Hatred Beneath a Gentle Smile

In a nutshell: A sea of bitter love, a love-chasing crematorium

Lou Yanxu believed that she and Xu Congjing shared a deep, unforgettable love. She never imagined he would trample her devotion underfoot.

They had been childhood sweethearts. He had put a hairpin in her hair and taken beatings for her. Even after she was forced to marry another man, he changed his name and appearance, staying by her side in another identity to care for and protect her.

Feeling she owed him, she risked half her life to divorce her husband.

But he abandoned his former gentleness and warmth. He watched coldly as she was humiliated, then set a wedding date to marry a noblewoman.

With tear-blurred eyes, Lou Yanxu went to ask him why, carrying the jade pendant they had once exchanged as a token of their love.

Xu Congjing cornered her against a wall and kissed her fiercely, sneering:

"It was only a joke. How laughable that you actually took it seriously."

Her hands and feet turned ice-cold.

*

The wedding was set for a month later, but Xu Congjing still refused to let her go, keeping her confined in his home.

That night, Lou Yanxu's tears fell freely as she asked in a trembling voice what it would take for him to release her.

The dim lamplight fell across his stern face. His grip was so strong it nearly crushed her jaw.

"I want you to taste every kind of suffering, and be bound to me until death."

As it turned out, he hated her beyond reason, convinced in his obsession that she had harmed his younger sister.

He hated her cruelty, hated her lies, and so carefully plotted to trample her feelings and leave her no way out.

They had known each other for over a decade, yet in his heart, she was such a scheming, malicious person.

The jade pendant shattered across the floor, just like her heart.

*

Half a month later, as Lou Yanxu tried to escape, Xu Congjing watched with his own eyes as she was swallowed by an explosion of flames.

That day, clutching the token of their love, he stumbled and fell down the stairs as if in a daze.

Only afterward did he learn the truth:

She had loved him wholeheartedly and had never wronged him.

He panicked, finally learning what it meant to have his heart carved out, and to regret everything too late.

He would spend the rest of his life making amends.

Reading Guide:

1. Both leads are virgins, happy ending. Read with caution if that's not your thing.

2. The male lead only seems gentle; in truth, he's a maniac. He both loves and hates the heroine. She is somewhat weak at first but grows stronger later. Their romantic relationship begins after she divorces her husband.

3. The heroine suffers some angst early on, while the male lead suffers much more later. He has to experience the pain she went through.

4. The heroine fakes her death.

5. Set in a fictional dynasty inspired by the Tang Dynasty. Romance-focused.

How to Drive a Gentle Man Mad

Mutual salvation x pretend siblings x amnesia x groveling pursuit of a wife x agonizing angst

Meng Ling met Xie Yunjing at her most desperate.

He was noble and radiant, gentle and courteous, down on his luck but still possessed of an air of refinement.

He took a beating for her, helped her escape a den of wolves, shared life's joys and sorrows with her, and stayed by her through every season's warmth and cold.

They called each other "brother" and "sister," but she developed feelings beyond that.

Yet whenever she tried to confess, he would silence her with one line: "I'm your elder brother."

Xie Yunjing had no romantic feelings for her, but out of their sibling bond, he searched everywhere for a suitable match for her.

Until one day, the fiance she had been promised to as a child came to find her.

Xie Yunjing had once been a close aide to the Emperor, with a bright future ahead of him. But after being framed by a treacherous minister, he became a disgraced official.

To him, Meng Ling was the moon on a dark night, a brazier in the snow.

They relied on each other and were deeply attached.

But a younger sister was just a younger sister. How could she become his wife?

So he took on the role of elder brother and sought out a good family for her to marry into.

But from the moment her fiance came looking for her, nothing felt right.

The soup simmering on the stove was no longer brought to his room.

When the weather turned cold, no one reminded him to dress warmly.

Another man would be calling her by her pet name, with all the intimacy of a lover.

And when danger came, she would put herself in harm's way for her fiance, even falling off a cliff.

Xie Yunjing found Meng Ling at the foot of the cliff after she had lost her memory.

He said nothing about her missing fiance and pretended to be her husband. At least they got to spend a peaceful, happy stretch of time together.

But the truth couldn't stay hidden forever.

After her memories returned, the first thing she did was set out to find her fiance.

At that moment, Xie Yunjing's restraint shattered completely.

He went mad, keeping her confined in their small courtyard, waiting on her and trying to please her.

But she remained unmoved.

He knelt before her, consumed by jealousy, and pressed a knife into her hand.

"You care about him so much. If I died too, would you remember me for the rest of your life?"

Meng Ling shed two tears and gritted her teeth. "If you do this, I'll hate you."

But he held her tightly and smiled bitterly.

"But A Shi, hate lasts longer than love, doesn't it?"

Theme: Women should stand tall in the world too