I Lost My Memory Before the Divorce

[A spoiled, willful princess x a cold, world-weary top scholar]

Princess Chang Le, Xiao Ying, has been cherished and pampered since childhood.

The day she first saw Shen Que by the banks of Qujiang Pool, beneath the graceful spring willows, the brilliance of all a hundred-plus successful candidates combined couldn't match that of the top scholar.

She loved handsome things, so she chose him to be her prince consort. But just six months later, their incompatible temperaments had brought them to the point where they couldn't stand the sight of each other.

She was plotting to divorce him when, by a twist of fate, she fell into a deep sleep for three days. Upon waking, she mistook the two of them for a married couple from a romance she'd recently read.

The kind who were head over heels and utterly devoted to each other.

Hearing that he was staying in the front courtyard, she stomped after him. "We're married, so why are we living apart? How is that any different from being a widow in all but name?"

"This I can tolerate, but I absolutely will not!"

The new top scholar, Shen Que, is brilliant, elegant, and charming.

Those who spend time with him feel as if they're basking in a spring breeze, but no one knows that beneath his moonlike grace lies a cold and indifferent heart.

He is sick of this vulgar world of fame and fortune, yet has no choice but to navigate it. Just as everyone taught him, he tirelessly schemes and strives, all to clear his family's name.

He despises himself. Simply "living" each day is already exhausting.

Until one day, a girl who has always been picky and arrogant ignores the mess around them, hugs him tight, and tells him, "You're wonderful. I love you."

He despises romance and has suppressed his desires.

But she kisses him and says, "Love isn't lust."

[Bonus Scene]

Shen Que has always known that Xiao Ying's mind was simply addled by a fever. And whether or not she recovers makes no difference to him.

She's so delicate, so naive and shallow.

Of course he couldn't possibly like her.

Even if he showed her tenderness for a moment, it would only be an act, or a way to use her.

On their first night sharing a bed, he deliberately kept his distance, but she treated him like a human hot-water bottle. In the middle of the night, a pair of jade-white arms wrapped tightly around him.

Shen Que opened his eyes impassively and didn't sleep a wink.

The next day, he changed into a thicker silk sleeping robe.

Xiao Ying came out of the bathhouse and saw the top scholar dressed in a Taoist robe, which made his jade-like features look even more striking. Pleased, she leaned in and planted a loud kiss on him, putting on a flirtatious air. "Where did this handsome little Taoist come from?"

Shen Que: "..."

Winter gave way to spring, and the warming sun roused the sleeping insects. Shen Que bathed early that morning and changed into the sleeping robe Xiao Ying had praised the day before, but she still hadn't arrived.

He went toward the adjoining room and saw Xiao Ying under the lamplight, her expression shifting as she clutched the divorce papers he had hidden away earlier.

In that instant, his usually still heart plunged into an abyss.

Reader's guide:

1. A fake cool guy x a straightforward girl. First love, one couple throughout, happy ending.

2. At heart, this is a romance, not a typical groveling-after-the-breakup story. Includes a supporting character who transmigrates.

Completed works: Spring Comes in the Season of Orioles and Exclusive Spring Boudoir, sweet historical romances for your enjoyment.

Theme: A battered and beleaguered body, yet an unmatched and noble spirit.