The sun had already set, its afterglow staining half the sky crimson.
Su Cheng held a peony wrapped in newspaper in one hand, medicine in the other, and a stack of seven or eight workbooks tucked under his arm. Since someone was home, he knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
In less than ten seconds, light, melodious footsteps sounded from inside, and the door swung open to reveal a porcelain-doll-like face of exquisite beauty—though her sapphire-blue eyes seemed dull and lifeless.
"You're back."
Her golden hair, bathed in the evening light, seemed to radiate the intense dissatisfaction brewing in her heart.
Seeing her despondent expression, Su Cheng sighed inwardly. He knew this was likely because of his earlier inquiries about the Ji Family.
She had repeatedly warned him not to join any clubs—probably because she knew about his engagement to Ji Qingyi.
As his self-proclaimed future wife, she must have taken it to heart.
Cornelia glanced down and noticed the items in his hands. A trace of warmth flickered across her stiff expression as she hurriedly took them from him.
Her unfocused eyes studied him carefully before she asked, "Did you buy this medicine?"
"No, it was provided by the Ji Family." Su Cheng lifted the medicine slightly as he explained. "And after taking it, I’ve felt noticeably better."
A heavy silence followed his words.
Cornelia simply stared at the medicine, saying nothing.
Su Cheng understood—in that silence, her heart was filled with resentment and anger.
"As long as you're feeling better, that's all that matters," she finally said, picking up the workbooks and turning toward the living room, placing them on the coffee table as if nothing had happened.
After changing his shoes, Su Cheng followed her into the living room and was immediately drawn to the table, where a light, health-conscious meal had been prepared—clearly for his sake.
The thought made him uneasy. He had broken his promise, and now she was upset.
"Go wash up, then we'll eat," Cornelia instructed casually as she walked to the rice cooker.
"Mm." Su Cheng nodded. After freshening up, he returned to help, though there wasn’t much for him to do. He stood quietly, watching as Cornelia deftly served him rice and dishes.
The meal passed in near silence.
It was worth noting—the food tasted good.
When it came time to wash the dishes, he offered to help, but Cornelia refused. So he retreated to the couch in the living room to rest.
Clearly, she was still displeased.
About ten minutes later, Cornelia joined him on the couch, her golden hair dulled by her mood. She poured herself a glass of cold water and took a large gulp.
"The Ji Family reached out to me first," Su Cheng said, watching her drink. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to lay everything out. "They’re not just funding the orphanage—they’re also covering my medical treatment. I’ve already agreed."
At this, Cornelia’s body stiffened slightly before she turned to him with a complicated gaze.
She hadn’t expected things to spiral so far from what she’d anticipated—leaving her unprepared.
Originally, the Ji Family’s support for the orphanage was part of the plan after Su Cheng became an archery champion. Who knew it would happen so much sooner?
But she quickly composed herself and said softly, "I see. I just regret that, as your wife, I don’t have the means to help you or contribute to the orphanage."
Su Cheng immediately shook his head. "No, you’ve done more than enough."
Cornelia bit her lip, studying him with a puzzled expression. "Why would the Ji Family offer to support you? Did they recognize your potential in archery?"
"Archery potential?!" Su Cheng blinked, then pointed at himself. "You mean I have talent in archery?"
"Yes. In the future, you’ll become a champion." Though slightly confused by his reaction, Cornelia saw no reason to hide it now and nodded firmly.
Su Cheng was stunned. He had never even tried the sport—how could he have potential?
Yet Cornelia sounded so certain. Was it really possible?
A future champion?
Seriously?!
Wait—no.
Su Cheng suddenly realized a critical oversight—
She didn’t seem to know about their marriage arrangement.
"Uh… you don’t know about my connection to the Ji Family?" he ventured cautiously.
Cornelia blinked in confusion. "Should I know something?"
She didn’t understand why he’d ask such a thing.
As far as she was concerned, the only link between him and the Ji Family was archery.
"Well…" Su Cheng hesitated. How could she not know something so important?
It was a marriage contract.
She called herself his wife, yet she was completely unaware?
Baffled, he pressed, "You really don’t know?"
"Isn’t it because of your talent?" Cornelia countered, her beautiful blue eyes filled with bewilderment.
Su Cheng rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
He was now certain—Cornelia truly had no idea about the marriage contract.
Most likely, the "him" from this parallel world had deliberately kept it from her.
No wonder she hadn’t even known about his heart condition before. It seemed "he" had hidden many things from her.
"What exactly is going on between you and the Ji Family?" Cornelia asked, her expression growing uneasy.
Su Cheng faced a choice: to tell or not to tell?
He cleared his throat and finally spoke. "It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it short. Basically, my grandfather and the head of the Ji Family arranged a marriage—with Ji Qingyi."
He chose honesty. He preferred telling the truth, and besides, he needed information from Cornelia. Transparency was the best approach.
"Marriage contract?!" Cornelia shot to her feet, her eyes wide with shock. "You and Ji Qingyi?"
"Yeah," Su Cheng confirmed.
"This…" She sank back onto the couch, her face still etched with disbelief as she muttered, "What in the world is happening?"
Su Cheng and Ji Qingyi—married? How was that possible? The world had gone mad!
"Wait!" Cornelia stood again, urgency in her voice. "Did you sign the contract?"
Su Cheng nodded.
The agreement was as good as a marriage contract—he had consented.
"What does she want from you?" Cornelia pressed, her tone sharper now.
Su Cheng gave a wry smile. "She had me sign a contract. The terms were simple—I join the Archery Club so she can evaluate whether I’m fit to be the Ji Family’s son-in-law."
"What?!" Cornelia’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning. "Why would you agree to that?"
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Don’t worry, she wouldn’t be interested in me. This is just a formality—I only need to play along, and in the end, we’ll go our separate ways."
"Who said that?!"
Cornelia’s heart was in turmoil. In the past, there had been rumors on campus about Ji Qingyi and Su Cheng’s ambiguous relationship—no matter what, their connection was anything but ordinary.
However, everyone believed the two of them were impossible, and she naturally thought so too, given the difference in their statuses.
But now, there was an engagement agreement?
And it was approved by the head of the Ji Family.
She knew exactly how remarkable Su Cheng would become in the future.
"We… we…" Cornelia gasped for breath, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked utterly lost and distraught as she collapsed onto the sofa, murmuring dazedly, "Why didn’t you tell me first… I…"
Seeing Cornelia react like this, Su Cheng’s heart clenched. Recalling her earlier mention of her archery talent, a bold suspicion began forming in his mind.
Could it be that, in the future, Ji Qingyi actually had feelings for him?
Otherwise, how could he explain Cornelia’s reaction?
The thought left Su Cheng’s mind in chaos. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond. Though filled with doubt, he didn’t dare say anything reckless that might upset Cornelia further. He could only remain silent, waiting quietly for her to calm down.
But what he didn’t realize was that Cornelia couldn’t possibly calm down now—her emotions were too turbulent, because she felt utterly abandoned.
Su Cheng had cast aside his devoted wife!
Now, her grief and resentment transformed into a seething fury, making her almost hysterical, even somewhat frightening.
She had been given a second chance at life, a dreamlike opportunity for happiness.
So why… had it come to this?!
How had she gone from being the rightful wife to the other woman?
The pain was unbearable.
"Something this important—why didn’t you discuss it with me?!" Cornelia lifted her head, her eyes burning with rage as she glared at Su Cheng, her reddened eyes on the verge of tears. "It was me… I was the one who came first…"
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
