The Pretty Fool

Zuo Lihua was a rising star, the heiress of a wealthy conglomerate, and engaged to a CEO. In the public eye, she was a beloved darling born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She thought her life would go perfectly, but one day, everything suddenly changed. Her best friend in the entertainment industry was caught in a scandal and blamed it all on her. Overnight, Zuo Lihua became public enemy number one, with the internet flooded by abuse. Her CEO fiance suddenly brought home a timid girl around their age, declared that she was his one true love, and demanded to break off their engagement. Her parents, who had never let her suffer the slightest grievance, told her she wasn't their daughter. They'd accidentally switched babies at birth, and now wanted her out of their home because they were afraid their biological daughter would be upset. With her suitcase in hand, Zuo Lihua wandered the streets with nowhere to go. Luckily, her agent felt sorry for her and found her a place to live: a villa on the outskirts of the city, for a monthly rent of one thousand. The lease required a minimum term of one year. Only after moving in did Zuo Lihua discover that the place was haunted by a terrifying female ghost. Someone had wanted her to become the ghost's replacement sacrifice. To prolong her life, Zuo Lihua swallowed her pride and fed herself to the ghost, struggling to survive. But gradually, she realized the ghost wasn't all that scary. In fact, she was kind of cute. For example: One night, Zuo Lihua dreamed a demon was coming to claim her life. She woke with a start and opened her eyes to see a female ghost standing by her bed. The ghost held a flashlight beneath her chin, shining its light upward. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes hollow and blank as she stared at Zuo Lihua. Who knew how long she'd been watching? Zuo Lihua jumped. When she saw Zuo Lihua was awake, the ghost turned off the flashlight, leaned over her bed, and said happily, "Oh, you're finally awake! I can't sleep. Tell me a ghost story!" "..." Zuo Lihua was speechless. Later, when the whole truth came to light, she understood that everyone around her had conspired to set her up. The only one who had truly stood by her was this evil ghost. Zuo Lihua x Han Haier A love that transcends life and death Coming next: Cthulhu's Beloved A gloomy, insecure, depressed, socially anxious person X an invincible heroine-minded, sinister monster After her parents died, Shi Yingqiu was locked up at home by her uncle, like livestock waiting to be slaughtered, until she could be married off. The old bachelor who had bought her for two oxen treated her like property and harassed her again and again. No matter how much Shi Yingqiu cried out, no one answered. One night, she took some matches, planning to burn down the house her parents had left her, her uncle's family, the old bachelor, and herself. But in a basin of water reflecting the bright moon, she found a monster with a gaping maw. The monster was easy to feed. Shi Yingqiu gave it whatever she could, and it ate: dry rations, locusts, the chickens and lamb her uncle had raised with such effort... As her uncle furiously searched for the missing lamb, Shi Yingqiu hid in a corner and asked the monster, "I'll feed my uncle to you too. Will you eat him?" The monster swayed its slimy tentacles and softly agreed. But before Shi Yingqiu could feed her uncle and the old bachelor to the monster, it was discovered after stopping the old bachelor from harassing her late at night. That night, flames soared into the sky, and a fire burned down Shi Yingqiu's old house. Every living thing was buried in the ashes, except for the monster, which was taken away by researchers in protective suits. And Shi Yingqiu, who had survived by hiding among the monster's tentacles. Overcome with fear, Shi Yingqiu passed out. When she woke, it was the apocalypse. Exhausted, hungry, and clueless about what was happening, Shi Yingqiu huddled beneath a bridge, trembling. Outside, zombies roamed everywhere, searching for the scent of humans. Just before a zombie could bite her, a girl in a Lolita dress with fiery red twin tails appeared, stepping over a mound of zombie corpses. Their eyes met. The girl's eyes were crimson, her gaze so sticky it seemed almost tangible. She grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth just like the monster's. "Found you," she said. -- The monster found its caretaker. Theme: Work hard and build a better self with your own hands.