The Lamplighter

My upcoming novel, "There's a Bookshop Over There," is open for follows. The blurb is below.

Blurb:

Cool on the outside, soft on the inside heroine Jing Yi x smiling, devil-hearted hero Zhu Li

They say there is a pair of lamp-bearers in this world, a man and a woman. If you have a wish you want granted, prepare your most precious possession as payment, then hang a red lantern outside their door. If the lamp-bearers accept it, your wish will come true.

A princess and a Buddhist monk, a pair of demon lovers, twin siblings, a general who guards the nation...

The love, hate, resentment, and obsession they offer are nourishment for that woman.

They say the woman placed a restriction on the man and granted him eternal life, on the condition that he remain forever obedient to her. The man had long since grown tired of it and was planning to leave.

Jing Yi believed the rumor too. So later, amid a torrential downpour and thunder overhead, she lay on the ground and looked at him with lifeless eyes.

"You're free now."

Unexpectedly, the man took off the smiling mask he always wore and picked her up with an impassive expression, just as he always did. His voice came softly, as if afraid of frightening her.

"My freedom is right here."

Then his cold smile returned.

"How about I kill everyone who hurt you?"

After that, the blood moon hung in the sky, and the killing went on all night.

Reading notes:

1. The story is told in separate arcs, in a fictional setting.

2. The characters in the stories are not based on real people.

3. There are about six stories, and none of them are very long.

Blurb for the upcoming novel, "There's a Bookshop Over There"

1

Yu Jun had always been an average girl, from her family life to her studies. Few people knew, though, that she had picked up all sorts of strange and unusual skills.

She was also a lazy beauty. By her senior year of college, it was time to intern, so she casually picked up a job ad on the road, got herself ready, and went to apply.

It was no ordinary bookshop. Some of its customers were strange, often pulling out all kinds of things for the owner, Buhui, to weigh. Some were ethereal and intangible, others weighed a ton.

They would exchange them for something else at a clearly marked price, usually a book.

But the place was safe, and she got paid on time, so Yu Jun couldn't be bothered to question it. She stayed on.

But after that, her days started to grow less peaceful...

Among all the strange "people" she met, she saw herself.

She was the most dazzling white, fallen from the clouds into this bustling world.

2

Buhui opened a shop. Some people saw it as a bookshop, while some "people" saw it as a pawnshop.

No one knew how long it had been there. The owner had changed faces time and again, but was always a young, easygoing man. He seemed detached from the world, and there was not a glimmer of light in his eyes.

But one day, a woman appeared by his side, just as languid and carefree as he was. From then on, even his eyes could hold the sun, the moon, and the lights of ten thousand homes.

3

Yu Jun saw Buhui's true form. She blinked several times, then reached out and touched his fox tail without even announcing herself.

"If you'd told me you were such an adorable fox, I would've brought my ham." Her clear, lilting voice was captivating.

The fox, whose gaze could bewitch anyone, opened his mouth, but a pleasing male voice came out. "If I had told you, the ham would have lost its tail and gone bald."

His words were full of meaning. Yu Jun kept a straight face. "I'm very good with my hands."

Cold winds raged all around them, and darkness loomed like a storm about to break. The two of them lounged as if they were at home. With a casual glance from the fox, countless evil spirits dissolved into smoke.

The male voice sounded again, tender and wistful, as if from another life. "I've had the pleasure of finding out. You're not as good as you claim."

[I've been waiting here for you for a long time. Luckily, you came in the end.]

Reading notes: 1. An episodic drama set in the modern world, featuring humans, ghosts, and spirits.

2. Involves past lives and the present, with a happy ending.

Theme: Live well