A Firefly Like a Spark

Preorder: After I Blessed That Calamity-Born Child, They Became Invincible

[Blurb]

One blow to the head turned Liang Ying from a maid accompanying a bride into the male favorite of Liu Bai, the third princess of Qi.

Liu Bai was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Qi, yet lived alone in Lan Garden, a place sealed off from the world. She had no more than three servants. She never spoke or let anyone come near her. Everyone thought she was mute and disabled, and her marriage had long been put off. Though people had repeatedly offered her male favorites, none survived more than three days.

Liang Ying thought she was as good as dead this time. But unexpectedly, Liu Bai never laid a finger on her. She could not even catch a glimpse of her.

The bamboo blinds by the window stayed closed. Her face remained unseen; only the notes of her strings could be heard.

Little did Liang Ying know that three years later, a new ruler would take the throne of Qi in a bloody coup and take her hand...

· Gao Xi's Umbrella ·

Rain poured down beneath the sun. Liang Ying curled up on a stone bridge, her jade-white skin chilled to the bone, tears mingling with the rain as they ran down her cheeks.

A paper umbrella moved overhead, shielding her from the rain. She looked up, and Gao Xi was standing beside her.

"By now, you should understand that some things are beyond anyone's power to change."

"We were strangers once. Why shield me from the wind and rain now?"

She stood and pushed his hand away, but darkness swam before her eyes and she collapsed, burning with a high fever and unconscious.

Gao Xi carried her through a rain-soaked alley at night.

Raindrops fell from the umbrella like beads on a curtain, pattering endlessly on the ground, while warm whispers sounded beside her ear.

· Liu Bai's Zither ·

The last notes of a clear melody faded. Liu Bai glanced aside and saw Liang Ying already asleep against her shoulder.

Her slender fingers left the strings and gently wiped the tear tracks from Liang Ying's cheek. Her eyes were full of tenderness.

Fast asleep, Liang Ying wrapped both arms around Liu Bai's right arm, like a white rabbit nestled in her embrace.

Liu Bai smiled silently and returned her hands to the zither. The elegant melody began again.

A smile played across Liang Ying's sleeping face, peaceful and relaxed.

"If I could, I'd want things to stay this way forever."

Hearing Liang Ying's sleep-mumbled words, Liu Bai replied in a voice soft as water, "Silly girl, don't you dare cry in front of anyone else."

· Shu Jiu's Lantern ·

The stars and moon gave no light. Every home was dark, the streets deserted, and the night so black you could not see your hand in front of your face.

Dragging her battered body along, Liang Ying was barely breathing and could hardly walk. At last, her foot sank into a muddy ditch and she tripped.

A solitary lamp shone before her, and a hand supported her waist from behind.

She turned her eyes sideways. Shu Jiu's worried face was close to hers.

"The road ahead is pitch-black. If you insist on walking alone, you'll not only fall and get covered in mud, you'll break bones and end up bruised all over. Why put yourself through that?"

"I chose this road myself. I don't regret it."

She struggled to her feet, then backed away two steps to put some distance between them. Liang Ying cupped her hands in a formal salute. "Thank you, sir."

Shu Jiu took Liang Ying's hand and placed the lantern he was carrying in her palm. "In that case, walk with this light. As long as the flame does not go out, my heart will be with you."

Reason for entering the contest: Bridge the Ravine Sea, oppose division and promote unification

On an isolated island where the people have been controlled by twisted doctrines and fallacies, the two protagonists fight desperately to stop the separatist forces of the Dog-Worms. Their struggle keeps the fireflies' light alive, brings the two shores together, and leaves no more East and West.

[Blurb]

Braving a torrential downpour, Lu Yujin rushed to a beach where the waves roared. She only wanted to retrieve the jade bracelet her fiance had given her, but she was tied up and taken aboard a pirate ship, then brought to the enemy shore as bait.

The cabin curtain lifted slightly, fireflies danced, and though Gu Zhiyu was a complete stranger, he protected her and brought her back to where she belonged.

She thought they would never meet again. She had not even had the chance to say goodbye.

She never expected that when she was hunted by beasts and cornered on the beach, Gu Zhiyu would come riding the waves once more and reach out his hand to her.

"Have you thought this through? If you go back, danger is certain and your life will be at risk. You may never get the chance to turn back again."

"It doesn't matter. I have nowhere else to go."

The jade bracelet sank beneath the blue waves. Lu Yujin clutched his hand and climbed aboard his "pirate ship" once more.

Gu Zhiyu had never told anyone what he was really doing.

To shake off the spy who doggedly clung to evidence against him, he had set a trap. He had anticipated the helmsman's betrayal and the military supervisor's cunning, but he had never expected Lu Yujin, an outsider, to be in the cabin.

Worse, she had discovered his secret.

He wanted to silence her, just as he had snapped the helmsman's neck with his own hands. But he simply could not do it, and had no choice but to risk taking her home himself.

The tides came and went, and in the end, she returned to his side.

When the ship reached Fanggong Island, he seemed like a different person. He dumped Lu Yujin at City Night Everlasting to do odd jobs, ignoring her completely. Even when they met, he pretended not to know her.

He even turned a blind eye when customers teased and tormented her.

He did his best to ignore her and stay away from her, until everyone believed she had nothing to do with him.

But in the end, he still could not let her go.

"Before dawn, the Night Firefly must burn its last glimmer of light, yet it will never see the sun. Just like me, born to the pitch-black night and destined to fly alone through dark alleys."

Looking west, Lu Yujin raised a hand to tuck behind her ear the loose strands dancing in the sea breeze. "I love embracing the warm morning sun even more than I love chasing the brilliant, firefly-like points of light."

[Reading Guide]

1. This is a completely fictional setting, so please don't scrutinize the historical details.

2. The male and female leads are devoted to each other, mutually saving one another.

3. The male lead dotes on the female lead in private, to an outrageous degree.

[Bonus Scene: Interview with the Female Lead's Friends and Family]

Describe Lu Yujin in one sentence.

First friend: Yue Qian, physician at Foye Studio, born with a sharp tongue

A cold glance: "Some wild woman Gu Zhiyu picked up somewhere. She copies what others do, mooches food and drink, and acts like she owns the place. Wait, why are you asking me first? Who said we're friends?"

Second friend: Yuan Ran, Gu Zhiyu's housemate, mute and disabled

Expressionless: "If she gets hurt, Gu Zhiyu will be sad." (Holds up a sign: "Same as above. Not a friend +1.")

Third friend: Zhu Yizhi, hostess at City Night Everlasting, connected to both the black and white worlds

She smiles warmly: "She's a great help at the shop, like a daughter to me. She can handle any customer with ease. I told Zhiyu that no one else suits that hairpin better."

Fourth friend: Nan Xi, embroiderer at Die Luan Shop, loves money above all

She laughs cheerfully: "A good sister and a good drinking buddy. Still looking? I've run out of things to say."

Fifth friend: Guo Can, strategist for the Dog-Worms, with an inscrutable smile

He stares blankly. "She got Gu Zhiyu to eat sweets?"

Sixth friend: Fan Cenqing, teacher at Yueqing Academy, devoted to the pursuit of truth

He closes his book. "Is there anything she's afraid of? If there is, tell me."

Theme: Bridge the Ravine Sea, unite East and West; oppose division and promote unity, until all are joined as one.