The cabin seen beyond the fence, after crossing over, looked even more serious than it did from a distance. It seemed ominous, as if ghosts might pop out at any moment, and the aged, almost charred roof appeared as if it wouldn’t withstand a drop of rain. As Valentine mentioned, it had the appearance of being abandoned for hundreds of years.
“It seems to have lived for a very long time.”
Adele grabbed Valentine’s sleeve and pointed here and there. As she said, there were traces of long-term living all around, from a storage shed with preserved food to an old chicken coop and abundant dried herbs.
What was strange was that, amidst the chaos of dust, everything was neatly arranged in its place.
It seemed like someone, sensing that the owner would be gone forever, had cleaned everything thoroughly in advance.
Valentine gently removed her hand from his sleeve.
“I’ll go check around for a moment.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Don’t go too far. Stay here.”
Where could he possibly go in such a suspicious place? Valentine left her and entered the cabin.
Perhaps he had business there from the beginning.
Adele carefully crossed the ripe tomato-filled vegetable garden.
Though she entered due to curiosity, her original purpose was to read the inscription on the gravestone. Once she read the letters, she planned to leave this peculiar place without any lingering attachments.
However, she couldn’t grasp the era of the inscription. Even though she could proficiently write in ancient Aryan and Dirth, she had never seen a similar language.
“Hey, Valentine. Do you know what’s written on this gravestone?”
Adele gestured toward Valentine, who had circled the inside of the cabin without her noticing.
Valentine, who had slowly crossed the vegetable garden, looked down at the gravestone. In an instant, his eyes, which were more icy than cold, slightly narrowed.
He intentionally hid his eyes that were not concealed by a layer of eyelids and replied in a deliberately calm voice.
“To rest in peaceful repose.”
Adele pressed down on her rapidly beating heart, startled. She couldn’t figure out exactly what had surprised her.
Was it the fact that he actually read it? Or the indescribable hostility in him as he stared at the grave?
She hesitantly looked back at the gravestone. It still looked fragile and small, as if it could disappear at any moment.
“…Is that all that’s written?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
Adele intuitively realized that he was lying. Valentine firmly grabbed her wrist.
“There’s nothing more to see here.”
He coldly stared at the gravestone, and somewhat hastily, he pulled Adele toward him.
As if a hand were to come out from the gravestone and permanently hold her there.
“Let’s go now.”
Valentine quickly grabbed Adele’s hand and hurriedly left beyond the fence.
As soon as they completely crossed the boundary, the fence’s gate automatically locked again.
“That’s…”
“Well, it’s magic. It’s very old, and now it’s dying.”
“Have they been waiting for the owner all this time?”
“I… don’t know.”
It felt like an old witch’s hut that appeared in fairy tales. Adele, after a final glance around the cabin, discovered that Valentine was holding a thin leather book and a bracelet made of gold. Clearly, he seemed empty-handed when they arrived.
Valentine, catching Adele’s gaze, casually explained, “It was originally mine. Just things… to receive, nothing more.”
“Were these things borrowed from the owner of the cabin?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
For some reason, if it was associated with Valentine, it could indeed be a hut of a ‘witch.’
Adele, feeling like she had entered a fairy tale, asked with an unusual excitement, unlike her usual self, “Was that person human?”
“…Yes.”
“Really? That’s fascinating. Were you friends?”
“Don’t ask about other things, Adele. Please.”
He seemed a bit weary.
Did she ask too many questions? Adele, overwhelmed by the sudden surge of anxiety, tightly grasped the edge of his sleeve.
“I’m sorry. I behaved too recklessly, asking too many questions…”
Valentine, who had been silently looking down at her, sighed and gently pulled her into his arms.
Adele pressed her nose against his chest and barely managed to breathe. Although it wasn’t normal to be this anxious, losing the warmth and kindness she had just gained was terrifying even to imagine.
“It’s… not your fault. It wasn’t you who behaved badly…”
The winter scent, always chilly, emanated from his arms. Being embraced like a child, it gradually became embarrassing.
Adele pushed him away slightly and escaped from his embrace.
“By the way, your pronunciation has suddenly become more accurate.”
It seemed better to get out of the uncomfortable situation. He, seeming to understand her intention, smiled slightly, tilting his head.
“Did it feel… like that?”
“Sometimes you stutter or blur the end of your words. Everyone knows that your recovery is progressing rapidly, so if you purposely do that, you don’t need to anymore.”
“But if I don’t, Adele might not… hate me. If I don’t pretend to be this inadequate…”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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