1. Shen Huayao married the one she loved, but they had only a few years together before he died, leaving her behind, unable to forget him.
When she woke again, she wasn't in the mortal world, but in the Nine Heavens.
The one she loved had been the ruler of the Eight Wildernesses, the bright moon in the highest heavens.
And Shen Huayao had become his celestial consort.
Her friends and family in the mortal world had long since entered the sea of suffering. Shen Huayao willingly cocooned herself in love, becoming a golden bird in a cage beside that bright moon.
Though the years were endless and often lonely, she was content to stay by the side of the one she loved.
Even when Tingzhou often neglected her, Shen Huayao clung to hope, making excuses for him in her heart.
But every dream must come to an end.
2. "Ziyang, I'm going to die.
Without you here, this place is hell. Every second is unbearable to me.
Ziyang, I love you.
I've traveled through the mortal world, seen countless beautiful sights and fleeting romances,
but you are the one I love most.
Ziyang, you are the only one I love."
This was a letter left behind by Mo Tingzhou, the man from the mortal world. Only after Shen Huayao read it did she finally understand: her A-Zhou had been dead for a very long time.
The Tingzhou before her now was not the A-Zhou who had begged and wept when she said she was leaving.
He was the leader of the gods, the merciless Heavenly Dao,
not the gentle shadow of the past, nor the old dream of the mortal world.
Shen Huayao was heartbroken. Her A-Zhou had spent decades in the mortal world, only to leave no trace behind.
They could not meet in life,
nor reunite in death.
3. For endless years afterward, Tingzhou was haunted by nightmares.
He dreamed of Shen Huayao silently gazing at him from the high platform. From beginning to end, she never once defended herself against the baseless accusations laid at her feet.
As she was about to leave, she simply said in a gentle voice,
"All that happened before was my fault. Your Majesty, forget me."
She bowed to him nine times, then calmly left the cold, lonely Heavenly Palace that had imprisoned her for a thousand years.
He watched her walk away, unmoved.
That was the last time they saw each other in this life.
*Based on Eastern mythology, with extensive original worldbuilding. Please don't overanalyze the mythology.
*The heroine has a son, and there is a childbirth plotline, but no details about raising an adopted child.
*Both leads are sexually inexperienced. The heroine pursues the hero at first, and the hero gets put through the wringer.
*This is probably a story about a hopeless romantic who doesn't understand love and a beloved darling born to privilege.
Hopeless romantic x love-struck beauty
"Choosing death wasn't revenge against him. It was a release."
Theme: Even if we meet again, we may not recognize each other.
Why isn't this updated?