*A younger brother covets his elder brother's wife, and you get seven more as a bonus
*For those who enjoy brotherly harem dynamics, women clawing at each other, and being sandwiched between two men
1) Jing Yixiu, young mistress of the All-Knowing Pavilion in the Shanhai Realm, considers herself a good person who is devoted to love.
One day, after a devastating lightning tribulation, she finds a severely wounded, dying hunk.
Though he often acts like a frivolous layabout, he's genuinely good to her, incredibly powerful, and outrageously handsome.
She knows full well there's more to his identity than meets the eye, but since he never goes against her wishes, Jing Yixiu chooses to play dumb and accepts the hunk's offer to repay her with himself.
2) To find the missing former Pavilion Master, Jing Yixiu sets off to explore the Shanhai Realm with her man.
Along the way, she meets a sharp-witted, sharp-tongued catlike hunk; a brooding, ruthless, cold hunk; a rebellious, wolfish hunk; a clever hunk with a gentle face and a dark heart; a pair of handsome twins with wildly contrasting personalities...
And every last one of these dangerous hunks turns out to be her man's younger brother!
Even worse, she awakens to the plot and discovers not only that she lives in the world of a book, but that her man and his brothers are the novel's villains, numbers one through eight!
As descendants of the Emperor of the Shanhai Realm, they nearly bring about the world's destruction while scheming against and harming one another, only to be subdued one by one by the protagonist.
Jing Yixiu doesn't want her man to die, so she decides to mend the relationship between him and his younger brothers in his place.
3) One day, as usual, she goes to have a heart-to-heart with them.
The gentle first younger brother smiles strangely. "Actually, I don't need a sister-in-law. What I need is a wife who'll hand over all her family's wealth to me."
The sharp-tongued second younger brother scoffs and shakes his head. "If you can fall for an idiot like him, you might as well donate your eyes."
The brooding third younger brother looks down at her haughtily. "I'll give you one more chance. Dump him and choose me."
The seductive fourth younger brother loosens his collar. "I'm bigger than him."
Jing Yixiu: ?
Something seems to have gone wrong.
After the disastrous heart-to-heart, Jing Yixiu returns in a daze. That night, someone knocks on her bedroom door again and again.
A voice outside says, "Sister-in-law, open up. It's me, your husband's brother."
Reader's Guide:
1. The main plot is romance with the villainous brothers; the subplot includes a little political intrigue, mystery, and personal growth. I started this story to indulge in the cliche tropes I love: all-villain casts, harem dynamics, and brothers bickering, hurting, scheming against, and getting jealous over one another. If that's your kind of thing, come enjoy!
2. The female lead isn't an overpowered heroine, but she won't suffer for love. All the men are virgins, and the first man she sleeps with will definitely be the eldest brother. What happens after that depends on how the younger brothers compete for her favor.
Theme: Don't make the first move, don't refuse, and think about whether to take responsibility later
