[Marriage First, Love Later | The Second Male Lead Chases Her in Vain and Suffers for It]
1.
When Chao Yun was four, she suddenly became an orphan. Taking pity on her for having no one to rely on, Old General Lu brought little Chao Yun into his home to raise her.
The third young master, Lu Jin, was handsome, and even at a young age he already had a dazzling presence. He chased off the people who bullied little Chao Yun, then, seeing how pitiful she looked, declared grandly, "From now on, stick with me. I'll protect you!"
For those words, over the next dozen years, Chao Yun braved the blazing sun and slogged through the rain with him, quietly giving him her heart.
Then an unexpected crisis struck, and the Lu family decided to form a marriage alliance with a family of scholars to resolve their urgent troubles.
The Lu family had daughters of their own, so Chao Yun never imagined the marriage would fall to her.
She found Lu Jin, looked at him, and asked, "Am I to marry him?"
"Young Master Shen is a promising young man, and the Shen family has no other son. It's a good match."
"All right, I understand. Chao Yun thanks you, Third Brother, for protecting me all these twelve years."
On Chao Yun's wedding night, Third Young Master Lu gazed toward the Shen residence, memories of the twelve years they had spent together flashing before his eyes. An indescribable restlessness and tightness filled his heart.
For a moment, a reckless thought sprang into his mind: to snatch A Yun back. He closed his eyes, gulped down a mouthful of wine, picked up his sword, and practiced until he was utterly exhausted.
That night, he drank alone beneath the covered walkway, sitting there until dawn.
After that, every so often, he would casually call out to the person beside him, "A Yun."
When no answer came for a long while, he would look up and only then realize that she was no longer by his side.
At a banquet, he watched coldly as Shen Mu and Chao Yun walked together, an invisible string in his mind slowly tightening to its limit.
The moment he heard someone call her "Madam Shen," that string snapped under the strain. His blood boiled and roared, and he let the reckless thought that had surfaced time and again, only to be suppressed, spread like wildfire, burning away every last trace of his reason.
2.
"A Yun, we've been together for twelve years. How can you point a blade at me for the sake of an outsider?"
"He's my husband. My parents died when I was young, so he is the closest person I have in this world. If we're being precise, you're the outsider between us."
"If you want to kill my husband, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"
3.
Shen Mu fell in love with a woman who already had someone in her heart. He silently watched over her and never disturbed her.
At the time, he had no idea that one day the moon he gazed at from afar would fall into his arms.
Tips: Screenshot saved on 2023.8.31. The protagonist names were picked on a whim and may change.
Theme: There is no greater fortune in this world than having all your wishes come true.
