[On the road to winning my cousin's heart, I fell for his sworn enemy.]
Shang Ling had lived a timid, miserable life until the age of seventeen, when she learned she was merely a cannon-fodder character in a storybook, and the male lead was her cousin, who lived far away in the capital.
To stay alive, she accepted a task from the System:
Become her cousin's beloved and share his good fortune.
Who could have guessed that on her way to find her cousin, she would get drunk and force a kiss on a man named Jiang Shu.
When she sobered up, she panicked and ran away.
When she arrived in the capital, Shang Ling was trying to forget this shameful episode when Jiang Shu showed up again.
Only then did she learn that in the original story, Jiang Shu was the male lead's sworn enemy, and the greatest obstacle on his path to success.
And now, it seemed this sworn enemy held a grudge against her because of that kiss.
Shang Ling could only say: Alcohol is the enemy!
From then on, Jiang Shu repeatedly sabotaged her attempts to win her cousin's heart.
Including, but not limited to:
Case 1: She pretended to be weak and fell into her cousin's arms, but Jiang Shu caught her instead.
Case 2: She shyly gave her cousin a purse she'd embroidered herself, but the purse still ended up with Jiang Shu.
With no progress on the task, the System lost its temper and, against Shang Ling's wishes, forced her to accept a new directive:
Invite the male lead out, drug him with an aphrodisiac, and get the plot back on track in one fell swoop.
Shang Ling nervously sent her cousin an invitation.
On the day of the banquet, Jiang Shu knocked on her door and, right in front of Shang Ling, drank the cup of drugged water.
Then he leaned closer and coaxed her in a soft voice:
"I gave you my first kiss. So it's only fair that you have me today."
With that, he reclined on the couch, spread his arms, and smiled at her. "Come here."
Shang Ling was on the verge of tears.
The next day, she returned home with trembling legs and weak hands.
She thought she'd avoid Jiang Shu from then on, but that night of passion kept appearing in her dreams.
Gradually, her gaze began to linger on Jiang Shu more and more often...
[Reading Guide]
1. Fictional setting, 1v1, happy ending
2. The heroine never really intended to drug her cousin
3. The leads are natives of this world; the second male lead transmigrated into a book
Theme: I alone control my own fate.
