But She's More Alluring Than Moonlight

[A sweet, gentle girl who plays the pig to eat the tiger × a clear-headed, scheming crown prince who falls hard]

A powerful man lowering his head / face-slapping when he realizes the truth / reunited after years apart, love and hate intertwined

Zhenzhen saw Li Xuanzhang again in a prison cell at the Dali Temple.

A murder involving a high-ranking official had taken place at the entertainment quarter, and Zhenzhen was detained for questioning. The damp, cold air made her shiver in her thin clothes. Her face was pale and the corners of her eyes were red, making her seem heartbreakingly vulnerable.

Yet in the grand hall, Li Xuanzhang stood in immaculate brocade robes and jade belt, casting her only a cool, indifferent glance.

As if they'd never known each other.

But no one knew that only the night before, beneath dim candles and silken curtains, they had shared every intimacy.

When passion overtook him, he gripped her waist with his knuckles, squeezing so hard it felt as if he might crush her bones.

"Since you ran away..." His burning breath brushed her ear, every word seemingly filled with hatred. "Who gave you the nerve to come back?"

Zhenzhen wasn't afraid at all. She tilted her head up to kiss his chin and murmured, "Chengye..."

That was his courtesy name.

Li Xuanzhang froze.

Li Xuanzhang knew better than anyone that she was the most heartless young woman in the world.

She'd smile and tell him she loved him, her glossy eyes filled with sparkling affection whenever she looked at him, as radiant as a starry river turned upside down in the sky. Then she would ruthlessly deceive him, lie to him, and use him.

She'd sworn over and over that she loved him more than life itself, yet in the blink of an eye, she'd stolen his seal of authority and run off with another man without looking back.

She was gone for three years.

She was a gentle blade, killing and taking lives without a sound or a drop of blood.

So now, he wouldn't believe a single word she said.

That wouldn't be hard, he thought.

- Her methods were clumsy and inexperienced, yet he willingly fell for them.

Content warnings:

1. Zhenzhen is only her nickname. The heroine's real name has a hidden story and meaning, and does not follow an A-B-B format.

2. A melodramatic, angsty romance. The hero both loves and hates the heroine. They test each other early on, and later he suffers through a long period of regret and atonement. Avoid if that's not your thing.

3. Both are virgins, each other's first love, and their reunion after years apart was long in the making.

Theme: Bowing one's head for love