Just a Substitute

Her family destroyed, Luo Ling was left the Luo clan's only surviving child, a helpless little orphan with nowhere to turn, drifting from place to place.

That is, until the Fourth Prince, the sinister and ruthless god of death of the Imperial Capital, rescued the bedraggled girl from the mire, cleaned her up, and took her in.

From the very first moment she met His Highness, Luo Ling made no secret of her fervent love for him. She obeyed his every command, was utterly devoted to him, and risked her life for him again and again.

Perhaps moved by her devotion, Gu Xuanzhi chose Luo Ling above all the beauties and fox spirits presented to him. He personally taught her music, chess, poetry, and painting, as well as how to admire the breeze and moonlight, the Three Thousand Sword Arts, and wondrous spells.

The two were inseparable, and his favor made the other women seethe with jealousy. But only Luo Ling knew that the Fourth Prince had never even touched her hand at night.

He had saved her for one reason alone.

When she spoke, her manner and tone were just like those of the beautiful sister-in-law he had longed for but could never have when he was young.

When the person he truly loved finally appeared, Luo Ling was cast aside just like everyone else. In truth, she was no different from them.

Just a stand-in.

There was not the slightest romantic feeling between them, only the bond between master and servant.

*

The lofty Fourth Prince knew only that little Luo Ling was pure-hearted and utterly obedient, and that no one could match her infatuation with him.

But how could he know...

Luo Ling had schemed at every turn and gone to great lengths to get close to him and please him, all for one reason: to obtain Gu Xuanzhi's eyes, which were almost identical to her senior brother's.

She would gouge out the beautiful eyes from the young man's face and bring back the senior brother she loved most in her heart.

Luo Ling had never loved Gu Xuanzhi.

He was merely her senior brother's stand-in.

Blurb written on July 19, 2023

Warning: The heroine really does gouge out the hero's eyes.

Romance-focused / melodrama / two stand-ins / old-school naive style / sweet and angsty. A very melodramatic 1v1, both leads' first times, happy ending!

The heroine is a fake innocent white lotus with a touch of yandere; the hero is a dark, obsessive lunatic who is actually a hopeless romantic... Both are crazy, toxic, and abnormal. Don't judge them by modern values.

The person they both love is real. At first, both the heroine and hero have someone else in their hearts and treat each other as stand-ins. But the hero's feelings for his beloved are ordinary affection, while the heroine's are a deeper emotional obsession.

The hero falls first and loves first, so he falls harder and is more devastated. There are more scenes of the hero suffering than the heroine. For now, I plan to give them a sweet happy ending.

All the trigger warnings are in the blurb =3= Please check them before reading!

Theme: Love and being loved