How Could My Nemesis Possibly Like Me?

[After being discharged from the hospital in July, my health still wasn't very good, and I couldn't get into a good rhythm with writing. I love this novel's female lead and spent a lot of time preparing the outline. I also revised the main text again and again, but I was never satisfied with what I wrote, which put me under a lot of mental pressure. I'm worried this could lead to other health problems, so I'm going to take a break and recover.]

[I'm truly sorry to everyone reading. I wish you all good health and that everything goes smoothly.]

Grumpy cat x smiling schemer | frail fake ray of sunshine x sweet, black-hearted caretaker

Xie Ruhui was born into the Xie clan of Chen Commandery. As a youth, she studied under a great Confucian scholar. Though wild and unconventional in her conduct, she was highly talented and learned, and had long enjoyed a great reputation.

In the twelfth year of Xinghe, at the age of twenty-six, Xie Ruhui died in a winter blaze after her rebellion failed.

Given another life, Xie Ruhui learned from her painful experience and devised three plans to stay alive:

First, dump her cold, heartless fiance, a political machine in human form.

Second, take out the deranged princess who was inexplicably obsessed with killing her.

And, most important of all, deal with the culprit who had driven her to rebellion: her sworn enemy and fellow disciple, Xun Yin.

On the surface, Xun Yin was modest and courteous, a model of self-restraint and propriety. In truth, he was treacherous to the core, a wolf among men.

As an enemy, he was a formidable nuisance. As a friend, though, he could make a pretty good dog.

Xie Ruhui decided to egg Xun Yin on to sic him on the deranged princess.

Three months after being reborn, she diligently reviewed the past and meticulously plotted her moves. Everything seemed to be unfolding as expected.

But then, for no apparent reason, the engagement that had entangled her for years in her previous life suddenly took an unexpected turn.

Xun Yin had come with her worthless fiance to break off the engagement.

*

From that point on, things kept veering off course.

Xie Ruhui felt more and more that something was wrong.

That feeling peaked when Xie Ruhui received Xun Yin's ambiguous advances, which came this close to breaking through the last layer of pretense.

With a grave expression, she pulled Xun Yin aside for a serious face-to-face talk.

“Xun Yin, you can't be this immoral.”

“?”

“I can accept you swindling me out of money or seducing me, but pretending to have feelings for me is going too far.”

“??”

“If you need to use me for something, just be honest. I'll think it over.”

“???”

Xie Ruhui: My junior likes me? Impossible! That's absurd! He must just be trying to trick me into falling for him so he can use me!

Xun Yin (his credibility in tatters): Help! What do I have to do to make my senior sister believe I really love her?

[Reading Guide]

◆ Both leads are reborn | An alternate Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties setting, slow burn, one-on-one, straight romance

■ Not a strong female lead | The political maneuvering is amateurish; this is mainly a romance

○ Both leads have flaws and are not perfect characters.

Theme: I love my life, though fate has placed me in this age.