Synopsis
Li Lan Yin transmigrated.
She'd just closed her eyes for a quick nap at her office computer. When she opened them, she found she'd become the younger version of Chu Lan Yin, the villainous boss in Ren Xiaoyao, the martial arts MMORPG made by her company.
Chu Lan Yin was the daughter of General Chu, who had died unjustly, and one of the few surviving members of the nearly wiped-out Qingping Chu family. In the developers' eyes, she was a crucial main-story villain in Ren Xiaoyao. To players, she was one of the hardest bosses to defeat. To fan creators, she was the ultimate tragic beauty, perfect for pairing with all kinds of main-story characters.
At first, Li Lan Yin just wanted to live out Chu Lan Yin's life in peace, staying out of politics and away from the martial world until the day she could return to reality.
But the story events kept unfolding one after another. Assassins sent by the dog emperor chased her down, her enemies were always trying to kill her, and even the protagonist she'd once thought was nearly perfect by design stopped being righteous when faced with a choice.
Li Lan Yin: ...So this is how you want to play it?
Even amid towering waves and wildfires stretching for miles, she would break through every obstacle and carve out her own place in the world.
She wouldn't miss a single adventure, main quest, or chance to scavenge. She founded Wuxiang Mausoleum, making it one of the martial world's major sects before the protagonist did, restored the Chu family's honor, and killed every traitor and petty villain.
Ren Xiaoyao served its players and its protagonist. But Li Lan Yin eventually understood that the martial world belonged to everyone under heaven.
As she made her name across the martial world, punching the dog emperor and kicking Long Aotian, her adopted younger brother, who was every bit as formidable as she was, suddenly sidled up beside her like a hound that had caught the scent of prey. "Need a hand, Sis?"
Only then did she realize that there was more to the reason she'd come to this world, and that the bond between them had been fated across lifetimes.
*
When a game's setting becomes utterly unreasonable, the consciousness of the game world awakens, affecting the game's operation and course of development. People, however, dismiss it as an urban legend.
Huo Tian Xun woke from a nightmare for the umpteenth time. The wound that had once run through his chest was gone. This was his fourth rebirth.
He'd thought each life would be as dull and uneventful as the ones before, repeating endlessly, until he met Chu Lan Yin. She was the sister he hated with all his heart, yet she was powerful and beautiful, the only person who ever changed.
No matter how she changed, Huo Tian Xun knew she was still herself, the sun he'd been waiting for so long.
"I don't believe in gods or Buddhas. But you saved me from the hell of reincarnation, so I believe only in you."
Reader's Guide:
A free-spirited, beautiful, tragic older sister x a proud, aloof, devoted mad dog
★ 1v1, both characters' first relationship, happy ending
★ Leveling-up progression, satisfying wish fulfillment, a golden finger, and romance share equal focus
★ Set in a fictional world, so please don't overanalyze the historical details
★ Focuses on the main pairing. They aren't good people, so please don't judge them by modern morality. The characters' views do not represent the author's.
★ Wishing everyone a happy life and prosperity
--- Upcoming novel: Evil Purple Steals the Throne (Empress) ---
Young tyrant empress * Black-lotus power minister, older sister and dog, younger man
In the sixteenth year of Yongchun, Prince Li Ling, disguised as a man, was ordered to travel south to Guangzhou. Wei Changhong, the garrison commander, welcomed her warmly, even making his own son, Wei E'er, serve as her stepstool when she dismounted.
Only later did Li Ling learn that Wei E'er was the illegitimate son of Wei Zhi Yong, her mortal enemy and the current chancellor. Wei E'er, who'd suffered greatly, was no pushover. He tried to poison her and frame his adoptive father, but she caught him.
Li Ling had meant to use the incident to her advantage. But seeing Wei E'er's pitiful expression, she changed her mind: if she showed him a little kindness, he'd surely repay her tenfold someday. Then father and son could turn against each other, which would be truly satisfying.
Years later.
Wei Huai Shu, who had risen to the highest ranks of the court, knelt by her bed.
"Your Majesty has shown me such kindness that I have no way to repay you, except by giving you myself."
Li Ling: ?
Had she been too kind to him lately?
Back when Wei Huai Shu was still called Wei E'er, he met the most important person in his life. He knew she was deliberately taking revenge, and that she was cruel, capricious, and ruled by her moods, but he still chose to stay by her side.
He'd already decided: if he had to be someone's dog for the rest of his life, he'd be the best dog belonging to the best person.
But Li Ling returned to the capital without him, leaving him behind.
Wei Huai Shu spent six years making his way back to her, only to find her trapped in a perilous situation as the court seethed with intrigue.
It was all because she was a real princess disguised as a prince.
He knew she was cunning, cold, and cruel, no paragon of virtue. But he also knew she cared for her country and its people, and longed for peace and order.
He would become an ambitious schemer who seized power, all to fulfill her greatest wish and earn the admiring gaze she had once bestowed on him as a boy.
Reader Advisory:
1v1, fictional setting, happy ending
Theme: Human will can overcome fate
