Lin Wan'er had a dream. In it, she married someone else, a man so handsome and refined that his eyes were full of tenderness and concern he couldn't hide.
When she woke, she was lying in a pool of blood, with wolves circling outside the window.
Before she died, she swore: If I get another life, I will never marry into a powerful family again. I will never wrong another person or myself.
Reborn, she returned to the year she was sixteen. This time, she shut the gates of her home, turned away every visitor, picked up her paintbrush again, mixed fragrant powders, and composed music.
In this life, she only wanted to care for her parents and never marry.
The capital's most beautiful woman had suddenly changed her ways. The young gentlemen who sought her hand were at a loss, and the matchmakers all left empty-handed.
After a peaceful spell, her paintings, sold anonymously, fetched a high price, and the cosmetics she blended were bought in bulk by beauty shops.
Even the tunes she hummed casually in her room spread through every street and alley, becoming popular songs of the day.
Overnight, the winds shifted. The man who had married her in her previous life returned with overwhelming force, still ambitious and still determined that she must be his.
If she refused, her parents and even her entire family would suffer.
Just as Wan'er steeled herself to marry her enemy and take revenge with her own hands, the man from her dream appeared.
His jade-like handsome face was deathly pale, and fine, glistening sweat beaded on his brow. His peach-blossom eyes were tinged red.
"You mustn't marry him, or the pain in my heart will kill me..."
--
He went by the name Bai Shuyan in the capital. The world took him for a wealthy man who did as he pleased, spending his days listening to music and looking at paintings.
Some even whispered that he had a particular interest in women's cosmetics...
Only he knew he had no choice. If even one day passed without him coming into contact with something that woman had touched, made, or performed, his heart would hurt.
It was a sharp, crushing pain in his heart. It really hurt.
The imperial physicians had no answers, so he had no choice but to leave the palace and seek her out.
The woman kept herself behind closed doors, so he lurked in secret, buying up every product that came out of her household. Then one day, the Duke's household used its influence to bully her low-ranking father and force her into marriage.
He couldn't wait any longer.
If he didn't claim her now, the pain would kill him for the rest of his life.
1. The female lead is not a virgin, but the male lead is. Happy ending.
2. The female lead is talented in many fields and excels at everything. The pride she had in her previous life has been tempered in this one, and she has learned to cherish the people around her and an ordinary life.
3. The male lead is not reborn, but he often has dreams. Whenever he sees the female lead, his heart hurts, in the literal sense: his heart aches.
4. Good people are rewarded, and bad people get what they deserve. The female lead will not suffer in this life. She'll live happily and securely, just as a female lead in a feel-good power fantasy should!
Everyone who bookmarks this work is rich!
Theme: Time does not fail those who are sincere.
