Gu Jiao thinks that love and romance in this world were never meant for her.
After seven years of knowing each other, her fiancé defects overnight, colluding with the enemy. Before she can even finish trying on her wedding dress, an imperial edict arrives—the reigning emperor commands her to enter the palace.
Once the news breaks, all of the Imperial Capital begins whispering: she and His Majesty had never gotten along in their youth. In the future, she would merely be a chess piece—used to restrain her former fiancé.
She sighs, casually tosses the marriage contract into the fire, and thinks…
That assessment isn’t exactly wrong.
His Majesty is cold and aloof, distant in both joy and anger, with only one notable exception—
From their very first meeting, he has loathed her.
As a qualified chess piece, Gu Jiao has excellent self-awareness.
She asks for no true affection—only the right to lie flat and coast.
Until the day an assassination attempt occurs, and His Majesty, without warning, steps in front of her to take the blade.
Even more shocking—while gravely wounded and unconscious, the name he murmurs in delirium is unmistakably hers.
Gu Jiao: It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. I know nothing.
Later on, the barriers between them gradually dissolve. One night, they drink together.
The man before her has brows like ink-painted strokes. Yet Gu Jiao blanks out for a moment, another figure suddenly flashing through her mind.
She jolts awake—only to see His Majesty’s eyes redden, as if he’s collapsing in an instant.
Staggering back a step, he demands hoarsely,
“Is it that—aside from him—no one else in this world can ever catch your eye?”
Gu Jiao: Well, not exactly… hey, wait—don’t cry!
His Side
In Jun Heng’s heart, there is a moon.
Dragging his broken body through life, he longs for the day he might stand beside her—
yet with his own eyes, he watches her smile brightly at a gentle young man.
With his heart reduced to ashes, he wonders—
If that person didn’t exist, would she look at him just once more?
So he sets a scheme.
And truly, he fulfills a dream.
But lies always come undone.
Her gaze turns cold as she leaves him only a resolute back.
“Let’s not meet again.”
Blood spills crimson from his lips. Endless pain floods his chest as he thinks, blankly—
She doesn’t want him anymore.
Of course.
It was always just his wishful thinking.
When the day of karmic reckoning arrives, the man she once loved leads troops to the city gates.
Upon the city walls, Jun Heng writes a self-blame edict, lowers his eyes, and smiles faintly as he drinks the poisoned wine in one gulp.
“…Sorry. You won’t be able to forget me.”
Bonus Scene
Jun Heng: I know you don’t like me. It’s fine. No one ever cares about me anyway. I’m used to it.
Gu Jiao: Hey—um—Your Majesty, could you at least let go of my sleeve before saying something so tragic?
