My Lover Who Left Me and Never Returned

*An alternate-universe story

In her third year after transmigrating into a book, Cui Yuqing got married, becoming the wife of Su Huaixiao, the story's greatest villain.

Watching the man before her cough at every step, so frail he could not even consummate the marriage, Cui Yuqing was baffled. Could someone this weak really become the great demon who would later slaughter half the imperial court?

After half a year of living as a neglected wife, the Su family suddenly fell from power, and Su Huaixiao died of illness amid the chaos.

Seeing the story unfold in a way that completely contradicted the original, Cui Yuqing gave Su Huaixiao a grand funeral. Then, to stay alive, she had no choice but to take on the Su family's mess and eke out a fearful existence amid the scorn of Shengjing's great houses.

Then came the annual Yixiang Banquet. It was supposed to be a matchmaking event for young men and women, but after offending someone, Cui Yuqing was forced to attend under the pretext of a widow seeking a new husband, so they could humiliate her at the banquet.

Someone splashed wine on her, she injured her knee, and she accidentally bumped into the young lady of the Lin family, knocking her into the arms of Young Marquis Xie. An unexpected match was made between the two.

It should have been a happy occasion, if only Young Marquis Xie hadn't looked so much like her deceased husband, and if only the young lady of the Lin family hadn't so closely resembled the cousin her husband had cherished most in life.

To thank Cui Yuqing for the fortuitous collision, the young lady of the Lin family invited her to the family estate and hosted a banquet in her honor.

Cui Yuqing could not refuse. Hoping to curry favor with the Lin family and gain their protection, she ignored Young Marquis Xie Chen'an throughout the gathering. Under the Lin family's contemptuous gazes, she praised the young lady and the young marquis as a match made in heaven.

During the banquet, the Lin family's eldest son, Lin Yuyuan, happened to return home. He hurried in, carrying pastries from Heling Tower.

His fervent gaze fixed on her. "I heard Miss Cui had arrived as soon as I entered the city. These pastries are especially good, so I waited in line to buy some. That's why I'm late. Please forgive me, Father and Mother."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

Xie Chen'an suddenly laughed. "I suppose Brother Lin is tired and confused. You should call her Madam Su."

The heat of his gaze made Cui Yuqing lower her head in confusion.

But a broad hand clasped her lowered hand. The calluses on Xie Chen'an's palm rubbed against her knuckles, just as scorching.

She recognized the owner of that hand: her husband, who had abandoned her.

Theme: 2025.1.18