Reverse Taming

Foster-care trope | Taming a dog | Rivals-to-lovers couple | Face-slapping, eating your words

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[Unflappable, sweet-on-the-outside but dark-within girl × Arrogant, pure-hearted 190 cm bad boy]

In her second year of high school, Ning Yuzhi fled her birth family and moved into the Qi household with her great-aunt.

The Qi family home was lavish, its crystal chandeliers dazzling.

Even more dazzling was the handsome face of the boy.

He stood upstairs, slightly damp hair falling over his forehead. Tall and lean, with sharp features and a rebellious air.

He looked down at her and said in a mocking tone, “Where did this little beggar come from? Dad, when did your taste get so... Tsk, if you’re going to help the poor, at least pick someone easy on the eyes.”

“Why not give our company to her and her mother, too?”

Ning Yuzhi: ...What a possessive dog.

And she was supposed to call this sort of person “Uncle.”

Hah.

-

After he repeatedly provoked her, Ning Yuzhi finally reached her limit. She was determined to make this “little uncle,” who had nothing going for him but his face, kneel and become her dog.

Who knew that halfway through her revenge plan, the dog would switch sides and wag his tail at her, desperately trying to please her?

He even fought his best friend over her, cleaning up her messes without complaint. She could slap him across one cheek, and he’d smile and offer her the other.

Ning Yuzhi: ...?

I have no idea what’s gotten into you.

-

Ever since the warm, gentle light came on in the little building across the way, Qi Jinyu had been stealing glances at his so-called “niece.”

He watched her be gentle and beautiful, and saw her studying by lamplight.

In the end, he saw her covered in scars, yet still resilient and determined to move forward.

Love is, at its core, seeing someone.

And from the moment he realized this, his arrogant, self-centered life came to an abrupt halt.

New Year’s Eve, a snowy night, the silent riverbank deserted of people.

When her glasses fogged up, Qi Jinyu secretly pressed a light kiss to her mask. Afterward, he clutched his wildly pounding heart all alone.

He realized in despair:

He was doomed. He seemed to have fallen into a pathetic, unrequited love.

And the object of his affection was his “step-niece.”

Then, during their passionate romance after graduation, Qi Jinyu had barely finished “servicing” her when he caught her in the act of planning a sudden, brutal breakup and escape.

Then, in her drawer, he found a dog-training diary.

When they looked up, their eyes met.

His long, slender fingers settled on the door lock.

With a click, he locked the door. Holding the diary, he stared at her guilty face, his eyes dark and gloomy, his expression an inscrutable smile.

He advanced step by step, backing her into a corner before lifting a hand to grip her chin.

“I think you owe me a reasonable explanation, don’t you?”

#What do you mean, my wife hates me?

#Come on, all that ‘if she hates you, stay away from her’ stuff

#I absolutely refuse to accept that

#This is the best kind of ‘I actually love it’ face-slapping!

Content warnings:

1. The heroine is not perfect. Early on, she’s a dark, twisted little gremlin who treats everyone equally badly. The story leans toward her personal growth. The hero also has some very real issues, and both leads come from terrible families. They save each other. The author loves making jokes and is just here for fun, so please don’t overanalyze the plot [Important]

2. The leads are not related by blood and have no ethical relationship issue. Both are each other’s only sexual partner.

3. They focus on studying during high school. There’s a little ensemble cast and a little male rivalry, but no romance.

Next novel: After I Died, My Brother Became a Male Ghost

[Spoiled little hellion × Gentle, gloomy widower]

Cheng Yiwu has a crush on her stepbrother, Jiang Guiling, and both loves and resents him.

But he treats her with warmth and care, as if she were his biological sister, and shows no other feelings toward her.

So Cheng Yiwu has to suppress her girlish feelings and keep playing the role of his bossy, spoiled stepsister.

Until one summer during the break after the college entrance exams, while Jiang Guiling was out, she was pleasuring herself in her room and couldn’t stop herself from calling his name.

The door opened.

She looked up and met his long, narrow eyes, cool and distant.

He glanced to the side and draped his coat over her, his voice as gentle as ever.

“Little sister.” He deliberately reminded her of their relationship. “This is wrong. Maybe you should date someone instead of having these dirty thoughts about your brother.”

-

Cheng Yiwu glared at him and turned the tables. “You have no sense of boundaries! You knew I was doing something private and still interrupted me!”

Then she tore apart the scene of the incident, left home, and ran away.

The first time their cold war lasted more than a week, he stood firm and didn’t come to comfort her.

Cheng Yiwu reluctantly reflected on her behavior and decided she shouldn’t like Jiang Guiling anymore.

Once she’d made up her mind, she bowed her head obediently and messaged him first.

[I’m sorry, Brother. I know I was wrong. I was just impulsive that day. We’re still siblings (#^.^#)]

After sending the message, she stepped in to help when she saw someone being bullied.

Then she died.

-

When she woke up again, she had landed seven years in the future.

After finally making it back home, she opened the door.

She saw yellow talismans and red threads crisscrossing the floor, and the room was thick with the smell of incense.

Jiang Guiling stood before her, gaunt and deathly pale.

He held a dagger to his own throat, while Cheng Yiwu stared at him, utterly bewildered.

Seeing her back from the dead, Jiang Guiling set the knife down without a change in expression.

His long, cold fingertips brushed her face. His expression serene, he said, “You’re back.”

-

Even after their parents divorced, he still looked after her meticulously, letting her spend his vast fortune however she pleased.

After she remodeled the villa into a battle-scarred wreck, she happened to see the humble abode inscription hanging on the wall one day.

At last, Cheng Yiwu felt a little embarrassed. She decided to move out and make it on her own, then have a passionate romance with the band’s blond drummer.

Until one night, she accidentally walked into Jiang Guiling’s room and saw him doing the same thing she had done back then.

He kept calling her name.

When he saw her, he took her hand and asked with a calm, faint smile,

“Little sister, will you help me?”

Cheng Yiwu imitated his old manner. “Brother, this is wrong. I’m in love with someone else.”

She thought he wouldn’t take it to heart and turned to leave, only to realize with a chill that the door was locked.

Then Cheng Yiwu

Tore the door off.

Jiang Guiling: “...”

At last, the house was completely empty.

-

After learning how his stepsister felt about him, Jiang Guiling was miserable, with a secret thrill mixed in.

But he still kept up the facade of a good brother and corrected her.

The first time he spoke harshly to her, she got angry and ran away from home again.

Jiang Guiling didn’t think much of it. She did this all the time, and he would take care of everything for her.

Then, for the first time, he received an apology from her.

And right afterward, he received news of her death.

He spent seven years like a walking corpse, until he could no longer bear how much he missed her.

He found a master and decided to slit his own throat so they could be wed in the afterlife.

The blade had barely touched his neck when she appeared.

It seemed the master hadn’t lied. The marriage ritual had worked.

His little sister was his wife now.

PS: Content warnings:

1. They are step-siblings. Both leads are adults, are not blood relatives, and their romance begins after their parents divorce.

2. The hero is gentle, but he really is unhinged. They don’t actually have a ghost marriage, and there are no supernatural elements.

3. The heroine is arrogant and awful early on. She really is a little hellion, but she grows over time.

4. Some school scenes appear in flashbacks. The author loves absurd humor; the story has a warm, healing tone and probably won’t be too much of an indulgence. It includes a band and a small ensemble cast.

Theme: Make peace with yourself and your emotions.