After My Childhood Friend Became My Husband

[Charming little sunshine x fatherly top scholar, six-year age gap]

A spring day in the back garden of the Meng residence.

A gentle breeze carried a young woman's laughter to him. Cui Xintang looked toward the sound and asked, "Has Yuanyuan's marriage been arranged?"

"Not yet," Meng Yu said. "But shouldn't you be getting married too?"

Cui Xintang paused. "Hmm?"

Meng Yu laughed. "You have to marry someone, don't you? What do you think of my little sister?"

Cui Xintang only smiled without answering.

Meng Yu waved a hand. "Forget it."

Cui Xintang said, "Why forget it? Didn't you say I have to marry someone? Why not marry someone I know well? Then I can give my mother an answer too."

Meng Yuanxiao was the apple of the Meng family's eye. She had bright eyes, pearly teeth, and skin as fair as snow. Her parents loved her, and her elder brother and sister-in-law doted on her.

But lately, this carefree young woman had something on her mind.

Lu Erlang, the man she liked, was about to get engaged to someone else.

One day, her mother called her over. "Yuanyuan, do you like your Brother Tang?"

Meng Yuanxiao blinked. "Of course! Brother Tang is the best."

He protected her, helped her with her homework, and brought her tasty treats and fun things.

"Then would you be willing to marry him?"

Meng Yuanxiao froze. If it had been anyone else, she would have refused outright, but she couldn't bear to refuse Brother Tang.

Perhaps out of spite, she somehow found herself agreeing.

But after they married, Meng Yuanxiao discovered that Brother Tang, who was dignified and radiant in public, like snow on a mountain peak, seemed like a different person around her.

He was the most petty man alive, and he especially loved badmouthing Lu Erlang.

Meng Yuanxiao: ???

At nineteen, Cui Xintang passed the imperial examinations and became the youngest top scholar of the dynasty.

His friend Meng Yu had a younger sister whose childhood nickname was Yuanyuan. She was six years younger than him. Cui Xintang had no younger sister of his own, so he took special care of her.

The little girl was pretty, adorable, lively, and clever. He often called her over to tease her and cheer her up. It was quite fun.

Three years after breaking off his engagement, he had no intention of marrying.

But the day he learned that the Meng family was arranging a marriage for Yuanyuan, he suddenly felt moved. Since Yuanyuan was going to marry someone, why couldn't she marry him?

Cui Xintang had reasons he couldn't tell anyone for marrying Yuanyuan. He thought the rest was just a sudden whim.

Only later did he realize that there had been signs all along that he wanted to marry Yuanyuan.

Otherwise, why would he use the very tactics he hated most to turn Meng Yu against Lu Erlang, and repeatedly snuff out Yuanyuan's feelings for Lu Erlang?

He had even gradually developed the delusion that Yuanyuan should never leave him again.

That day, at a hot spring villa outside the capital, Cui Xintang lifted her from the bath and pinned her against the window.

Steam filled the bathroom. Meng Yuanxiao's cheeks were flushed, her hair damp with sweat.

The hurried footsteps outside stopped. The maid Hong Shao knocked on the door. "Reporting to the young master, Second Young Master Lu says you left your jade pendant at the Lu family's villa. He's brought it back himself and is waiting outside the courtyard."

"Is that so?" Cui Xintang replied unhurriedly.

Then he smiled at the woman in his arms and pecked her on the lips. "Yuanyuan still hasn't told me why she liked Lu Erlang back then."

Meng Yuanxiao bit her lip tightly, her tearful almond eyes glaring at him. She refused to say a word.

Cui Xintang was in no hurry. His phoenix eyes smiled at the woman in his arms as he curled his lips and slowly tormented her.

Unable to bear it any longer, Meng Yuanxiao buried her face in his shoulder and whimpered in a small, aggrieved voice. "Because... Lu Erlang looks like you, Brother Tang."

Cui Xintang froze, then suddenly laughed.

#A newlywed couple learning to get along and growing as individuals#

Both leads are virgins. Happy ending.

Content warnings:

1. The male lead was once engaged. Do not read if this bothers you.

2. The male lead is not perfect. He only cares for the heroine; he can use anyone else whenever it suits him.

3. The male lead badmouths other people in front of the heroine. Whoever she gets close to, he finds fault with.

The next book will be Lotus Blossoms Folded (Both Leads Reborn). If you're interested, please add it to your library. Blurb:

Song Yunfu knew Zhao Cheng hated her. He hated her so much that, in order to avoid her, the former wastrel suddenly applied himself to his studies and passed the imperial examinations.

By then, they had been married for over a year, and Song Yunfu had just given birth to a daughter.

When their daughter turned one, Zhao Cheng requested a post outside the capital.

Song Yunfu didn't care. After all, she didn't have much affection for him either.

She had originally wanted to marry Zhao Cheng's elder brother, the eldest son of the Zhao family, Zhao Xun.

By a twist of fate, she had schemed against the wrong person and ended up marrying Zhao Cheng.

If she hadn't schemed against him, Zhao Cheng would have married his childhood sweetheart.

When they argued, Song Yunfu most often said, "You're useless. You can't compare to your elder brother in any way!"

Zhao Cheng would sneer, "And what makes you any better? You're not even worth half a strand of her hair."

Since they couldn't stand each other, when Zhao Cheng asked before leaving if she would come with him, Song Yunfu readily declined, unconcerned. "Nannan is still little and can't be without me. Go on ahead, dear husband."

That day, Zhao Cheng stared at her coldly for a long time, then turned and left.

That night, while Song Yunfu slept, someone pressed down heavily on her.

Reeking of alcohol, Zhao Cheng bit her earlobe and sneered, "I was the one who jumped into the lake to save you back then. Yun Niang, you're very upset about that, aren't you?"

Drunk and out of his mind, he pinned her down and tormented her all night.

Because he hated her, Zhao Cheng spent a year and a half away from the capital without sending her a single word.

He didn't even come back to see her when she was gravely ill.

By the way, the place where he was posted was also where Song Yunfu's birth mother had remarried.

*

When Song Yunfu opened her eyes again, she had returned to six months earlier.

She was nineteen, and her daughter Nannan had just celebrated her second birthday.

A few days earlier, she had caught a chill while tending to her mother-in-law, and she had been ill for several days without improving.

In her previous life, she had managed the household while sick, and had to deal carefully with the provocations of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Exhausted in body and mind, she fell gravely ill.

Meanwhile, she heard that her husband, Zhao Cheng, already had someone new at his side to care for him.

Reborn, Song Yunfu naturally treasured her life.

She used her illness as an excuse to hand back her household duties. Just as she was planning to ask for a divorce, Zhao Cheng, who had ignored her completely, suddenly sent her a letter.

He addressed it, "My wife Yunfu," said that Nannan had turned two, and asked when she would bring Nannan to join him.

Song Yunfu: ???

Reader's notes:

1. Both leads are virgins. Happy ending.

2. The blurb is from the heroine's perspective; there were misunderstandings in her previous life.

Message: Never lose yourself.