You Want to Be a Savior Too?

[Early work, the outline is not very polished. I bow in apology...]

When Jiang Zhuo first met Si Ningyu, she wore a spotless white dress. Her features were as clear as moonlight atop a mountain, pure and innocent.

Though she was selfish, rigid, and unreasonable, she was only a little monster unfamiliar with the ways of the world. There was no harm in indulging her a little.

He was completely fooled by her appearance.

Later, amid a hail of bullets, he saw this supposedly "powerless" woman effortlessly overturn an entire armed convoy. Standing amid the ruins, she slowly wiped the blood from her fingertips and lowered her eyes to signal him. "Human, your promise."

Jiang Zhuo's breath caught. Oh... A long time ago, he had indeed promised her something, though back then they had only been using each other.

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten..."

For the first time, other emotions surged in Si Ningyu's eyes. "No. I want your promise that you won't die."

*Falling in love with you was inevitable. It was my destiny.

[The carefree, vengeful young master × the pure and innocent little goddess with overwhelming combat prowess]

[Rich young master × sweet, pure-hearted girl]

Jiang Zhuo's perspective:

At first: She's just a little monster. She likes to throw her strength around. There's no harm in indulging her a little.

In the middle: Why is she ignoring me again? Is it because I didn't bring her favorite cake from that shop?

Afterward: She's a liar! She doesn't want my money or my life. What does she want?

Later still: Great god, please tell me what I have to do to make her stay, to keep her by my side.

Please add my next book, "Life in the Streets of the Bianjing Marquis's Estate," to your reading list! Here's the blurb:

Everyday street life | Family matters | Food and daily life

In Bianjing, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, the Cui estate occupied half a street. Behind its vermilion gates and embroidered doors, the powerful came and went. The family was at the height of its glory.

Yuan Shu woke up as the most inconspicuous concubine-born daughter of the Cui family.

Her mother had been a maid raised to the status of concubine. Fortunately, she was clearheaded and understood the risks that came with wealth and power. She had taken Yuan Shu far from the center of power early on, settling in a tiny courtyard tucked away in the estate's most remote corner.

The courtyard was out of the way, but it had everything they needed.

In spring, they planted vegetables and made qingtuan. On summer nights, they chilled melons and fruit in well water. In autumn, they picked dates and made osmanthus cakes. In winter, they gathered around the stove to roast ciba.

Mother and daughter lived like ghosts in the estate. They only had to make a distant kowtow in the front hall during holidays, and Yuan Shu thought life could hardly be more carefree.

The only drawback was that they were desperately poor!

Their monthly allowance was skimmed off at every turn, leaving them with barely a few coins.

Even the most marginal nobody would eventually run into trouble. Without money to grease the wheels when that day came, life would be difficult.

Luckily, the bustling streets were just beyond the wall. Push open a side gate, and the splendor of Bianjing appeared before them. The pleasure quarters and theaters, restaurants and teahouses never closed, day or night. Food stalls lined the streets, while peddlers and traveling merchants filled the air with the warmth of everyday life.

Looking at their pitifully empty coffers, Yuan Shu saw the advantage of never going out: hardly anyone in the estate knew her. So she dressed herself up as a street girl and went out to earn money!

Sweet-and-sour radish, crisp and refreshing; scallion pancakes, fragrant, flaky, and filling; rich, red-braised meat; tender, silky lotus seed egg custard, sweet and mild...

Mother and daughter put their hearts into it together. Their little savings grew day by day, and life gradually improved.

But although the Cui estate offered shade, life in a grand household came with many rules. Their peaceful days would eventually be disrupted.

The Cui estate had four branches. Each showed the others respect on the surface, while quietly competing beneath it. The two young masters were good-for-nothings, and the four young ladies each had their own constraints. Marriage troubles threw the household into chaos.

There were social obligations everywhere, holiday gifts and banquets, and the polished courtesies required when dealing with officials' families. None could be neglected.

The servants were no more peaceful. They fought over easy and difficult jobs, generous and meager rewards, and the length of their masters' favor.

Yuan Shu found all this nonsense terribly troublesome. She only wanted to tend her little stove and live a good life, far from all the drama.

"We watch him build his red mansion, watch him host his grand banquets, then watch his mansion collapse."

In the long streets of the city, amid the bustle of everyday life, there was room for a thousand ways to live.

Fortunately, they had all taken their fates into their own hands.

[In short, this is a story about the social obligations and everyday street life of an aristocratic household, about family matters, and about a family going from dazzling prosperity to decline and ruin...]

[But! A blessing in disguise, and overall, it has a happy ending!]

Reading guide:

1. There is an official pairing, and the romance develops later on. Street life + food + business. Set in an alternate Northern Song, so please note that it is fictionalized, and some details may not be historically accurate. Please don't scrutinize it too closely.

2. A light ensemble cast, with no typical inner-residence scheming. A cozy story.

3. All four young ladies mentioned in the blurb will have happy endings.

Theme: See you again, young archer, drawing your bow to its fullest. Fear neither love nor the moonlight.