My column, The Butcher's Daughter and the Top Scholar, has started updating! The blurb is at the very end.
Blurb:
An optimistic foodie heroine × an arrogant, sensitive hero
When peasant girl He Lanyi's family falls on hard times, she tries to make quick money at the mass graveyard to pay for her father's medical treatment.
On her first trip to the mass graveyard alone, fortune smiles on her: she spots money on the ground. But why has the corpse in front of her come back to life??
"Who are you? What are you doing in a place like this?" He Lanyi couldn't help asking.
The young man lazily lifted his eyelids and gave her an indifferent glance. Her exposed skin was rough from years of wind and sun, and her clothes were plain and patched in several places.
What a chatterbox. First, disdain showed in his eyes. Then, as if he'd thought of something, he straightened up and called her "big sister."
*
Xun Tianyu, who had never been favored since childhood, was hunted by his imperial brother. He changed his name and appearance and "begged" He Lanyi to take him in.
Much later, He Lanyi traveled to the capital and passed Xun Tianyu without recognizing him.
When Xun Tianyu returned victorious, he turned and met her gaze. His cool eyes rippled for an instant, then returned to their usual calm. He Lanyi didn't recognize him. Of course, this was the first time he'd met her with his real face...
Sweet romance + love grows over time + the hero has a secret identity + one-on-one romance
The hero's false name early on: Fu Yichen
Blurb for my column, The Butcher's Daughter and the Top Scholar
Butcher's daughter Jiang Lanyi had helped her father sell pork since she was little. On the Qixi Festival, she met a handsome scholar and couldn't take her eyes off him.
After asking around, she learned his name was Su Ming and that he studied at Juhe Academy.
Later, encouraged by her friends, Jiang Lanyi tried talking to Su Ming and giving him gifts, but... nothing worked, and their relationship went nowhere.
Until the day Su Ming set off by carriage to take the provincial examination. She called his name from behind, carrying a food box she'd prepared for him to eat on the road.
Instead, she got three questions in a row:
"What are you doing here?" Su Ming's tone was distant and cold.
"Jiang Lanyi, don't you know that men and women should keep their distance?" He lowered his eyes to meet her clear, bright gaze, his hand trembling slightly beneath his sleeve.
"Do you think anyone could like someone so shameless? Stop bothering me."
Jiang Lanyi felt her heart constrict, leaving her unable to breathe. Her eyes grew moist as all she could see was Su Ming's retreating figure.
*
[Jiang Lanyi's perspective]
A few years later, Jiang Lanyi began to let go of that one-sided love and, at her father's urging, threw an embroidered ball to choose a husband.
She turned to look, and... why had the ball landed in Su Ming's hands??
Her long-dead heart stirred again, only to be quickly stilled.
Su Ming explained that the marriage was merely a temporary arrangement. He needed a "wife" to shield him from trouble in official circles. Of course, he wouldn't treat her unfairly. He promised her a generous sum of silver, and after a year they'd divorce so he could find her a suitable husband...
Jiang Lanyi agreed. It would quiet her father's nagging, and she would also get a hundred taels of gold in return. It really was a good deal. Her heart was simply dead, that's all...
*
[Su Ming's perspective]
After the wedding
Jiang Lanyi climbed a tree to pick fruit. A branch accidentally broke, and Su Ming pushed off with his toes, swooped through the air, and caught her.
They stared at each other in a daze, then quickly looked away. Jiang Lanyi's voice came from beside him: "Thank you! Put me down."
Su Ming reached out to brush the fallen leaves from her hair, but Jiang Lanyi took a step back and said, "Young Master Su, men and women should keep their distance. We're only pretending to be husband and wife, so please behave yourself!"
Su Ming didn't understand. How had the girl who used to run after him everywhere changed so much...
[Forthright butcher's daughter × arrogant, sensitive, scheming top scholar]
Reading guide:
1. One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins, alternate history, many original worldbuilding details, happy ending
2. A groveling pursuit after rejection, with some elements of possessive love and madness
Theme: Eat well and live with optimism
