Locked for Eternity

The Ji brothers were absolutely the bane of An Zhongyan's existence.

First, Ji Chufeng came to her rescue, leaving her unable to forget him. Then Ji Chuyun chased her for three streets, insisting that he introduce her to his older brother.

The young girl, full of hope, arrived at their meeting place early. She waited as the crowds came and went, until the moon was high and the stars were out. Her parents finally came looking for her in a panic, and only then did she realize it was midnight.

As she left, she looked back again and again, but saw no one.

Later, the new emperor ascended the throne and granted a general amnesty. The city's wealthy and powerful gave away money and alms, and Ji Chuyun was among them.

An Zhongyan waited again until the sun set and the crowd dispersed. She was about to ask him why he had stood her up, but his guards stopped her. She could only watch Ji Chuyun return to his residence.

The next day, she learned that Ji Chufeng had died of illness. Red flowers still hung above the Ji residence's plaque, and inside, everyone was laughing and celebrating.

A year later, An Zhongyan was unexpectedly thrown in prison. The authorities were incompetent and wanted to blame everything on her. With no other options, it seemed she was doomed.

In the dungeon, she saw Ji Chuyun passing by and instinctively grabbed his hem, hoping to ask him to take a letter home to comfort her parents.

Ji Chuyun, who was always courteous to guests, didn't even wait for her to speak. His face cold, he drew his knife, cut off the hem, and walked away without looking back, leaving her lying there, staring blankly at the scraps in her hand.

Another year passed. By a twist of fate, An Zhongyan had no choice but to travel with Ji Chuyun. Only then did she realize that the "Ji Chuyun" before her was actually Ji Chufeng in disguise, and that he mistakenly believed she and the late Ji Chuyun had been in love.

More importantly, the "Ji Chuyun" who had ignored her before had always been him.

A small plan for revenge began to take shape.

A kidnapping caused Ji Chufeng's outstanding younger brother to die in his place.

His mother was so overwhelmed with grief that she went mad, insisting on calling him Chuyun. His father sighed and told him to take his younger brother's identity. After all, compared to a useless eldest son, the connections his second son had built were far more important.

He had intended to fulfill his filial duties and then take his own life, but unexpectedly, the woman traveling with him caught his eye.

She was kind and pleasant to everyone, but hot and cold with him, drawing close one moment and pulling away the next.

She loves Chuyun, not you. Ji Chufeng warned himself, but he couldn't help approaching her again and again.

Content warning: Both leads are virgins. Set in an imaginary dynasty.

Coming soon: A Record of the High-Risk Raising Game [Transmigration into a Game]

After transmigrating into an ancient-style raising game, it takes only three years without internet, phones, or computers to go from ambitious to utterly hopeless.

Ye Chengge swears she'll find a way back, no matter what. Who wants to spend their days in this boring, dull life without a shred of fun? She certainly doesn't.

She doesn't find a way back, but she does find another transmigrator in the same predicament: her grandmother, the famous beauty known throughout the world, and a ruthless woman with maxed-out stats.

"We both transmigrated into this world, so how come your life is so exciting?" Ye Chengge asks.

Her "grandmother" mysteriously shows her a chocolate biscuit and says, "This is a save point. Load and rewind a thousand times, and even an idiot can make something of themselves."

Ye Chengge: I understand the idea, but why a biscuit?

Grandmother: Ahem, I downloaded the UI assets from a site that allows commercial use. I didn't look closely, and only after I transmigrated did I realize the save button wasn't a carved wooden flower. It was a biscuit with the saturation turned down.

Ye Chengge: ...No wonder you suddenly stopped updating. By the way, can I get reimbursed for the money I spent on the game?

The "grandmother," who created the game, suspects that "beating the game" is the only way to return to reality.

(Ye Chengge: I have to beat an unfinished raising game that's been abandoned for four years? No wonder we met.)

Anyway, to get back to her usual life of self-improvement (staying home and gaming to her heart's content), Ye Chengge decides to work hard at raising her stats and following the story.

Raising characters is painful. For the sake of going home, endure it!

Make a mistake, reload, then spend another intense day studying. For the sake of going home, endure it!

Cause a disaster, reload, and find the latest save was two days ago. Endure it!

Surrounded by handsome men, each using a different trick to "deal with" her, all for the sake of going ho... Wait, this one doesn't need enduring. Bring on more!

After countless reloads, she has been a noblewoman, a bold and free-spirited adventurer, a clever merchant, and an all-around talented woman. She's won over a proud younger general, a scheming, sickly scholar, a gentle, possessive childhood friend, and a sunny, warmhearted crown prince. She's experienced pure love, coercive possession, love and hate, and mutual dislike.

Without exception, each time she dies in some freak accident after a few years.

Her grandmother calls this a bug.

Ye Chengge: All right, sure. Excuse me, what kind of twisted environment were you in when you came up with the rule that your stats are randomly halved after death? I'd like to recreate the experience for you and help you reminisce.

Qin Zimu transmigrated on his way home during summer vacation in the second semester of his junior year.

At first, it all felt novel, and he was still ambitious. He settled down and studied with his older brother for three years, until one day the pastry he'd just bitten into returned to its original state, and his brother repeated the same line of poetry.

He was puzzled, but had no real evidence, so he dismissed it as a daydream.

But later...

Just as he was about to sleep, night suddenly turned to day and everything repeated.

Just as he was about to sleep, candlelight suddenly turned to daylight, and two days passed in daylight.

As someone who had transmigrated, Qin Zimu knew what was going on. So he tried calling out to the System, using his golden finger, and activating his superpowers.

In the end, he successfully summoned Taoist priests and Buddhist monks to drive away evil spirits. The process took three whole days.

Life has to go on, even if it's a bumpy ride.

Another rewind, and this time he had a lively, cheerful sister-in-law.

She was sharp-tongued but thoughtful, and could chase someone down while cursing them. She was the best wingwoman in history. As they got to know each other, he was delighted to discover they shared the same interests and could talk like old friends.

Qin Zimu secretly made up his mind: If time rewinds again, I'll take my brother's place!

Time did rewind, but why had his sister-in-law's personality changed, and why was she flirting with someone else?

Theme: Love yourself well.