Wen Xianyu hated three kinds of people: illegitimate sons, wastrels, and villains.
As luck would have it, her childhood betrothed, Xie Zhixu, was all three.
So throughout the years she was married to him, they kept up appearances and used each other. Though they shared a bed for years, they were never truly close.
Yet Wen Xianyu never expected that someone as crafty as Xie Zhixu would step in front of her without hesitation when she was being hunted, just to give her a chance to live.
Sadly, he died, and she didn't survive either.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back at sixteen, and a voice sounded beside her.
“Was that nightmare scary? That was how your story originally ended.”
“As the villainess of a book, escaping your fate is simple. Just do what I say and successfully redeem yourself.”
Redeem herself? Ridiculous.
She had done what she did for her family and for herself. What had she done wrong? Some thing that came out of nowhere thought it could control her? What a joke.
Still, she didn't mind playing along.
But first, she needed a sharp blade to take care of the protagonists and keep her alive.
Rain fell outside, and the ancestral hall was silent. She turned before the rows of ancestral tablets and unexpectedly met his gaze.
Her hateful childhood friend, her detestable betrothed.
She didn't know how long he'd been waiting there. She only remembered him standing in the shadow beneath the corridor, smiling at her, his narrow eyes filled with emotions she couldn't read.
Like a pang of heartache she couldn't control, like a blank spot she'd forgotten.
...How strange.
Wen Xianyu froze for a moment, then slowly curved her lips into a smile.
It seemed she'd found the blade that belonged to her.
Xie Yan had lived recklessly for half his life. He knew he was cruel and despicable, and that he would likely meet a bad end. But he never imagined that, three years after his death, Wen Xianyu would risk her life to clear his name.
His wife had always despised him, resented him, and used him.
They'd spent their lives entangled in schemes against each other. In the end, as he lay dying, all he could do was stare into her eyes and search for even the slightest trace of genuine affection.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the past. The misty rain of Jiangnan seemed familiar. He couldn't remember how long he'd been waiting beneath the corridor.
He only remembered her slowly turning before the ancestral hall, her cool eyes looking at him just as they had in his memories.
“A-Xu, you'll help me, won't you?”
Three parts seduction, seven parts pretense. Her acting was truly awful, but he still couldn't help smiling.
“It's exactly what I've been hoping for.”
I do it willingly.
#You think your schemes are clever, but you have no idea he's truly in love with you#
Notes:
1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads are pure.
2. The female lead isn't perfect or truly kindhearted. A lack of security makes her domineering and flawed, but she'll gradually grow and change.
3. The leads have a rift between them, and the female lead has no memories of her previous life at first, so she treats him poorly early on. (To be fair, he never gets scolded without deserving it...)
4. The male lead is devoted only to the female lead. His values are unpredictable, and he's no upright gentleman. Don't read if that bothers you.
5. Please be kind in the comments and enjoy the story. Kisses.
Blurb written on 2025.1.3
Theme: Break free from fate.
How should I put it? I just feel that the lines are too messy and the subject matter is very good.
Has the heroine regained her memory? 🍉