Spring's Alluring Colors

Song Yuzhuo is a renowned head chef in Nanyang, where she runs a restaurant.

In the year she is about to turn twenty, her much-adored older brother, who is considerably older than her, is finally getting married.

When the two families meet, Song Yuzhuo carries dishes into the room and sees Xia Yi, her future sister-in-law.

The dishes crash to the floor, and wine spills all over Xia Yi's collar. The expensive qipao fabric is stained with the pleasant fragrance of wine.

She had clearly been executed by firing squad, yet four years later, she appeared before Song Yuzhuo alive and well.

From then on, Song Yuzhuo is plagued by nightmares, dreaming every night of the woman who had bullied and toyed with her.

But apart from her looks and figure, Xia Yi seems different from that woman in every way.

Xia Yi is dignified and courteous, yet for the sake of a single request from Song Yuzhuo, she jumps into a pond to pick lotus leaves, mud staining her skirt.

Xia Yi is gentle and accommodating, yet she is willing to stand up for Song Yuzhuo and confront evildoers.

Outsiders praise their harmonious sister-in-law relationship, and even Song Yuzhuo is moved. From the bottom of her heart, she accepts Xia Yi as her sister-in-law.

Later, however, Song Yuzhuo discovers Xia Yi's secret.

The candlelight flickers inside the room. Xia Yi wears nothing but a pale green bellyband, damp over half its length.

The light catches the glistening moisture in her eyes. She looks so aggrieved and resentful, so fragile and pitiable.

A moment later, Song Yuzhuo is like a little deer struck by an arrow. Clutching her antlers, she flees through the door in a panic...

Later still.

In the middle of the night, Song Yuzhuo climbs in through the window and sneaks around, rummaging through cabinets and drawers in search of evidence.

Just as she feels her way to the bed, a pair of hands pulls her under the covers.

Her hands and feet are firmly pinned down, and the other woman immediately calls out in a cold voice,

"A thief is stealing things!"

Afraid of alerting anyone, Song Yuzhuo hurries to explain.

"Stop shouting, it's me!"

In the night, the two stare at each other, one above the other. Afraid she might crush Xia Yi, Song Yuzhuo tries to get up.

But the other woman doesn't let go. Her fingers tighten around Song Yuzhuo instead, and her voice is tinged with laughter.

"It's cold on a winter night. Stay here and sleep with me tonight."

[Reading Guide]:

An alternate Republican-era setting. The older brother's marriage is a sham, and the heroine's romance begins after the divorce.

Old-fashioned, conservative young lady vs. a seemingly sweet but secretly calculating older woman

Four-year age gap.

Theme: The way to save someone is through acceptance and love.