in recent days.

There was a lot in the posts. One caught her eye:

"That scared me to death. I was lucky enough to wake up alive. I saw someone I knew fall right in front of me. It was awful. They were just gone. I don't know if I'll be that lucky next time. I hope I can meet someone powerful. I don't want to die!"

Yan Qingyu: ...

I must still be dreaming!

*

The uncanny has arrived, and the whole world is in crisis.

A bloody hand reaching out while you're on the toilet can make you lose consciousness in an instant.

Someone in the mirror smiling at you might pull you inside, where death is all but certain.

Then there's eerie crying from under the bed, high heels that run on their own, and creatures of the uncanny that crawl into your belly while you're still in your car... Even the stuffed toys have come "alive"!

Yan Qingyu: ?? Will this ever end?!

With the appearance of the uncanny, some people awakened supernatural abilities.

The bad news: Yan Qingyu didn't awaken any abilities.

But...

All the abilities from her dreams appeared.

Later, legends of a god emerged in every corner of the world. The god was sacred and compassionate, saving countless people from disaster, always appearing from the heavens in times of danger and leaving quietly without asking for anything in return.

Yan Qingyu: Amazing. I wonder if I'll ever get to meet this god.

Later still, she realized that the god everyone was talking about seemed to be her.

Yan Qingyu: ??

I'm really just an ordinary person!

Theme: Be diligent in everything you do

6":"When Song Yanling was thirteen, she fell in love with Wen Qi. Five years of secret love and nine years of waiting finally came to fruition.

"Wen Qi, can you give me a chance?"

"Wen Qi, tomorrow's my birthday. My twenty-second birthday."

"I know."

Song Yanling lowered her head and hugged Wen Qi, whispering in her ear, "We can get married now. We really can get married."

Theme: Secret love

7":"Cool, aloof top student seme x goofy, adorable uke

Theme: I write stories to be happy. Nothing else matters

8":"They say every radish has its own hole, and Qian He thinks he's the radish meant to fill those holes. The kind of radish stuck in a deep hole that you can't pull out.

The characters in the worlds, all judged to meet tragic ends, are in one mess after another. Qian He is innocent and has given up trying. Whatever happens, happens. He's indestructible, after all. He can't die, and he can take whatever comes!

Theme: Fate is not set by heaven

9":"I'm a tool character, specializing in saving (and shattering) the original work's worldview.

Theme: ,,,

10":"The innocent feelings of youth during one's school days

Theme: Study hard