However, these days, he had become the most famous figure in the academy. He challenged the kind and virtuous Larisa to a duel and was beaten like a dog.
Thanks to that, he was even subtly teased among his peers. At first, Alexander was angry, but as even his family scolded him, he began to question whether he was truly at fault.
Moreover, unlike Larisa, who volunteered to withdraw from the extra group to avoid causing harm to her peers, he was struggling with his school life.
“Am I really a bad guy? Is that true?”
Alexander swallowed back tears and bowed his head.
“Anyway, I’m really sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“What?”
Alexander was tense. “What’s there to apologize for?” This was a kind of verbal martial art often used by women to corner their opponents.
However, Larisa just scratched her cheek and offered a kind smile.
“No, I don’t think you did anything wrong.”
Alexander looked at Larisa suspiciously. In response, Larisa giggled, and her high, pink-tied hair swayed.
Suddenly, the scent of spring and Larisa’s soap wafted through the air. Alexander, trying to appear nonchalant, covered his fiery face with one hand and tried to justify himself.
“I challenged you for no reason.”
“But didn’t I accept the challenge? No one has the right to say anything about it.”
“But…”
As Alexander’s apology didn’t seem to be enough, he started to get choked up again. Alexander, raised as the youngest son of the noble family patriarch in a carefree manner, had never experienced being in such a pathetic state before. Bursting out, Alexander shouted,
“Because of you, I’m being ostracized!”
“What?”
Larisa widened her eyes in surprise.
Embarrassed, Alexander covered his face with both hands and said,
“No, forget it. I’ll just go.”
“Wait!”
Larisa grabbed Alexander’s wrist.
“What are you talking about? Ostracized?”
This was a new story for Larisa. Nevertheless, Alexander, who had his wrist held by a foreign girl, groaned uncomfortably.
“Sorry, are you hurt?”
“Whoa, why are you suddenly grabbing me like that?”
“Does it hurt a lot? Should I lend you some medicine?”
“No, I said no!”
“Come on, where did you get hurt?”
“I told you, I’m fine!”
Alexander roughly pulled his hand away. Then, Larisa swayed slightly. Alexander, in the momentum, grabbed Larisa’s arms.
“You didn’t fall hard.”
Larisa’s lower body wasn’t that weak. Alexander’s face turned crimson.
“You… Are you actually a good person?”
Alexander felt like crying.
“Alex! Let’s spar!”
Larisa said with a bright smile. Alexander, thinking this was insane, looked around and hesitated as all the classmates were staring at them.
“Huh? Are you gonna do it?”
‘Is she trying to bury me completely?’
Alexander raised his sword with a tense face. The spar began. This time, Alexander was being considerate, so Larisa was able to engage in a decent sword fight.
‘It’s kind of boring.’
Larisa thought to herself. There was no sense of danger at all. In fact, she initiated this friendly act to help Alexander, who claimed to be ostracized because of her. However, once the spar began, she found it a bit disappointing that there was no sense of danger.
‘It was thrilling during the duel.’
Larisa pondered.
‘Should I make it more intense?’
On the other hand, Alexander was lost in his thoughts.
‘Alright, let’s go along with it, pretend to be careless, and let her win. Then those guys won’t bother us anymore, right?’
Alexander really let his guard down. And Larisa was casually contemplating a trick. Like a pickpocket, Larisa thrust her sword into Alexander’s pocket.
Alexander quickly twisted his body. He was bewildered. It was because the attack was entirely unfamiliar to him.
‘Who targets such an area, not the heart or neck?’
Thinking that the attack wouldn’t go through at once, Larisa danced around, drawing circles and continuously aiming her sword. Alexander quickly twisted his wrist to parry Larisa’s sword.
“What are you doing now?”
“What?”
“Why are you attacking weird places?”
“How else should I exploit the vulnerability there?”
Larisa responded naturally. At that, Alexander had nothing to say. Alexander gradually became more serious. He didn’t understand why Larisa was targeting the belt, but he was afraid of making a fool of himself.
As Alexander became more serious, Larisa felt a bit disappointed.
‘There’s no opening. Should I create one?’
Larisa aimed the tip of her sword at the ground. While Alexander was looking at Larisa’s sword tip, she kicked the ground with her sword, causing dirt to get into his eyes.
“Argh, what are you really doing!”
“An opening!”
In an instant, Alexander, who almost had his throat pierced, sighed.
“…I lost.”
“Wow! Hooray! I defeated Alex!”
Larisa, happy with her victory, began to bounce around. Alexander shed tears. Their peers who had been watching their sparring comforted Alexander.
“Hey, are you okay? Are you crying?”
“N-No, it’s because dirt got into my eyes!”
Alexander became known as the boy who fought with a girl and cried after losing.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
