Bruises and Black Calla Lilies

-

My name is Xia Ting, and I have a limp.

At four years old, boiling water ruined my leg and ruined my life.

My disability made me feel inferior. All I could do was study as hard as I could,

but I still couldn’t escape the whispers and strange looks.

Then I met Cheng Qingye.

He couldn’t stand the people who bullied me and would always protect me, pretending it was nothing.

But the truth was, I had a crush on someone else. His name was Shen Jiaheng.

Shen Jiaheng got good grades and was always polite to others. I thought he’d be different from the people who bullied me.

Until one day, I heard him say to someone else with my own ears:

“You mean Xia Ting? She is pretty, I’ll give her that, but it’s a shame she’s a cripple. Having someone like that fall for me is the worst luck I’ve ever had.”

I held back my tears and turned to leave, only to see Cheng Qingye waiting for me at the door.

He leaned lazily against the railing, his uniform collar blown open by the wind.

His gaze was cold, like snow that hadn’t melted in early spring, and he wore a carefree, defiant expression.

I don’t know what came over me, but I started crying, rose onto my toes, and kissed him.

I said, “Cheng Qingye, I like you.

Will you protect me?”

Cheng Qingye kept his face cold and said nothing.

But for the first time, I saw him blush beneath that icy expression.

Later, that lie fell apart on its own.

“Playing me?”

Cheng Qingye pinned me against the wall, his eyes red.

He held me down with a fierce grip and said in a hoarse voice:

“Listen carefully, Xia Ting. You’re mine. Whether you like it or not isn’t up to you.”

*

“My dear black lily, I accept your pride, your curse.

I am willing to offer you my body, my soul.”

Cheng Qingye

· Original blurb written 2024.1.7, revised version 2025.8.20

· Main story told in third person

· Bad student x good student / both each other’s first love

· Healing story / bittersweet and sweet / redemption / tragic beauty

[Next book: Drenched in the Foggy Night. Please add it to your favorites!]

· Wild, reckless, mad-dog younger brother vs gloomy, refined, depraved older brother

· Two brothers vying for one girl | thrilling | mild coercion | substitute | rivals in love

Blurb:

The day Xi Lian died, Wen Yue cried all day at his funeral.

Later, on a misty, drizzly day, a face strikingly similar to his unexpectedly appeared in her tear-filled eyes.

The boy stood in the middle of the fog, wearing a loose black hoodie. His features, however, were sharp and brazen.

She stood frozen in place, staring straight at him for a long time.

In the swirling mist, he lazily raised his eyes and gave her a cool glance.

His voice was low and hoarse. “Have you looked enough?”

His gaze was full of wicked interest, both suggestive and dangerous.

Wen Yue couldn’t help tearing up. She was only looking through him at someone else.

-

After learning that Tan Si was Xi Lian’s younger brother,

Wen Yue, the well-behaved girl, found herself having improper thoughts about Tan Si for the first time.

She thought that Tan Si was, in a way, a new life for Xi Lian.

Maybe she could try to find the dead Xi Lian again in his body.

-

Later, in the pitch-dark nights, their whispers were warm, their desire entwined.

The hunter instead fell into the trap set by his prey.

Lost in passion, she rose onto her toes, trembling as she kissed him through her tears.

He pressed into her, eyes half closed, receiving each soft touch of her lips.

Then, at the worst possible moment, a call from an unknown number shattered their intimacy.

“Wen Yue, it’s me. Xi Lian.”

Before Wen Yue could react, the phone was snatched away.

In the dark, Tan Si’s gaze roamed over her, dangerous, though his tone remained flippant. “How unfortunate. She’s already asleep.”

There was a long silence on the other end, then a somewhat helpless retort.

“...She loves me.”

Tan Si gave a disdainful scoff and bent down to press a kiss to her.

“But I’m the one who makes her shiver, tremble, and blush.”

-

·Wild, reckless younger brother x gentle, resilient woman x gloomy, twisted man

·Two brothers vying for one girl | thrilling | extreme themes | read with caution

·Substitute | faked death | living under one roof | rivals in love

·Primarily urban setting | university campus

·Xi Lian appeared in Chapter 82 of another book in my collection, Wet Butterflies~

·Blurb dated 2024.7.7, screenshot saved as proof

·Revised version dated 1.21, proof saved

·See Chapter 1 for detailed content warnings

Theme: Say no to bullying