Once Upon in Nanjing - Chapter 3 - 2 Bai Yang

« MATURE CONTENT »His name is Raven Lustre. And the universe fucked him from day one.Imagine this: You get isekai'd to a fantasy world. Finally, right? Your moment. Dragon slayers, demon kings, the whole power fantasy package. Except when everyone else rolled Dragon, Archangel, Titan—bloodlines so pure they could split mountains on day one—you got Incubus.60% purity. The discount bin special.Not the “seduce and conquer” kind you read about in those masterpiece web novels. The “your pheromones are weaker than cologne” kind. The “you can't charm anyone stronger than you” kind. Which in a world where everyone else is a walking apocalypse? Means you can't charm anyone who matters.So while Gareth—the muscle-brained Titan hero—was bench-pressing boulders, and Astasia—the Holy Archangel with a body that belonged in a cathedral and a face she hid behind a helmet—was literally glowing with divine power, Raven was in the back. The strategist. The brain. The guy they kept around because someone had to think.And they hated him for it.Astasia called him trash. Disgusting. Bastard. Freak.Every curse word a noblewoman could learn, she threw at him like stones. He thought she despised him. Thought she saw him as the weakest link dragging down the hero party.Turns out? 89% favorability. She was a fucking tsundere.And he never knew. Never saw it. Because he was too busy surviving, too busy stealing quick fucks with noblewomen in hallways just to recharge his trash-tier powers, too busy being treated like a prostitute with a brain instead of a hero.Then there was Nyra. The cat-woman. Gareth's slave. The one Raven fucked in secret because that idiot was too busy drawing pictures of Astasia like a lovesick puppy. 96% favorability. The one who actually loved him. The one he promised to free.And he failed.An Incubus got who died at Hand of Succubus during their first Session.The End.

In my previous life, I was a pawn, highlighting Henry Preston's deep affection for another woman, ultimately leading to a tragic end with a broken family and a desolate fate.After being reborn, I found that letting go and doing nothing felt the most comfortable, so I decided not to intervene and just wait for Henry Preston to propose a divorce.But the situation developed a bit strangely; the man who was never home in the past life started coming back frequently. He also seemed worried that I might cheat on him.“Do you believe that in the near future, you'll be eager for me to disappear?” I asked.“Stop dreaming,” he replied. “We'll torment each other to death.”I sighed, confident in my knowledge as someone reborn, that Henry Preston would soon meet his true love.Finally, he and she met, and I thought my freedom was just a step away.However, he quietly asked back, “Who said I was going to divorce?”Not only did he refuse to divorce, but he also started paying more and more attention to me, even abandoning his true love!

Behind the calm smile lies a heart riddled with scars.Beneath the weight of fate burns an unyielding gaze.A body trapped in the abyss of despair—if it reaches out, can it grasp the light called hope?A soul locked upon the rack of destiny—if it prays sincerely, can it embrace the future called redemption?

A wedding forged in vengeance, where love is the only risk they never planned for.“Let's get married,” Mia says, her voice trembling despite the fire in her eyes as she meets Stefan's guarded gaze. She needs this—needs him—even if he looks at her like she's just another complication.Stefan arches a brow, unimpressed. “And why would I do that?”“We both know what it's like to be betrayed by the men who raised us,” she replies, refusing to back down. “They stole our birthrights and handed them to someone else. The only difference is… you're the illegitimate one. I'm not.”He studies her—this heiress in designer armor, hiding rage beneath polish. “So your grand plan is a wedding band as revenge?”“No,” she says, stepping closer, close enough for him to smell the jasmine and gunpowder. “It's the only weapon they won't see coming.”Their fathers built empires by manipulation and control. Now, their children are making a vow—to burn it all down.Two shattered heirs. One dangerous alliance. A marriage built on vengeance.Mia Meyers was born to inherit her father's empire—until he handed it to his bastard son instead. Stefan Sterling knows rejection too well, discarded by a father who only valued power. Now, these rivals-turned-co-conspirators hatch a plan: marry for revenge, crush their fathers' legacies, and take what should've always been theirs.No love. No feelings. No divorce.But as lines blur between strategy and obsession, the real question becomes: can two enemies survive a marriage built not on trust—but on spite?