Role-Playing

[Insecure, sensitive younger gong x Gentle, beautiful older shou]

Angsty and melodramatic / Gong is humble and self-effacing early on / Shou pursues his wife later

"I'm not marrying into the Shen family. You might as well have Jin Xi take my place. We're both children of the Jiang family, so what's the difference?"

Her older sister's joke was everything Jin Xi had ever dreamed of.

An illegitimate daughter of the Jiang family, kept out of sight, Jin Xi had always been well-behaved and followed the rules. Her one act of rebellion... was secretly loving Shen Zhuoyan.

The year her mother died in a car accident, her father, who had never acknowledged her, had no choice but to bring her back to the Jiang family.

And so Jin Xi became a thorn in Madam Jiang's side, a thorn in her flesh. Her very existence constantly reminded her father of the mistake he'd made.

Nobody liked her, except for the gentle Shen Zhuoyan.

Shen Zhuoyan was the same age as her older sister, seven years Jin Xi's senior. Shen Zhuoyan treated her well, but she showed her older sister special attention and affection.

But her older sister never returned Shen Zhuoyan's feelings.

Jin Xi knew she wouldn't gain anything from this arranged marriage, but she still wanted to get close to Shen Zhuoyan, even if all she could do was stay by her side.

* Jin Xi lived and ate with Shen Zhuoyan as her wife and friend. She helped Shen Zhuoyan come up with plans to pursue the person she loved, and diligently played every role she was given.

She could be a confidante who shared her worries and helped solve her problems, or a bedmate who met her physical needs... but she could never be the one she loved.

This marriage was a ploy Shen Zhuoyan had devised to wear down Jin Xi's older sister. Jin Xi was sometimes happy, sometimes anxious. The days she spent with Shen Zhuoyan were wonderful, but Jin Xi was also waiting for the day Shen Zhuoyan asked for a divorce.

Maybe today, or maybe tomorrow...

2024.12.18 kept for the record, screenshot saved

Theme: Be brave and pursue love