Out of My League

[An insecure, pretty childhood sweetheart x a cool, refined top scholar]

·

Before he was even twenty, Gu Xun had placed first in all three stages of the imperial examinations.

On the day he rode through the streets in celebration, people cried out in amazement: How can the top scholar be even more handsome than the third-place graduate?

Just as the matchmakers of every household were getting excited,

Gu Xun married a plain, unsophisticated country girl.

Everyone in Chang'an was waiting for a show.

How could a speck of dust, however small, aspire to a pearl?

After another day out at a banquet, where she was mocked both openly and behind her back, Yun Ping returned home looking dejected.

Gu Xun saw her like that and frowned.

Yun Ping lowered her head even further.

Though her husband really was very handsome, Yun Ping was afraid of him.

He was so cold and distant, and even after all this time as a married couple, she had rarely seen him smile at her.

·

Facing his wife, who wanted a divorce, Gu Xun remained cool and composed. "Why do you want to leave?"

Yun Ping decided she would hold back no longer. She let out all the hurt and discontent she had kept inside.

Tears shimmered in her almond-shaped eyes. Beneath her grievances, she felt a deep sense of relief.

"They're right. I was reaching above my station when I married you."

Gu Xun lowered his eyes and leaned close, gripping her calf through her skirt.

Yun Ping grew a little afraid. Was he going to break her leg?

As she watched nervously, Gu Xun held her leg and wrapped it tightly around his waist.

His warm breath brushed past her ear.

"Reaching above your station? Is this how you do it?"

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[Blurb heavily revised, saved on 0907]

Theme: Love means having the courage to pursue it