The Eighth Year Without My Late Wife

Please read the warnings before you start. My next novel is The Boyfriend I Found Out I Had After I Died ○ Male secret crush / widower romance After a work transfer, He Xingzhi is reassigned to the development team for a historical romance game she used to play in college. To get familiar with the game, she registers a new account, and her consciousness is transported into the game world once again. He Xingzhi still remembers playing the game as a management sim back in the day. But the game had suffered a major bug, and most of her in-game memories were lost. Over the past two years, the game has become a hit again thanks to its romance storylines. To keep up with the market and her work, she decides to try playing through a romance route and wooing some men. Just as He Xingzhi is getting close to the handsome Minister of Justice, the spirited young general, the mysterious Imperial Preceptor, and the dashing Ninth Prince, she is summoned to the residence of Song Huaijing, a court official and an NPC in the game who has nothing to do with the romance routes. At first, she thinks this powerful minister is an NPC who will help her progress through the story. Then she discovers a study in his residence filled with portraits, all of her. Only then does He Xingzhi realize he is nothing like the mild-mannered, kind man he appears to be... Only then does He Xingzhi belatedly realize: Wait, is this part of the game too?! * In the eighth year after A Zhi left him, she came back. By then, A Zhi had already agreed to marry him. With neither of them having any family left, Song Huaijing personally prepared her dowry, observing every detail of the traditional betrothal rites as he waited to become her husband in name and law. But then she vanished, leaving no body behind. He waited for A Zhi, certain she was still alive. Even if she truly was gone, he would wait for her for the rest of his life. Just as even Song Huaijing had finally stopped hoping, A Zhi returned. Though A Zhi had lost her memories, her appearance, name, and most of her habits were unchanged. She still loved money more than life, was still short-sighted, and still had to get very close to things to see them clearly. Her old trouble with poor hearing and eyesight hadn't changed either. Song Huaijing was certain the woman before him was A Zhi. Watching the men who coveted her, Song Huaijing longed to show them the marriage contract he had read over and over again alone at night and tell them, "This marriage contract was approved by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I am A Zhi's lawful husband. No matter how you cling to her, the best you can hope for is becoming a concubine!" A Zhi could only be his, and he could only be A Zhi's... Only after He Xingzhi finally remembered everything did she ask him, "Brother, when did I ever say I wanted to marry you?!" [Bonus Scene] When Song Huaijing realized those men were still circling around her, he wanted to wring every last neck. But he kept his gentle, understanding expression as he asked her: "A... Miss He, have you run into something difficult lately?" He Xingzhi squinted through her myopic eyes, utterly confused. "What male models? You can hire male models in this world?" Warnings and Reading Guide Slow-burn, everyday-life story. Very slow burn. 1. The blurb was screenshotted on January 2, 2025. 2. One male and one female lead, happy ending. The male lead is completely devoted to her, body and soul. 3. Set in an alternate history. Don't expect historical accuracy; it's a mash-up of the Tang and Song dynasties. 4. Short-sighted means nearsighted. The heroine is nearsighted and sometimes mishears things. I made that clear in the first sentence of the blurb. If you absolutely can't accept a nearsighted heroine, why click on it in the first place??? 5. Purely written to suit my personal tastes: a devoted one-on-one romance. The other men are all decent, have feelings for the heroine, and are extremely convenient plot devices. 6. This is a boy-girl romance, a boy-girl romance, a boy-girl romance, a boy-girl romance. The couple is childfree, so don't push them to have kids. No need to tell me if you drop the novel. My next novel is The Boyfriend I Found Out I Had After I Died. Feel free to bookmark it if you're interested. ○ Fake siblings, widower, male secret crush ○ A devil-may-care female ghost who cares most about her next meal x a calculating, obsessive, dark and gloomy man Xu Chuyao is a young female ghost. She doesn't remember how long she's been dead, or anything about her life before she died. One day, a man moves into the empty house where she usually hangs out. On his first night there, Xu Chuyao rubs her hands together, ready to scare him. Then she notices several photos on the bedside table, which used to be bare. The girl in the photos looks exactly like her. Then she hears the man clutching a nightgown and whispering her name. His suggestive, breathless moans make her realize that she and this man must have been very close when she was alive. Xu Chuyao doesn't know how the man discovered she was there, or how he can see her and touch her. The moment Xu Yize sees her, he holds her and cries for a long, long time. Before his scorching yang energy can make Xu Chuyao swoon from its intoxicating scent, she timidly asks, "Hello. Were you my boyfriend when I was alive?" Tears still glistening at the corners of his eyes, Xu Yize stares blankly for a moment, then smiles. "Yes, Yaoyao. You're the one I love." Xu Chuyao has lost her memories, but Xu Yize smells so good that every night she burrows into his arms to breathe him in. This instinctive familiarity makes her even more certain that they must have been deeply in love. And so, the human and the ghost begin a shameless life together. One day, she hears Xu Yize's mother on the phone: "Yize, your sister's death anniversary is coming up. Your father and I will come over in a couple of days so we can visit her grave together." Xu Yize softly says yes. "Your sister's death anniversary? You have a sister? Did she pass away too?" Xu Yize holds her as a flicker of surprise crosses his eyes. "You're my little sister. You're younger than me, so my parents are used to calling you that." "Oh..." Xu Chuyao nods, then buries her cold face against his chest and takes another deep breath. Little sister, why did you leave me like that? Even in the third year after her death, Xu Yize still often thinks this. He went to great lengths to find her soul, but never expected her to mistake him for her lover. He craves the closeness he never had with her when she was alive, so he decides to let the misunderstanding stand. After all, they'll be together forever. But he never imagined that Xu Chuyao would discover his lie after all. Theme: May technology be used for good, and may its flame be passed down forever.