Chapter 1
“Relax, relax.
“All you have to do is follow the plot and become his idealized beloved who dies young. Then you can return to the real world with a fortune,” the system assured me.
No sooner had it finished speaking than my frail husband covered his mouth and began to cough.
His face was as white as paper.
Even coughing seemed liable to kill him.
The system tried to salvage its argument. “Well, yes, but… you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
A moment later, Chu Huaizhi passed out.
The system went silent.
I was used to it.
This was the third time he’d fainted that month.
I summoned the physician and fed him his medicine with practiced ease.
He woke during the night to find me dozing beside his bed, my head resting on my arms.
Reaching out with long, slender fingers as lovely as pale bamboo, he gently traced my brows and eyes.
As I stirred, he snatched his hand back as if he’d been shocked. Unsure what to do, he managed a smile.
“Ah Ying, this has been hard on you.”
His eyes were full of tenderness in the candlelight. Years of illness spent indoors had left his complexion cool and pale as jade.
Chu Huaizhi came from a distinguished family of officials. Sickly though he was, he was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even in an age famed for its elegant, accomplished gentlemen, he stood out.
Of course, it was his chronic illness that had allowed me to marry him so easily.
On our wedding night, servants had helped Chu Huaizhi into the bridal chamber, where he lifted my red veil.
His expression was unreadable. I couldn’t tell what he felt as he apologized softly.
“Forgive me. I am gravely ill. I’m afraid I may be unable to consummate our marriage.”
I had never seen such a beautiful man. Wiping the corner of my mouth, I said, “That’s all right. That isn’t why I married you.”
Chu Huaizhi watched me, his lips curving into a quiet smile.
Mortified, I admitted, “All right… not entirely.
“But don’t worry. I can restrain myself.”
And so I spent three years married in name alone.
To get the plot moving so I could collect my reward and go home,
I decided to do everything I could to cure him. I spent my days following the physician who tended him, learning all I could.
In my spare time, I studied medical texts, went into the mountains with the physician to dig for herbs, planted rows of medicinal plants in our courtyard, and personally prepared his medicine and cared for him.
Chu Huaizhi seemed bewildered by my efforts.
“I’ve done nothing for you. Why are you so good to me?”
Though he came from an illustrious family, his frailty had earned him little favor with its head.
Over time, even the servants’ initial pity had given way to indifference as they grew accustomed to his condition.
I gave the proper answer. “A daughter obeys her father; a wife follows her husband.
“Our fortunes rise and fall together.”
But for all my devoted care, his illness showed no improvement.
Nobody had told me this romance mission involved spending a lifetime in a celibate marriage first.
Eventually, I began wondering when he would die. If I couldn’t progress through the plot, perhaps I could exploit a bug.
The system said, “A friendly reminder: if your target dies of his illness, your mission will count as a failure.”