Claiming the High Branch for Myself

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Meng Lingyao can name at least three times she and Pei Xu crossed paths on bad terms.

It all began at the Shangsi Festival years ago.

She had spent the whole day painstakingly painting Spring Mountains in Misty Rain, only for him to casually compose a poem that stole the spotlight. The whole hall applauded him, the jade-like young master of the Pei family.

He was the highest branch of the soaring clouds, beyond anyone in the capital’s reach.

To the noble young ladies, he was the unattainable dream of a peerless beauty, unmatched in all the world.

But to her, he was simply an enemy who had stolen her thunder again and again, an eyesore beyond measure!

When she came of age to marry, she pored over the list of eligible men and circled three with her red brush. The new top graduate was gentle and sincere, the imperial merchant Zhou was fabulously wealthy, and the young general was unwaveringly devoted.

As for Pei Xu, the Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? Naturally, he didn’t even deserve to have his name on the list.

Then several prophetic nightmares shattered the illusion of a perfect marriage.

The gentle top graduate? A sadist!

The dashing imperial merchant? Kept male lovers!

The devoted general? Obeyed his mother in everything!

Meng Lingyao jolted upright, drenched in cold sweat. Only then did she realize that what lay before her was an abyss.

Seeking the truth, she carefully investigated and tested them, only to stumble upon a major case at the Court of Judicial Review.

One by one, her prospective husbands ended up behind bars.

Pei Xu’s expression was cool. “Miss Meng, has anyone ever told you that you’re remarkably bad at judging people?”

Meng Lingyao glared at him and gritted her teeth. “Yes! I’m remarkably bad at judging people!”

Later, at the Dragon Boat Festival banquet in the palace, Pei Xu drank the cup of drugged wine in her place, then disappeared.

Meng Lingyao searched the garden until she reached the depths of a secluded rockery.

A terrifying wave of heat suddenly seized her and dragged her into the darkness.

A burning body pinned her down. Her hairpins fell, and her silk skirt pooled on the ground.

At her ear, Pei Xu’s ragged, hoarse gasps burned away all his usual composure, leaving nothing but an unbearable heat.

“Yaoyao... don’t look at me.”

A beautiful, self-assured, proud young lady X a restrained, proper, jealous, lovesick man.

[Below is the modern romance I plan to start next. There’s also a historical romance in my collection of upcoming works. Please add them to your reading list. It really means a lot to the author (υ . . υ)]

[An amateur photographer who’s occasionally blunt but usually a scaredy-cat X a cool, laid-back, mysterious shop owner]

1-

When Feng Xia was in high school, she saw a series of photographs in a magazine.

Wilderness, snow-covered mountains, a city in a torrential downpour, an ocean-going fishing boat reduced to a tiny speck on the horizon where sea and sky met.

It was the first time she realized how vast the world was, and how a human life was no more than a fleeting moment between heaven and earth.

The photographer’s byline read: Lee.

The person was maddeningly mysterious. No public appearances, no interviews, and nothing left behind but their work.

Of course, Feng Xia didn’t become a photographer.

She perfectly fulfilled her parents’ expectations and got a stable government job. Every day, she went to work and came home, then spent her free time wandering around with a camera, snapping random pictures.

Her skill was average, but her enthusiasm was boundless.

One day, she discovered that a film shop in her city had Lee’s work on its wall.

Feng Xia was filled with admiration.

The owner had taste!

So even though this shop charged three yuan more than the others, she happily got her film developed there for two years.

It was only three yuan.

That was the price she paid for good taste.

2-

She had to work overtime at short notice on Saturday, so Feng Xia asked customer service whether she could drop off her film on Sunday.

The customer service agent, who usually called her “dear” every other word, seemed like a completely different person that day.

[Will anyone be there tomorrow?]

[No.]

[No one all day? These two rolls have been sitting in my bag for ages. Every day I see them, I feel like they’re nagging me T T]

[Next week.]

Feng Xia refused to give up. She spent ages pleading her case, and finally even promised:

[I promise I’ll drop them off and leave within one minute. I absolutely won’t keep you.]

The other side fell silent for a long time.

[Three in the afternoon. Don’t be late.]

Feng Xia was overjoyed and arrived right on time the next afternoon.

The doorbell rang softly. The man behind the counter looked up.

Tall and straight, with cool eyes and brows, he was almost unfairly handsome.

Feng Xia stopped dead, then backed up two steps to check the shop sign.

She had the right place!

After a long pause, she stammered, “I... I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

The man glanced at the clock on the wall, then at her. “One minute.”

Feng Xia: “...”

Help.

It really is you, customer service guy who got possessed!

3-

At first, she was only attracted by his looks.

Then, a week later, a tax-risk list pushed by the System included a cultural technology company. Feng Xia confidently called the company’s legal representative to notify him to come in as soon as possible to verify some issues.

The next day,

The office door opened.

The handsome man who had kept her awake for half the night last Sunday stood outside.

Feng Xia shut her eyes in anguish. “...Being handsome doesn’t make tax evasion okay.”

Bonus scene 1:

Feng Xia pointed at Lee’s photographs in the shop and gave her candid review. “Sometimes, in recent years, he’s been trying a little too hard to seem profound.”

Qi Heng: “I thought you liked him?”

“Liking him doesn’t mean I can’t think he’s pretentious sometimes. Besides, he has no idea.”

“He knows now.”

Bonus scene 2:

Feng Xia: “I can’t casually have dinner with someone who falls under my department’s supervision. It wouldn’t comply with the rules.”

Qi Heng sighed softly and gazed at her. “What if it’s your partner?”

*Secret identity reveal, crush story, grown-ups dancing around their feelings

*Lighthearted, sweet romance, an urban fairy tale

*Photography and tax matters serve the plot. This is not a professional industry novel.

Theme: It’s better to rely on yourself than ask others for help.