Debt Repayment (Matriarchy)

Blurb:

Xiao Lan was born into poverty and saddled with enormous debts. To pay them off, she had no choice but to work as a bodyguard for a wealthy family. The person she was assigned to protect was the Cen family's most treasured young master, Cen Zhu.

Cen Zhu had a lovely face, but his temper was so awful that no one could stand him.

He often played tricks on Xiao Lan and deliberately docked her wages. Xiao Lan would smile faintly, while inwardly murdering the ill-tempered young master hundreds of times over.

When you live under someone else's roof, you have to keep your head down. Xiao Lan nevertheless fulfilled her duties without complaint.

Until

The Cen family fell.

All the servants scattered like birds and beasts.

Everyone else grabbed gold and silver, jewelry, poetry, books, paintings, and calligraphy. Xiao Lan arrived too late and couldn't snatch a thing.

To keep herself from having worked for nothing for several months, she held a knife to the neck of the Cen family's most precious young master, the one they treated as if he might melt in their mouths or break in their hands, and demanded fiercely, "Where is the Cen family's most valuable treasure?!"

The young master Cen was so frightened his voice trembled. In a quavering voice, he said, "W-Wuwu... it's right here."

QAQ

Xiao Lan frowned and searched, only to meet the young master's tear-filled eyes as he looked up at her. "The Cen family's most valuable treasure... is me!"

Xiao Lan: "..."

After leaving the Cen family, Cen Zhu knelt and asked Xiao Lan, "Why did you save me?"

Xiao Lan pinched the young master's cheek hard and gritted her teeth. "To collect my debt."

"Since the Cen family can't repay what they owe, I'll take you in payment."

After Xiao Lan took Cen Zhu away from the Cen family, the two pretended to be spouses and concealed their identities. Who knew their act would become real? In a dim room, Xiao Lan pinned Cen Zhu down and asked him again and again, "Are you sure you want to be with me?"

"If you come with me, you'll sever all ties with the Cen family from now on."

The youth, pure as fresh snow, held back tears. "Y-Yes... I'm... sure I want to be with you."

Sadly, those vows came to nothing. In the end, Cen Zhu left without a word, leaving behind a table full of money, as if repaying his debt.

Xiao Lan's face remained expressionless as she set fire to the wedding clothes she had planned to give him. The moon hung high, and the crimson flames burned bright, splitting and crackling in the air like faded red silk. When the last glimmer of fire went out, Xiao Lan turned and left. The dark red ashes scattered everywhere on the night wind.

Love and vows had all gone up in flames.

From then on, she would act as if she had never met him.

Little liar.

Cen Zhu had imagined his wedding to Xiao Lan countless times: grand, passionate, unique, and with Xiao Lan.

But when someone knocked at the door, it was his elder sister, who had once cherished him dearly, standing before him. She threatened him with Xiao Lan's life and the safety of the whole village, demanding that he leave.

Unwilling to drag Xiao Lan into danger, Cen Zhu left on his own, leaving behind all his money.

After enduring countless hardships, the Cen family finally rose again. The moment the imperial decree arrived, Cen Zhu immediately set out at full speed to find Xiao Lan.

He ran for two months, crossing mountains and rivers and sleeping rough, living on the thought of how happy Xiao Lan would be when they reunited. But who could have known that when he finally saw her, all he would receive was her cool, distant gaze, as if they were strangers?

Cen Zhu's heart twisted with pain, and he felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

A little note:

1. Male pregnancy, and the male lead has a period.

2. The male lead is willful, sweet, cries easily, and loves to act spoiled.

3. Happy ending.

Please add my upcoming book to your collection!

Upcoming: "The Beloved of Every Heart Has a Special Place for Me" (Female-Dominant)

Blurb:

In her previous life, Hua Buxie was a workaholic who overworked herself, fell ill, and died young. In this life, she transmigrated into a prominent family with many siblings.

Eldest Sister: A high-ranking court official and the emperor's right-hand woman, and a sister-con.

Second Sister: A valiant young general, undefeated in battle, and a sister-con.

Third Brother: A favored noble consort at court, and a sister-con.

Hua Buxie: A person with no money, power, or job, a refined but useless little waste of space.

Wait! She does have money.

After discovering that her family's fortune was more than she could spend in ten lifetimes, and that all her siblings were incredibly capable, Hua Buxie slowly lay flat, her half-straightened back settling down again.

As a refined little waste of space, Hua Buxie's daily routine was to tend flowers and plants with her retired mother, lounge in a rocking chair and sun herself, drink goji berry tea for her health, and play with the cat, walk the dog, feed the birds, and go for strolls.

A life of freedom, just as she wanted.

Yue Wuque was widely acclaimed as the most beautiful man in the Jiang Kingdom. He was breathtakingly elegant, cool and aloof, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as arithmetic, and blessed with good fortune in business.

The nation's beloved heartthrob had so many admirers that they could form a line from the southernmost tip of Jiang to the north.

After he came of age, his family set out to find him a good wife, focusing on a group of young women, including the three unmarried Hua sisters. They even held a banquet to give them a chance to meet.

The eldest sister was graceful, charming, and gentle as jade. The second sister was spirited and imposing.

Hua Buxie... had only just woken up, so she lazily yawned and instinctively wrapped the pastries she thought tasted good in her handkerchief, planning to take them home for her parents to try.

Yue Wuque: "..."

Everyone, including the Hua family, assumed Yue Wuque would choose the eldest or second Hua daughter, or perhaps someone else. In any case, they never imagined he would choose Hua Buxie. The result left them utterly stunned.

Because the person Yue Wuque named as the one he absolutely had to marry was none other than Hua Buxie, the Hua family's famously useless, laid-back slacker.

A little scene:

The public outcry was so loud that people kept coming to angrily berate Hua Buxie, saying she wasn't good enough for Yue Wuque and must have bewitched him.

Ah... Hua Buxie, the one being pursued, felt a little conflicted. "Why don't you choose someone else?"

"I don't really mind. I'm just worried you'll be the one who suffers."

Yue Wuque, who had been cuddled up against her, picked up his sword and asked coldly, "Who was it?"

After that, no one ever again said Hua Buxie wasn't good enough for Yue Wuque.

Female lead: Not truly useless, but genuinely lazy. A secretly irresistible woman, with multiple male characters harboring one-sided crushes on her.

Male lead: Irresistible to everyone but a hopeless romantic, very good at making money, and has secretly loved the female lead for a long time.

Theme: Learn to hold on to what you love.