Thornfire

The upcoming novel "Fallen Love" is at the end. Please add it to your collection.

Please read the content warnings before starting this novel.

I.

Xu Chengyi first met Yao Xin on a summer night. At their first meeting, she helped him twice.

He had gotten into trouble while working part-time at a club to put himself through school. Everyone was giving him a hard time, and he was in a difficult position.

When the woman moved closer, he instinctively took a step back. Then he met her bright yet indifferent eyes.

She gave a soft laugh and asked, "What? Do I smell strongly of alcohol?"

He stammered, unable to speak, and didn't dare look up.

Yao Xin handed him a drink and said softly, "When someone gives you a way out, learn to take it. Otherwise, no one can help you."

*

When he was dragged to the police station, Xu Chengyi was at his wit's end. He figured no one would be willing to bail him out.

Yao Xin helped him for the second time, and even thoughtfully drove him home.

On the way, the woman leaned against the back seat and said coolly,

"Don't work at the Hyatt. The people who go there are no good."

As if possessed, he couldn't help asking, "Are you one of them, too?"

"Mm. I am."

Later, Xu Chengyi had to admit that Yao Xin was exactly what she had said: a thoroughly "bad person."

She could feign deep affection and say sweet, passionate things like, "I like you. Why don't you stay by my side?"

She could also watch him kneel on the ground without the slightest attempt to hide her scorn, saying, "I just love watching you come to me for help when you've run out of options."

The forever Xu Chengyi had imagined was, to Yao Xin, just a game,

one where she held all the power and could declare it over whenever she pleased.

*

When they met again, Xu Chengyi thought he ought to hate her. Only belatedly did he realize that perhaps he didn't hate her quite so much.

There were too many people around Yao Xin. It seemed she loved each one, yet somehow loved none of them.

She was like a flame, drawing countless moths to their deaths until they were reduced to ashes...

And Xu Chengyi was no more than one of those many moths.

He knew the brambles were thick, yet willingly charged in until he was battered and bleeding.

He knew the flames were raging, yet only wanted to get one second closer.

For his entire life, all Xu Chengyi could do was beg for Yao Xin's love. He had no other choice.

II.

Yao Xin had been blessed with an exceptionally smooth life.

She was a born heiress, the sole successor, and a ruthless operator.

One second she could be smiling and laughing; the next, she could leave someone with nowhere to turn.

Almost everyone who saw her fell into one of two extremes:

Some loved her to the depths of their souls and willingly offered her their whole hearts;

others hated her to the bone, resenting her for having everything.

She never claimed to be a good person. She loved only whom she loved, and used whoever she needed.

She didn't even need to make up false lies. She only had to draw a boundary,

and people would willingly rush forward, trapping themselves in their own webs.

Content warnings (read before starting):

* The female lead is not a virgin, while the male lead is. This also applies to all male supporting characters romantically involved with the female lead. Any controversial characters will be explained from their perspectives in the bonus chapters. This is not a case of misleading readers with a false premise.

* The female lead is a player who sleeps around without getting emotionally involved. She is cold-blooded and heartless, and only develops the slightest feelings later on. Please don't read if that bothers you.

* The female lead is stronger than the men, and always will be. Even when a man grows stronger, she will only grow stronger still. There is no groveling arc, and the female lead always remains above the men.

* The male characters involved with the female lead have a variety of personalities. The blurb focuses on the one who appears and features most prominently.

* The men get put through the wringer in all sorts of ways. If you feel sorry for them or want to curse out the female lead, please stay away.

* This novel contains planted clues and foreshadowing, all of which will be explained. Some characters also undergo twists in their storylines and personalities, so don't take things out of context or imagine content warnings that aren't there.

The cover was made using commercially licensed assets.

Blurb screenshotted on 2023-08-14.

The blurb for an upcoming novel of a similar type is below. It has ties to this novel, with the same taste and the same recipe. It's just what you need.

---Next up: Please add the similar novel "Fallen Love" to your collection. Cuties, give it a click!

Blurb:

Cold-blooded, heartless heiress x fallen-from-grace paragon

The female lead is not a virgin; the male lead gets mercilessly tortured

I.

Li Congjing had spent his whole life restraining himself and observing propriety.

The one time he lost control, he paid a terrible price.

To atone for his sin, he willingly married into the Yu family to care for Yu Sijin, whose legs were paralyzed.

She hit him, berated him, said the cruelest things, and trampled on his fragile self-respect.

But Li Congjing knew he deserved it.

He owed her, and was destined to spend his whole life making amends.

Their marriage began as a transaction, a way to make up for the past.

But as they spent more time together, Li Congjing still fell in love with her.

The day his wife finally looked at him with favor, he was like a child given candy,

so happy he couldn't hide it.

Li Congjing thought that though their beginning had been a mistake, he could nurture their relationship with all his heart and bring it to a happy conclusion.

It wasn't until the Li Group fell that he realized his wife had never loved him.

Their picture-perfect marriage and gentle words had all been false affection.

When Yu Sijin pushed the divorce papers in front of him,

Li Congjing knew he had no choice.

He had been a pawn in this deception from the very beginning.

His past anxieties and guilt had all become a joke.

The woman spoke gently into the phone, then turned to him with an icy expression.

"Sign it. Otherwise, you won't even be able to keep the Li family estate."

Li Congjing knew the person on the other end of the call was his beloved younger cousin.

He gripped the pen in his hand, but still couldn't bring himself to sign.

"You never loved me, did you? Yu Sijin, you never loved me!"

He roared like a madman, desperately wanting an explanation.

But the woman remained cool and indifferent, as though she were watching a farce.

II.

The Li family fell, and the Yu family became the dominant power.

Everyone said the Yu family's eldest daughter was iron-willed and showed no mercy,

even to her husband's family.

But some also said she still honored the bond of marriage,

since she kept the now-mad young master of the Li family in her home,

fulfilling at least some of the ties they had once shared as husband and wife.

It was a pity, though. Li Congjing had once been so refined and elegant,

and had caught the eye of countless young women in Yize.

Now, he looked barely human, and it was hard not to feel sorry for him.

At first, Yu Sijin was convinced Li Congjing was only pretending to be mad.

She tried every means of humiliating him, but all she got in return was the man's foolish laughter and mad muttering.

As time went on, she grew tired of it.

She kept him by her side as if he were just a dog.

Night fell.

The Yu family's lights went out, and silence spread everywhere.

The bedroom door slowly opened.

The man stood by the bed, his gaze clear. He looked nothing like the idiot the world believed him to be.

He slowly crouched down,

ignoring the naked man on the other side of the bed,

and caressed the woman's smooth cheek, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I told you I'd stay by your side forever."

Even if it had to be this way, even if you didn't need me.

He was the one who had willingly degraded himself. He knew it was a trap, yet refused to turn back.

He had woven a net out of his true feelings, drawing in Yu Sijin's false affection as well,

then wrapped himself in it, unwilling to wake up.

The faint sound of the door closing grew enormous in the darkness.

The woman slowly opened her eyes,

her expression playful.

Look.

The show is about to begin again.

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Theme: Love is a game of strategy, with nothing to lose.