When her grandmother fell gravely ill, Bai Yueshu agreed to a marriage contract to fulfill her elder's wish, and married Xie Yong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Xie Yong was a brilliant talent, famous throughout the land. Only Bai Yueshu knew his strange temperament made him no good at all. Whenever they met, they were bound to trade barbs.
Until the day they married, when she had no choice but to call him "husband" for the first time. She saw the look of disdain on Xie Yong's face, but his ears had quietly turned red.
It turned out Xie Yong was soft-hearted when treated gently, and was most uncomfortable around women.
To make her grandmother happy, the couple agreed to three rules for their marriage. They acted lovey-dovey in public and traded barbs in private.
If she couldn't win an argument, she could always find another way to get under his skin.
At the New Year's Eve banquet, Bai Yueshu tugged at his sleeve and batted her eyes, acting as coyly as she could. "Husband, I want some fish."
Xie Yong smiled coolly, clumsily and awkwardly serving her food.
When he won a match, Bai Yueshu ran over cheering. "Husband, you're amazing!"
After hesitating for a long moment, Xie Yong stiffly patted her head.
They went up the mountain at midnight to watch the fireworks. Bai Yueshu pretended to be pitiful. "Husband, I'm afraid of the dark."
Xie Yong scoffed and left her behind
Wait.
Xie Yong scoffed, then gently took her fingertips in his hand. Fireworks boomed in the distance, and their hearts pounded in their ears.
Xie Yong: "Still scared?"
Bai Yueshu: "...?"
*
Bai Yueshu had a pen pal since childhood. He was knowledgeable, kind, gentle as jade, and charmingly refined. In her heart, he was a dependable older-brother figure and friend.
In her letters, she often shared funny things from her daily life, as well as stories about her fake husband, that smiling tiger.
One day, she found handwriting identical to her pen pal's in Xie Yong's old calligraphy.
Bai Yueshu sneered. "Gentle as jade and a refined gentleman?"
Xie Yong raised an eyebrow. "Gentle and demure, the picture of a lovely young lady? How about we discuss the letter you wrote seven days ago, the one that began, 'It suddenly occurred to me that my husband is kind of cute'?"
Bai Yueshu shot back, "I'd rather talk about your sweetheart. In your letter, Commander Xie claimed you'd admired her for years and pursued her tirelessly until you finally married. So, pray tell, what is this lady's surname, "
She suddenly fell silent.
In the hazy night, Xie Yong lowered his long lashes and looked at her. His voice was very soft, almost helpless. "Who else could I have married?"
[Reading Guide]
1. A catlike tsundere x a sharp-tongued, sickly beauty. A well-matched couple who fall in love after marrying first.
2. A moment's whim x a long-planned scheme. They flirt with each other and trade tricks.
Theme: Respect individual differences.
