My Ex-Fiancé Is Pretending to Be Weak Again

Next novel: "The Imperial Exam Novel's Male Lead and His Wicked Sister-in-Law (Food)". A ray of sunshine meets a sweet-on-the-outside, ruthless-on-the-inside man.

Chen Xi transmigrates into a farming novel, becoming the foil whose sole purpose is to highlight the heroine's kindness and virtue.

In the original story, the heroine gets engaged to the male lead, a poor scholar from her village. They support each other, he passes the imperial exams and becomes the top scholar, eventually rising to grand secretary, while she becomes the richest woman in the land. They achieve success in both love and career.

As the foil, Chen Xi is engaged to a talented scholar. His family suddenly falls on hard times, and he becomes destitute. Worse, he's bedridden with an incurable illness. Not long after Chen Xi breaks off her engagement to the scholar, who has only a few days left to live, he dies. Branded a husband-killer, no one comes to propose to her, and Chen Xi dies of grief before turning twenty.

The contrast couldn't be clearer.

Just after Chen Xi transmigrates, the scholar whose engagement she just broke off comes to see her.

Looking at the pale, sickly young man who seems liable to blow away in the wind, Chen Xi, a fellow character used as a plot device, suddenly feels deeply sorry for the short-lived scholar.

Before she can say a word, the sickly young man coldly tosses the tonics meant to compensate her for breaking off the engagement at her feet.

Then he turns and leaves, as if even looking at her would sully him.

Chen Xi: "?" Quite the temper.

But Chen Xi doesn't care. She's not going to play the foil anymore. She's going to focus on making money and building her career!

**

Chen Xi gives up the family's pastry business, stops competing with the heroine, and switches to spicy food. Business takes off.

With life going smoothly and her mood improving, she casually shares some food with the sickly young man, who is just as much a plot device as she is.

Unexpectedly, the sickly young man who supposedly had only days to live survives for one year, then two, then three. He grows into a handsome young man, and even comes first in the provincial exam, earning the title of Jieyuan.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi's culinary skills make her famous across the neighboring villages, and marriage proposals come pouring in.

One day, the Chen family elders finally find a suitable husband for their daughter and are about to accept when the newly crowned Jieyuan suddenly comes to their door.

His expression is dark, and he clearly means trouble. Chen Xi steps in front of her parents, but before she can speak, the young Jieyuan says solemnly, "It's time to arrange my marriage to your daughter, Chen Xi."

Chen Xi: "?"

Chen Xi thinks he's being sarcastic about her blindness and frowns. "Our engagement was ended three years ago."

The young Jieyuan glances at her, takes out a yellowed piece of paper, and holds it out to her. "The marriage contract still exists, so the engagement is still valid."

Chen Xi: "???" He couldn't stand to look at her, so why did he keep the marriage contract?!

...Later, Chen Xi learns that he'd clutched the marriage contract and run all the way to her house that day, afraid that if he was even a moment too late, she'd agree to marry someone else.

My next novel is "The Imperial Exam Novel's Male Lead and His Wicked Sister-in-Law". Please add it to your reading list!

Blurb:

Chen Lingxi transmigrates into an imperial exam novel as the male lead's wicked sister-in-law.

In the original story, her husband dies on their wedding day, leaving her a widow branded a husband-killer.

Her husband's family is dirt poor, and he leaves her three mouths to feed.

There's Fu Yuanting, the frail, sickly male lead, a walking money pit who is studying for the imperial exams, along with his younger siblings Fu Yuanlang and Fu Yuanying, neither of whom reaches her waist.

The original owner can't take the unbearable life anymore. One night, when everyone is asleep, she gathers all the valuables in the Fu household and runs away.

When she leaves, the Fu family is ruined.

To buy medicine for her gravely ill second brother, Fu Yuanying secretly sells herself. Fu Yuanting doesn't find his sister again until he passes the imperial exams, by which time she's been so abused she's lost her mind. This is his greatest regret, and he resents the original owner more than anyone.

Under the male lead's revenge, the original owner dies on the road to exile.

When Chen Lingxi transmigrates, the original owner has already packed her bags and is about to run away.

Noticing a pair of eyes staring at her in the darkness, Chen Lingxi: "..."

After hesitating for only a moment, she shoves her bundle into Fu Yuanting's arms as he pretends to be asleep and mutters to herself, "Old Li says there's been a lot of chicken stealing lately. This is all the money we have, and we need it to buy medicine for Second Brother. We'd better hide it somewhere safe."

Fu Yuanting, who had long since figured out that "she" was planning to run off with the money: "???"

**

It's a disastrous start, but she only needs to struggle for a few years. Once the male lead passes the imperial exams, she can enjoy the good life too. Chen Lingxi thinks she's got plenty to look forward to. She goes up the mountains and works the fields every day, full of energy, and manages to make their life flourish.

Since the original owner did some wicked things before Chen Lingxi arrived, she worries Fu Yuanting will hold her responsible. Whenever she gets the chance, she drills it into him: "Your sister-in-law may not be very capable, but I'll do everything I can to raise you three siblings and support your studies. When you become top scholar one day, just make sure your sister-in-law can enjoy a comfortable old age."

Fu Yuanting, having heard this nearly eight hundred times: "...Mm."

**

She's changed.

At first, Fu Yuanting only suspects it. Before long, he's certain that she isn't the Chen Lingxi he used to know.

He keeps quiet and watches her in silence. When he sees that she really treats the Fu household as her own, and that although she has a few little schemes, she's not a bad person at heart, he pretends not to notice anything and carries on as usual.

That is, until a well-off classmate starts subtly asking about her, hoping to marry her as his second wife. Fu Yuanting can't sit still anymore...

Theme: Strive hard and be the main character of your own life