Now That I’m Reborn, Who Still Gets Love-Brained?

The story next door, After I Ran Out of Options, I Called My Enemy, is now available. Story blurb: In her previous life, Xu Qingling was hopelessly in love with Shen Luan and pursued him for years. Only after marrying Shen Luan did Xu Qingling learn that he had a cherished first love he could never forget. Although she didn't know who the woman was, she comforted herself by thinking it was all in the past. Then her best friend, who had divorced and had a child, moved in next door. Shen Luan grew increasingly irritable and soon asked for a divorce. Xu Qingling tried everything but couldn't change his mind, so she had no choice but to set him free. During the divorce, Shen Luan said the company had been in debt for years, so all he could give her was the house he'd bought when they married. Xu Qingling said nothing. She hadn't married Shen Luan for his money. Not long afterward, she saw Shen Luan on the news, looking triumphant as he announced to the public that the company was doing well and planned to list in the United States. The woman standing beside him was none other than the childhood friend she'd grown up with. Betrayed by the two people closest to her, Xu Qingling broke down. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the summer more than twenty years earlier. The college entrance exams had just ended that year. She'd gotten into a junior college, but her parents wouldn't let her attend. In the middle of the night, she went to the river, angry enough to want to jump in and kill herself. Looking back on her short life, Xu Qingling felt she'd had two regrets: first, not going to college, and second, marrying Shen Luan. Given another life, she would definitely go to college. As for Shen Luan... He'd always thought not marrying his first love was the greatest regret of his life, and marrying her had only been his second-best choice. From then on, a part of his life would remain empty. He'd never forget her, and he'd scheme to get her back. He loves her so much. She might as well help him get what he wants. In a nutshell: In the 2000s, she watches her ex-husband and his first love's “perfect romance” from the sidelines. Upcoming story: After I Ran Out of Options, I Called My Enemy [Clear-headed, resilient female lead vs. a possessive, disabled tycoon] [Age gap / Reunion after years apart / Bittersweet push and pull / Mutual redemption] [Third-person narration] I've hated Yao Zhan for fifteen years. Fifteen years ago, the richest man in Jiangcheng disappeared. My family became scapegoats, and the tycoon's son, Yao Zhan, drove us out of Liuyun Lane and sent us back to our hometown in the countryside. Fifteen years later, my studio was implicated in a fatal workplace accident. In complete despair, I stood on a rooftop and called Yao Zhan. He once said he owed me a favor, and that if I ever got into trouble, I could go to him. I didn't really expect him to help. I was just grasping at the last straw, betting on the one-in-ten-thousand chance that he might. To my surprise, Yao Zhan really did come the next day, arriving at my rented apartment in a wheelchair. Once the son of the richest man, he was now a business tycoon who could move mountains with a wave of his hand. Unfortunately, he was missing a leg. Yao Zhan spent half a day sorting everything out for me and transferred a huge sum to cover the loss. At the end, he fixed his gaze on me. “Come back to Jiangcheng with me.” I hardened my heart and refused. “Mr. Yao, we're even now.” I thought we'd go our separate ways from then on, but by chance I ended up back in Jiangcheng, within Yao Zhan's sphere of influence once more. He still indulged me, favored me, and protected me like he had when we were children. My dependence on him grew like wild grass, quietly and uncontrollably. Until the secrets of the previous generation came to light... It turned out I'd been hating the wrong person all along. I fled back to the countryside, thinking I could escape it all, but he still chased after me and cornered me against the wall. His dark eyes held me fast, and his voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like his own. “Niannian, have you forgotten how you used to clutch my clothes, crying and calling me ‘Brother Yao Zhan,’ and saying you'd follow me for the rest of your life?” Theme: Love and marriage