I Lost My Memory After Marrying the Tyrant as a Substitute

Xi Rui became her young mistress's replacement bride.

She was knocked unconscious and stuffed into the bridal sedan, offered up as tribute to a tyrant.

When she opened her eyes again, she had lost her memory. All she had with her was a diary.

The diary recorded in detail how deeply the tyrant Pei Yan loved her, and how he couldn't free himself from his love for her.

But because of their difference in status, she had fled on their wedding night.

Xi Rui closed the diary. Had she really been the tyrant's heartless ex, the woman he could never forget?!

That mad tyrant who murdered his father and brother, drank blood and devoured flesh, and left restless ghosts beneath the palace walls?

Wouldn't the tyrant hate her for breaking his heart and chop her into a thousand pieces?

To survive, Shen Xi Rui did her best to please Pei Yan and prove her loyalty.

Before the imperial bed, she shut her eyes and threw herself into his black dragon robe. "Your Majesty, don't worry. This time, I won't abandon you!"

Pei Yan frowned, removed the white jade saber from his waist, and said in a low voice, "Insolent."

She rose onto her toes and pecked his icy lips, mumbling, "Are you satisfied now, Your Majesty? Honestly."

"?"

*

Later, a pale pink figure could often be seen in the imperial study.

"Does your back hurt, Your Majesty?"

"Would you like to try the osmanthus cakes I made, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty..."

The memorials snapped shut. Pei Yan pressed Shen Xi Rui against the imperial desk. "Do you truly think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Shen Xi Rui lowered her eyes bashfully, her voice soft and sweet. "Your Majesty can't bear to."

"..."

*

It wasn't until her memory returned that Shen Xi Rui learned the so-called diary was just a story her friend had made up about her.

She wanted to bang her head against a block of tofu and die!

So, under cover of darkness, she planned to climb over the palace wall and escape.

But someone yanked her into his arms. With a faintly amused smile, he asked, "You provoke me and then run?"

Oh no. She'd run into a madman.

#A field guide to soothing a madman#

#Virgin leads, one couple, happy ending#

#A lightly fictionalized historical setting, breezy and sweet#

#Oblivious cutie x celibate madman#

*

Please add my upcoming novel, Delayed Reaction, to your reading list (*^ω^*)

Song Shilan is an entertainment-industry top-tier star: elegant and self-possessed, with an unfathomably powerful family background. People only know that he has connections in the capital's inner circle, gets a steady stream of film roles, and dominates both awards and box office.

Li Zhi is youthful and gorgeous, popular and always in the headlines, but still waiting for her big break. Recently, a dating scandal has left her with a negative public image.

The two are worlds apart.

No one would ever connect them.

But sharp-eyed netizens heard a man's voice in one of Li Zhi's promotional photos, where the live photo feature had accidentally been left on:

"You've taken enough. Come here and keep kissing me."

That night, the trending lists on all the major sites were completely taken over, because the voice seemed to belong to Song Shilan, whose IP address matched hers.

The voice was lazy and low, like rich red wine. It could only be him.

As soon as Weibo managed to get its crashed servers working again, Song Shilan logged on and posted:

"Let me clarify: we're not dating. I'm the one-sided lovesick idiot begging her to take me back."

Server: ...Crashes again.

-

Two years ago, Li Zhi was a novice production assistant, scolded by the director until her eyes turned red. Song Shilan handed her a tissue.

At the time, he was just an extra.

But their romance quickly became all-consuming.

They squeezed into the same rented apartment. During their hardest days, all they could afford was one bowl of noodles to share, and he gave her the soft-boiled egg.

Until reality crushed that love. Li Zhi accidentally discovered his true identity: he was a young master from the capital's inner circle, powerful enough to turn the tides with a flick of his hand.

The hardships they'd endured and the dreams they'd shared became thorns in her heart.

She asked to break up, and he didn't try to stop her.

Much later, Li Zhi learned that Song Shilan was merely an illegitimate son whom his family didn't value.

That night, he went straight back to the family home and slammed a renunciation of inheritance onto the table.

He would build the means to protect her openly and honorably, then go find her.

-

A double take is a common comedic device: after a brief delay, someone realizes more fully what something means.

Just like their delayed reaction...

Their time together passed so quickly that, in a moment of distraction, they realized they could no longer live without each other.

Tips:

1. Both leads are each other's first love and first sexual partner.

2. They reunite after a breakup, with occasional flashbacks to their time in the rented apartment.

Theme: Mistakenly thinking it was the wrong match, they found their perfect partner.