Marrying the Young Scholar Next Door

[A lie-flat, easygoing foodie vs. a calculating scholar, marriage first and love later, one-on-one romance, food, a sweet little story]

Su He transmigrates into the body of the third daughter of the Su family in Jingshui Village. She has two wishes in life: first, to fill a jar with money; second, to run away with her little money jar.

Su He: In my previous life, I was a 996 office worker who worked myself to death. Now that I’ve got a second chance, why shouldn’t I become a wealthy foodie? Am I supposed to devote myself to my husband and children instead?

Who would have thought that someone really would come along and ask her to devote herself to a husband and children?

She hears that her father has chosen her betrothed: Pei Yanhuai, the eldest son of the Pei family next door, famed for his extraordinary talent and unmatched looks.

Su He looks at the Pei family’s little courtyard, which is only a little better off than her own, and at the cold-faced, cold-hearted “Teacher Pei.” She secretly weighs her still-empty money jar. She’ll have to save up a little more.

When he was studying hard in a humble room, when he was making a name for himself in the imperial examinations, and even when he left the capital, Pei Yanhuai was pursued by young women who tossed flowers at him. He had thought that returning home would finally let him escape all that.

Who could have guessed that the moment he got home, he’d hear that he was engaged to the fair-skinned, plump foodie next door?

*

On their wedding night, the moon is a crescent, the insects chirp, and shadows sway beneath the trees.

Under the red gauze canopy and the glow of red candles, the two newlyweds, both wishing they were anywhere else, look at each other.

“How about we pretend to be a proper couple?”

And so the fake spouses, true nemeses, begin a life together in the Pei family’s little courtyard, full of marital harmony, or utter chaos.

Gradually, Su He discovers that her bargain husband is actually quite a romantic.

He has beautiful handwriting, paints beautifully, and is a wonderful cook. When it rains, the paper umbrella he holds covers only her head...

And though he’s a frail scholar, his firm chest and abs beneath his underclothes are quite tempting.

Pei Yanhuai notices Su He ogling him and narrows his handsome phoenix eyes.

This bargain wife of his seems kind of cute.

She loves to eat, yet is endlessly inventive. Even he can’t resist her exquisite dishes. She loves money, but earns it fairly, and even he can’t help admiring her clever, cunning business tactics.

But why does she always drool when she looks at him?

*

Just as Su He is fretting over her full money jar, a rumor sweeps through the village like a storm: Pei Yanhuai has a private ailment!

Well...

Pei Yanhuai’s phoenix eyes drift silently toward the person clinging tightly to the money jar.

Su He: Is... is it true?

She steels herself and hands him the jar. Take it and get treated!

Pei Yanhuai smiles, his sparkling eyes drawing close to Su He’s face. His warm breath brushes her fluttering eyelashes.

“How about you clear my name before you go?”

Bonus Scene

During their first month of marriage, Su He is full of energy every day, busy running the family’s general store. Their neighbor, Auntie Wang, laughs and asks, “A He, you’ve only just gotten married. Don’t you sleep in a little in the mornings?”

Su He waves her off in a flurry. “We go to bed early, so it’s fine.”

The next day, Auntie Wang tells Granny Zhao in the front courtyard, who tells Auntie Dong on East Street... Before long, even the yellow dog beneath the peach tree at the village entrance is barking about it: “Teacher Pei has a private ailment!”

So when his students ask him what “private ailment” means at the school, Pei Yanhuai returns to the Pei family’s courtyard with a dark expression.

He breaks the door, kicks a chicken into the air, and scares off the dog, only to find Su He chatting cheerfully with Gu Silang, a handsome young man with red lips and pearly teeth, as they discuss business.

Pei Yanhuai’s phoenix eyes narrow at once, and his expression darkens further.

Gu Silang, sensing the strong smell of jealousy, quickly pinches his nose and takes his leave.

Pei Yanhuai confronts Su He: “You don’t like going to bed early?”

Reading Guide: 1. The male lead is sexually inexperienced and restrained. Because of his background, he keeps his distance from women and resists marriage. But once he falls for the female lead, he turns into a clingy puppy. The female lead is clever, kind, and quick-witted, but a little slow to understand her own feelings. While flirting without realizing it, she gives the male lead her whole heart.

2. Characters from this story also appear in A Gourmet Maiden’s Entrepreneurial Journey. The stories share the same historical setting.

I have a little corner of a courtyard, and I’d love to invite you over for food and fun~

Coming soon: My Crazy Brother Drops the Act, a fake-incest romance: a ruthless young general vs. a meek, patient little white rabbit

After returning from the northern campaign with a string of brilliant victories, the young general Pei Si becomes the dream man of every noblewoman in the capital. He is also the second brother who has “fallen from the sky” into Shen Wan’s life.

Everyone else is captivated by his dazzling brilliance. Shen Wan is the only one who fears him to her core.

He discovers her unspeakable secret, allows his subordinates to humiliate her, and even personally pushes her into someone else’s arms.

She avoids him like a snake or scorpion, until one day, on her way back from the nunnery, she is cornered by him, covered in wounds.

The man, his eyes bloodshot, kisses the bruises on her neck and says hoarsely, “Ruan Ruan, from this day on, your life belongs to me.”

Abandoned as a child and raised in the hell of a military camp, Pei Si knows there is a madman in his bones.

He wears the guise of the capital’s most dazzling young man, but only in front of his timid “little sister” does he tear off every disguise.

He manipulates her behind the scenes, ruins her reputation, and even forces her into a marriage with someone else. It was all part of a scheme for revenge, but he never expected to lose control of himself first.

He watches her tremble as she pleads for someone else. He watches her suffer at the hands of her own family, too afraid to cry out.

His teasing turns into an involuntary need to be near her, and thoughts of revenge become an obsession that keeps him tossing and turning through the night.

The moment he sees her covered in wounds, his fury consumes all reason. What does a blood feud matter? What do the rules between brother and sister matter?

He wants only her!

Theme: Love is something two people give to each other.