Those Years I Spent Winning Over the Lone Star

Please add this historical romance to your to-read list: The Scheming Childhood Friend's Everyday Act of Playing Nice (blurb at the very end)

Blurb for this novel:

Shen Wenqing is the dreaded Star of Misfortune in the matchmaking world. He has no interest in women and lives a chaste, desire-free life, causing the Hall of the Old Man Under the Moon no end of trouble with its work.

Zhou Yunwan is the most reckless little matchmaker in the Hall of the Old Man Under the Moon. She charges headlong into everything, loves and hates without restraint, and has won this year's award for the Hall's worst employee.

Because Zhou Yunwan couldn't stand tragic romances, she secretly altered the Book of Fated Marriages. The Old Man Under the Moon took the opportunity to send her down to the mortal realm as punishment. She had three lifetimes to deal with Shen Wenqing, this "obstacle," or she would not be allowed to return to Heaven.

To complete her mission, Zhou Yunwan tried every trick she could think of.

But everything seemed to go against the plans she had in mind:

She gave him gifts, trying to get rid of Shen Wenqing's unattainable love;

She forced him to marry her, and caused Shen Wenqing to die by smashing into a wall;

She protected him with all her might, only to force Shen Wenqing into a rebellion where he was killed;

After her plans failed in both of her first two lifetimes, Zhou Yunwan fell into the cycle of reincarnation again. By now, she was utterly exhausted in body and mind, and planned to lie flat and give up in her final life. No matter how the Old Man under the Moon threatened, bribed, or earnestly tried to persuade her, she wouldn't budge.

One day, when Zhou Yunwan opened her eyes again, she found herself covered by a thick wedding quilt. Red gauze curtains fluttered before her, and a red candle as thick as a bowl burned by her feet. She was instantly dumbfounded...

When Zhou Yunwan turned over and saw the person beside her, a bead of cold sweat suddenly appeared on her forehead.

Just as she raised a foot, ready to kick the man beside her off the wedding bed...

Shen Wenqing easily dodged. He casually propped his chin on one hand, and for the first time, a faint smile appeared on his face, usually as cold as a thousand-year-old block of ice.

"What, after pursuing me for two lifetimes, are you only just thinking of running away now, Wan'er?"

Reading guide:

1. In the first two lifetimes, the heroine pursues the hero; in the last lifetime, the hero pursues the heroine.

2. To make the story easier to follow, the male and female leads have the same names in every lifetime.

3. A sweet story with no angst.

4. Happy ending.

Blurb for The Scheming Childhood Friend's Everyday Act of Playing Nice:

[The Scheming Commandery Princess Pretending to Be Frail X The Down-and-Out General Who Says One Thing but Does Another]

Chu Qizhao couldn't understand why everyone liked Kong Jingyao.

She was all delicate and coquettish, and spoke in a sickly-sweet voice. Most importantly, she was so frail that she'd needed someone to protect her every moment since childhood. Whenever he wasn't by her side, something was bound to happen to her!

Kong Jingyao couldn't understand why everyone disliked Chu Qizhao.

He was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also well-read. Most importantly, he was so gentle and considerate. Whenever she was in danger as a child, he would always appear right by her side at once!

After the Chu family was framed by villains, Chu Qizhao, the only young general left in the family, was thrust into the eye of the storm. Officials throughout the court kept silent, and not one dared to plead for him.

When Chu Qizhao was imprisoned, his first thought wasn't about himself. Instead, he worried that if he died there, who would protect the frail and delicate Kong Jingyao from then on?

In the dungeon.

Holding a cup of poisoned wine, Eunuch Wei asked Chu Qizhao if he had any last words.

Chu Qizhao knelt on both knees. "Eunuch, Kong Jingyao is in poor health. I hope you'll keep a close eye on her safety from now on!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sounds of a fierce fight came from outside.

The men about to carry out the execution all turned around together. At a glance, they saw Kong Jingyao, who was supposedly liable to fall over in the slightest breeze, leading the way with a long sword in hand. A dozen or so martial artists followed her as the group strolled leisurely to the entrance of the cell.

Martial artist A: "Master, is the man kneeling on the ground the master you're here to rescue?"

Chu Qizhao: ...

Bonus scene:

Five thugs surrounded Kong Jingyao in a back alley. She swept them a chilling glance, smirked, and unhurriedly pulled out a small dagger. With one swift, decisive move, she pinned one thug's hand to the wall. The rest trembled with fear at what she had just done.

Just then, a familiar voice reached her from a distance.

Chu Qizhao: "Princess, don't be afraid! I'm here!"

Kong Jingyao (quickly tossing the dagger outside the wall, biting her embroidered handkerchief and reddening her eyes): "Brother Qizhao, come save me! I'm scared!"

The thug waiting outside the wall to help his companions stared at the boot pierced by the dagger that had appeared out of nowhere. Miss, is that any way to behave?

A touching story about someone who tried so hard to act weak that she almost believed it herself, until her childhood sweetheart was framed by villains and she had to take matters into her own hands, blowing her cover in the process.

Theme: Don't fear hardship. Move forward bravely.