The Tang Dynasty Lychee Orchard

[My next novel, "Moth to the Flame," is about an old flame rekindled. The blurb is below. Please add it to your favorites!]

Blurb for this novel: Liu Yuzhan has a dream. In it, a poor girl named Zhan Niang, who shares her name, has just one wish: to meet her betrothed cousin, whom she's never seen. But she dies on the road to Chang'an before she can meet him.

When Liu Yuzhan wakes, she's in the Tang dynasty.

Liu Yuzhan brushes the dust off herself. "Well, since I'm here, Zhan Niang, I'll carry your wish and see this prosperous Chang'an through your eyes." They'll see it together.

When Liu Yuzhan first enters the Luo residence, everyone there treats her with indifference.

Her cousin Luo Heng thinks this merchant's daughter is vulgar and obsessed with money. He tells Liu Yuzhan, "A scholar does not marry a merchant. Don't indulge in wishful thinking."

Later, they both become engaged to other people. She tells him, "I haven't congratulated you yet, Cousin. A wedding night and a top score in the imperial exams: you've got the best of both worlds. I'm getting married too."

On her wedding night, Liu Yuzhan opens her round fan and sees Luo Heng dressed in his wedding robes.

Luo Heng coaxes her patiently. "I won't stop you from doing business, and I won't stop you from appearing in public. I can even promise that if you occasionally sleep in until late morning, my mother won't give you a hard time. And my official rank is higher than his, so I'm more than capable of protecting you. You should marry me instead of him."

Liu Yuzhan nods in agreement. She only wants to make money and survive in Chang'an. She doesn't care who her husband is.

Only later does she realize she's married a madman.

*

A lychee dessert shop suddenly opens on a Chang'an street. A few days later, a lychee wine shop opens at the end of the street, drawing many nobles and officials who can't bear to leave.

Soon the shops are packed, with every seat occupied. When people ask Liu Yuzhan how she made it in business, she says, "Get yourself a lychee orchard, and the money will roll in."

Fake family ties | Rivalry between men | Household intrigue | Marriage before love | Taking by force | The male lead falls first

A sunny girl devoted to her career x a proud, aloof nobleman with a hidden dark side

○ The heroine is not a virgin, the hero is. HE

○ A fictionalized Tang dynasty setting. Please don't nitpick the details.

○ The heroine's career takes off without a hitch. She builds it bigger and better.

○ Both the hero and the second male lead are deeply devoted to the heroine and love her desperately.

○ As the story progresses, Zhan Niang and the heroine become one and the same, sharing one consciousness.

--- Blurb for "Moth to the Flame" ---

Xu Yantang has two secrets:

1. The person she has a crush on is Nie Junmo.

2. Nie Junmo is dating her good friend Ruan Yu, but Ruan Yu doesn't like him.

By chance, Nie Junmo gets drunk after a breakup, and Xu Yantang realizes her opportunity has arrived. She answers a call that wasn't meant for her, finds the bar where he's drinking, then crouches down and gazes into his bright eyes as if she can see the stars.

She says, "I like you. Will you be with me?"

Everyone calls Xu Yantang a thief. They say she took advantage of the situation and wormed her way in to become Nie Junmo's girlfriend. She doesn't care, as long as she gets what she wants.

Their relationship ends just as everyone expected: without ever going anywhere.

-

After starting work, Xu Yantang can't stand her mother's controlling ways, so she rents her good friend Ruan Yu's apartment. On her second morning there, she gets out of bed in her pajamas and opens the door to find Nie Junmo in a suit. She's a mess, while he looks sharp and self-assured.

The man speaks up. "What, don't recognize your client anymore? Also, this is my apartment."

Xu Yantang's original plan was to have an intense, passionate romance with Nie Junmo, and nothing more than a romance. Anything beyond that wasn't part of her plan.

#Romance turns into a friends-with-benefits arrangement, then becomes official

A cool-headed, courageous voice actress x a refined, narcissistic CEO

○ One-on-one, HE, both leads are virgins

○ The heroine has a crush on him. The first half is set at school, the second in the city.

○ A second-chance romance from the heroine's perspective, and a long-planned pursuit from the hero's.

○ The heroine and the second female lead remain close friends. They never fall out.

○ The hero and the second female lead only have a brief relationship in name. No hand-holding, no hugs, no kissing, nothing at all.

○ The heroine never interferes in anyone's relationship. She only confesses after the hero and second female lead have broken up and she's confirmed the second female lead doesn't like him.

Theme: Eating more sweets can put you in a better mood