My Nemesis Is Surprisingly Irresistible

[Complete. Fake wastrel, Black Lotus gong VS genuinely scheming, White Lotus shou. Also known as Cloudborn, Sea-Tower Bound]

[Preorders: The Aesthetics of a Tragic Ending with the Regent, and The Villainous Captive Will Stop at Nothing to Kill Me. Please add them to your collection!]

When Xiao Huai was eighteen, chasing dogs and fighting crickets, riding his horse through the streets, Ji Yunsheng had already made a name for himself across the land and become the celebrated young man of the Great Yong capital.

When Xiao Huai was nineteen, living off others under the title of "Yingdu's Number One Little Devil," Ji Yunsheng had already returned victorious from Yanzhou at the head of thirty thousand troops.

They ran into each other on the street. Ji Yunsheng smiled and greeted him by his courtesy name: "Xiao Hailou, it's been a while."

Looking at the peach-blossom face that had captivated countless young women in Yingdu, Xiao Huai gave a smile that did not reach his eyes, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to leave without another word.

There was only one reason: from the very first moment Ji Yunsheng saw him, he had seen through the hatred and ambition hidden beneath Xiao Huai's frivolous facade.

Later, Xiao Huai returned to Xiangcheng with his troops, only to be blocked by Ji Yunsheng south of the Bian River.

He led his army to attack Tingkou, only for Ji Yunsheng to hold the line to the death by Mount Xiao.

It was only when his sleeves were soaked in blood and he entered Jicheng that he finally turned Ji Yunsheng, this thorn in his side, into his prisoner.

In the prefectural governor's residence, Xiao Huai looked at the man surrounded by soldiers, joy at his victory shining in his eyes. "Ji Yunsheng, Jicheng has fallen. At last, you've lost to me."

But the other man merely smiled, his eyes curving with amusement, as carefree as a spring breeze across the fields in the third month. "Xiao Hailou, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Xiao Huai's heart stirred. He turned and left at once, afraid to look at him again.

And so he missed the sheet of paper on the desk behind him, the ink still wet:

"Mountains and rivers are all I cherish; Yunsheng yearns for Hailou."

A serious historical romance, 1v1. Fake wastrel, Black Lotus gong VS genuinely scheming, White Lotus shou. Please add it to your collection!

Upcoming Novel 1

Title: The Aesthetics of a Tragic Ending with the Regent

[Both leads are reborn, but in each other's places; each is the other's unattainable beloved. The story takes place a hundred years before Rivalry, telling the story of Emperor Jianwu mentioned in Rivalry and the origins of Yuzhou.]

In the seventh year of Changde, the southern frontier suffered a defeat.

An investigation confirmed that the Shen family of Yanzhou, a family of master swordsmiths, had cut corners and supplied inferior weapons. Their blades broke, and the three armies were routed.

Regent Xiao Heng personally led the Imperial Guard to surround the Shen residence and confiscate the family's property. Shen Ruowan fought back with her sword and was killed on the spot.

After she was reborn, Shen Ruowan returned to one month earlier.

When she met Xiao Heng again on Zhenyue Bridge, her eyes turned cold and hatred surged within her. Before she could do anything, she saw him stride through the crowd and the sea of lights, coming straight toward her.

Beneath the lanterns that filled the skies on the Shangyuan Festival, Xiao Heng's handsome face was touched with a faint smile, his manner elegant and warm.

"Miss, this lantern is for you."

On the Shangyuan Festival, one seeks out a lantern and gives it to one's beloved.

Such had been the custom in Dajing since ancient times.

Born into a distinguished family, Xiao Heng was a dashing young man, the most sought-after noble heir among the women of Shengjing, and the renowned Regent of Dajing.

But no one knew that the person Xiao Heng loved was the young woman who had defended the capital alongside him when Dajing fell in his previous life.

Back then, he had never seen the girl's face beneath her mask. He remembered only the string of glass hibiscus flowers around her wrist, translucent and beautiful in the sunlight.

Living his life over again, Xiao Heng set aside all his recklessness and arrogance. He defended the realm and its people, doing everything he could to change Dajing's fate and prevent its fall. But he never found the girl in his heart.

Five years passed in a flash, and turmoil began anew.

He was convinced the Shen family was the source of the nation's ruin, so he led his troops to surround their residence. His sword fell, and blood was spilled.

Yet at the very moment Shen Ruowan died before his eyes, Xiao Heng suddenly realized that the glass hibiscus flowers around her wrist were exactly like those worn by the girl he had loved in his previous life.

Reader's guide:

1. The leads misunderstand each other at the beginning!

2. There's love for the country and its people, as well as a groveling-to-win-her-back arc.

3. A serious historical romance, set a hundred years before I Fell for My Rival.

4. The setting is fictional, though history may sometimes serve as a reference. Please don't nitpick the details!

Upcoming Novel 2

Title: The Villainous Captive Will Stop at Nothing to Kill Me

[This tells the story of events that once took place in Zhongzhou in Rivalry, 150 years before the novel's timeline.]

Three years ago, the Western Jie invaded Dajing, and the four prefectures west of Mount Xiao fell.

On the day Yanye City fell, Shen Huai'an broke the sword he had given his beloved, Qingfeng, and drove half of its broken blade into Han Nianjin's chest.

"Today, the Shen family will surrender Yezhou's people to the Western Jie. If you stop resisting, I'll spare your life."

That day, Han Nianjin lay in a pool of blood, watching helplessly as the young man she loved donned the official robes of the Western Jie and personally gouged out the vow of allegiance to Dajing that they had carved together into the city wall.

Three years later, everyone in Yanye City knew that the orphaned daughter of the Han family had become the gentlest young lady in the city.

When she toasted Western Jie envoys, she would panic and drop her glass.

When she saw Western Jie officials execute Dajing civilians in the street, she would soak her handkerchief with tears and nearly faint from fright.

But no one knew that the bright red on her cinnabar-painted fingertips was not the delicate rouge of a young lady. It was the blood of her enemies, staining their throats.

Later, she set fire to an official relay station at night, and Shen Huai'an broke her arm in front of everyone.

She led her father's former soldiers in an attempt to assassinate Western Jie officials, but Shen Huai'an led his troops and wiped them all out.

Yet where no one could see, Shen Huai'an knelt in a mass grave and carved the names of the dead young men, one by one, onto wooden tablets, along with their former military service in Dajing.

In the sixth year of Jingjia, rebellion erupted west of Mount Xiao.

Han Nianjin led the people of Yanye in a surprise attack on the Western Jie camp and drove her bloodied blade into Shen Huai'an's chest.

But Shen Huai'an only laughed as he coughed up blood. He took off the necklace he wore around his neck and gently placed it in her palm. "Your father once taught me that the sharpest blade must be driven into the place where it hurts the enemy most."

At that moment, Han Nianjin lowered her head and looked at the necklace in her hand.

Its pendant was a smooth, polished piece of iron, patterned exactly like the broken Qingfeng sword from the city wall years ago. Two lines of faded writing were engraved on it:

"On the day the lands west of Mount Xiao return to Dajing, may the candlelight guide old friends home."

[Before You Start]

A serious historical romance. A sweet-looking but ruthless avenger × a double-dealing turncoat spy. She bravely defends her homeland; he bears the blame to keep his vow to protect the realm. This novel focuses on a large cast and celebrates devotion to the land and its people.

Premise: The emperor guards the nation's borders, and the ruler dies for the realm.