My Childhood Friend's Brother Has Been Secretly in Love with Me (Reborn)

[Sunny, straightforward, passionate ray of sunshine x insecure, conflicted, self-destructive] One-on-one romance, both chaste in both lifetimes

Blurb:

To repay her childhood sweetheart for saving her father, and to honor the promise of marriage between their families, Ming Yi marries him without hesitation, even after learning before the wedding that an accident has left him unable to walk for the rest of his life.

Who could have known that all her heartfelt love would earn her only a cruel mother-in-law, a harsh husband, and an attempt on her life?

Reborn, she turns her attention to her childhood sweetheart's older brother, a man infamous for his brutality.

At a palace banquet, Gu Lian is the Son of Heaven's lackey, responsible for maintaining order in the palace. He shouldn't be drinking, but he can't bring himself to refuse the cup of wine Ming Yi offers him in thanks.

The wine is drugged, and a sudden fire ignites in his belly.

At last, he looks at her with an honest warmth in his eyes.

Ming Yi helps him to the bed. She looks up timidly, her expression pitiful. "I can't refuse the marriage arrangement with the Gu family. If I have to marry, I want it to be you."

She tries to let go, but his large hand grips hers tightly. His dark eyes are deep and still as a well. "So you drugged me?"

Ming Yi's cheeks burn as she stammers, "I-I was afraid you wouldn't agree..."

He helped her get revenge. Surely, that meant he was on her side.

But for some reason, he always avoids her. Even when they meet by chance, he is cold and distant.

"Do you know who I am?"

"...Yes, big brother."

"I have a hidden ailment. Are you still willing?"

Ming Yi answers innocently, "Of course."

His younger brother can't walk, and she still married him, didn't she?

Besides, it's his ailment, not hers. Surely she won't have to die all over again.

But she doesn't know that his illness is connected to her, and when it flares up, it is almost as if he is dead.

#Quirky, adorable girl x dark, twisted demon king

Title and blurb are tentative; screenshots have been taken.

Theme: Actively pursue the life you want.