Pleasure in Dreams

Eight years ago, Yu Xi was ordered to rescue a boy who had been captured by rebels.

When she arrived, she discovered that the boy had been blinded with poison and, after being deceived too many times, was extremely wary. There was no way to earn his trust and take him away using conventional methods.

Yu Xi had no choice but to pretend she was another victim like him. Every so often, she'd act cute, letting him feel needed and trusted until he wanted to find a way to escape on his own.

For example:

"There are so many rats where I'm staying. Can I hide out with you?"

"If they take you away one day, I'll be all alone. You wouldn't leave me behind, would you?"

"I don't want to be alone. Can you stay with me for the rest of my life...?"

The boy fell for it. No matter what she asked, he agreed.

And with her constant encouragement, he finally led her to escape.

Yu Xi led him to the rendezvous point, told a lie, then let go of his hand and slipped away.

From then on, she stayed out of sight and took no credit. She never saw him again.

Later, her family was convicted of a crime, and the most beautiful woman in Great Zhou fell into the Jiaofang Bureau.

Everyone waited to see her dragged through the mud and mocked.

But thanks to her remarkable talent for making money, she became a darling of the capital whom no one dared offend. She basked in the admiration of countless people, and everyone assumed she would become the concubine of some royal relative or noble. Then she suddenly answered the imperial decree, leaving behind her comfortable life of wealth and splendor to head southwest and quell a tribal rebellion.

The current top scholar, Shen Yu, traveled with her.

He was the heir to the Duke's household, famed throughout the land for his talent and admired by countless young women.

Shen Yu had always been arrogant and hard to tame, notorious for being difficult.

Yu Xi had no wish to get too involved with him.

But from the moment they first met, Shen Yu kept his eyes fixed on her.

He pressed her at every turn, always saying things she couldn't understand.

Until one day, Shen Yu's true identity was exposed.

Only then did Yu Xi realize he was the innocent blind boy she'd tricked, abandoned, and misled all those years ago.

Looking at the now-sighted and overbearing young man, she tried to run, but he trapped her in his arms. The boy's false gentleness fell away, revealing his fangs.

"Didn't you say I should stay with you for the rest of your life? Where do you think you're running off to now?"

*

She is a harbinger of disaster, a femme fatale, a new future that threatens and fascinates me. -- Shen Yu

[Reader's Guide]

1. Pretending to be proper x genuinely lovestruck.

2. Fictional setting! Sweet romance! Don't nitpick the history!

3. Shen Yu's line is adapted from Chun Zi.

4. I'm terrible at writing blurbs and titles. Please bear with me.

Weibo: Tou Wo Yi Mu 666

"Coming soon: I Want the Moon to Kiss You. Please add it to your reading list!"

When Jiang Xi was sixteen, she was forced to seek refuge with her uncle, Xu Du.

At the top of a mountain, with the cold wind howling, he straddled his flashy motorcycle with one foot on the ground. When he took off his helmet and accepted the champion's medal, the whole crowd screamed for him.

A friend quietly asked him in private, "I heard your niece came to stay with you. Are you really going to raise her? She's not even related to you."

Xu Du replied casually, "I'll keep her around, I guess."

His friend glanced at Jiang Xi, dressed like a little princess in the crowd, and said nothing.

*

Jiang Xi's favorite person in the world was Xu Du.

The day she learned Xu Du wasn't really her uncle, Jiang Xi held back her tears and said goodbye to him.

If he'd known this day would come, the little girl would have refused to take anything. Xu Du placed a black card in her hand, his face stern. "Take it. Even if we're not related by blood, I'm still your uncle."

Jiang Xi lowered her head in silence.

*

Months later, Xu Du saw that not a cent had been spent from the card. Worried that the girl wasn't doing well, he frantically searched everywhere for her.

At last, he spotted Jiang Xi working in a café, crouched on the floor beside a young man as they cleaned up broken coffee cups. Some unspeakable feeling quickly stirred in his heart, and Xu Du strode inside.

Jiang Xi hadn't expected to run into Xu Du. Forgetting how disheveled she looked, she smiled up at him. "Uncle."

Xu Du crouched beside her with a cold expression, took her red, scalded hand in his, then kissed it. "Who's your uncle? Don't call me that."

[Age gap, no blood relation!!!]

[Story idea screenshot saved on 2022.3.14]

*Highly recommended: my friend's boys' love novel, Missing Person Notice [Esports], by Chang An Zhi Yu*

One day, a new streamer named Lu Qi joined the gaming channel of a live-streaming platform.

Stream title: I look just like my profile picture. Looking for a jungler boyfriend to carry me. Must have a wide hero pool.

His profile picture was so handsome that everyone who saw it on the homepage clicked in. Before long, he'd been pushed to the top of the day's rankings.

As soon as viewers entered the stream, they saw the missing-person notice on the screen, which read more like a personals ad.

Looking for a jungler to play with long-term. Requirements:

1. A wide hero pool;

2. Likes giving me the red buff;

3. Knows how to gank and absolutely must not let the enemy kill me;

4. All the kills and farm are mine. You have to play support when necessary;

5. More to come...

The viewers were grinding their teeth.

[Why don't you just find yourself a dad?]

Some people stayed to watch the spectacle, only to end up eating their words.

[Someone at this level needs a carry? That's freaking ridiculous!]

After that, more and more people started hanging around Lu Qi's stream to watch his gameplay.

One day, Wen Xi stunned the whole Esports league with an amazing one-versus-four play during a match. That night, a new line appeared in the missing-person notice on Lu Qi's screen: 5. Must be able to take on four enemies at once.

A fan commented: [Why not just post Wen Xi's ID card number, streamer?]

"I wouldn't be opposed." Lu Qi put down his phone and smiled at the camera, clearly enjoying the spectacle. "What, are you going to invite him over?"

Viewers: "..."

No one needed to call him. Wen Xi showed up on his own.

The moment he entered, the chat flooded with comments.

[Streamer, your marriage prospect is here!]

[I don't know what this is all about, but I support this marriage.]

Wen Xi: "Get lost. I'm here to settle a score with him."

Theme: Even in a lowly position, one must never forget the nation's troubles