After I Discovered My Aloof Cousin's Secret

[Sweet on the outside, dark and deranged within x A flirtatious, clueless beauty]

[One-line summary: A self-proclaimed clever cousin plays with fire and brings out the cold, obsessive sickness in her reserved older cousin.]

Chu Yin dislikes her cousin Pei Chan. He is the eldest legitimate son of the Pei clan, the foremost of the great aristocratic houses: refined as an orchid and a jade tree, graceful and elegant, and a model for all noble scions in every word and deed. He is admired by all.

Chu Yin grew up in the shadow of Pei Chan's brilliance. Her parents constantly urged her to be as talented as her cousin, but she was only average, with nothing but a pretty face. She was a true case of beauty without brains, and whenever she was compared with Pei Chan, she paled beside him.

Her parents steeled themselves and sent her to the Pei clan. "From now on, your cousin will teach you personally."

From then on, Pei Chan treated her several times more harshly than anyone else. Chu Yin had long harbored resentment toward him, but he was flawless as white jade, leaving her unable to find a single fault she could use against him.

Until one night, when she went to deliver the book Pei Chan had ordered her to copy, and stumbled upon his secret.

Inside the Buddhist hall, the jade-like young master, usually so dignified and aloof in public, breathed heavily, his tightly suppressed desire impossible to hide.

Chu Yin, as if possessed, grabbed his hand. "Cousin, would you like me to help you?"

Ever since he was young, Pei Chan had been restrained and proper in public, free of worldly desires. No one knew he suffered from a hidden affliction, tormented by desire whenever night fell and all was quiet, until his cousin caught him in the act.

Chu Yin had a face of otherworldly beauty, and in front of him she always acted gentle and obedient. In truth, she deeply resented him.

She prided herself on having found Pei Chan's weakness. While manipulating him as she pleased, she also discussed marriage with other men. There was no way the world could allow such a thing.

Later, during the Lantern Festival, the Chu family came to the Pei clan to arrange a marriage for Chu Yin, but she was nowhere to be found.

In the dim prison chamber, Chu Yin begged Pei Chan through her tears: "Cousin, I was wrong..."

Pei Chan gently stroked her face. His gaze was deep, and his voice was hoarse with restraint. "A Yin, since you know you were wrong, you should keep on being wrong."

Screenshot saved on 2024.12.25

[The title and blurb are not finalized before the story begins. The male lead has an insatiable appetite for sex.]

Theme: Love makes those in power bow their heads.