A Devoted Husband in a 1960S Courtyard Compound

My new story, *The Disabled Big Shot Gets Stuck with an 80s Cannon Fodder*, is now online. Please add it to your reading list! Blurb: Question: What should you do after transmigrating into a period novel as the cannon-fodder counterpart to the heroine? Answer: Turn your fate around and become the heroine's opposite counterpart, of course. Xu Lixia has the bad luck to transmigrate into a book, but that's all right. She's decided to turn her fate as the heroine's counterpart around. The heroine of the sweet romance is doted on by her family and marries the man she loves, living happily ever after. But the original character, a cannon-fodder counterpart, is forced by her son-favoring mother to take her brother's place and go to the countryside. There, she has a miserable life and is bullied until she becomes mentally disabled. Cheng Lixia arrives just before the original character is sent to the countryside. Faced with the miserable fate awaiting her, she decides to find a way to stay in the city. So she sets her sights on the neighbor of the heroine's in-laws, a born winner and the male supporting character even the heroine couldn't win over. Xu Qing is famous as the most beautiful woman in the steel mill residential compound, and it's meant as a compliment. She's kind, beautiful, and perfect in every way. Too bad she's a rose with thorns. Xu Qing has a hot-tempered, sharp-tongued widowed mother who's unbeatable when it comes to cursing people in the courtyard compound. She drove away her in-laws and even cut ties with her own family. With a mother-in-law that formidable, who would dare marry into the family? Thinking of the awful relatives in the original character's life, Cheng Lixia thinks, This is perfect for me. Other people might not dare, but I do. At first, after Cheng Lixia marries Xu Qing, her mother-in-law is a master at taking everyone on. She helps her put her scumbag father in his place, then her biased mother. What a mighty mother-in-law! Cheng Lixia looks at her with stars in her eyes. Later, her aloof husband isn't happy about it anymore. Honey, why don't you look at me instead? I'm the one who came up with all the ideas for Mom. When Xu Qing first learns that his mother has set him up with a young wife without asking him, this is how he reacts: Xu Qing, the born winner and the steel mill compound's most beautiful flower, frowns. “No. A marriage without a foundation of affection goes against my wishes. I won't accept it.” Later, when the aloof beauty has gradually fallen into lovesick devotion and is completely under his young wife's thumb, he learns that she heard from his mother what he said before they married. Xu Qing, the born winner: “Lixia, pick whichever washboard you like. I'll kneel on it for you.” A few notes for readers: 1. A sweet, slice-of-life romance with a little revenge on scumbags and awful relatives. The original heroine may be portrayed negatively. 2. As always, it's a sweet one-on-one romance. 3. I'll add more if I think of anything. Theme: Rise above adversity