I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - Chapter 10 - Tangneng First-class

He was once the most feared villain in the empire, a master of manipulation who wove chaos from the shadows. Ruthless, untouchable—until the day he was betrayed and executed by the very man he sought to control.But death is not the end.He awakens in the body of Lady Elara Valcrest, a fragile noble girl doomed to be a pawn in political games. Stripped of her former power, she is forced into an arranged marriage with none other than Cairon Everhart—the man who once killed her. He does not recognize her, but she knows him. And she will never forget.To survive, Elara must play a new game. One where deception is her only weapon, and trust is a dangerous illusion. She must outmaneuver her enemies, uncover the truth behind her execution, and reclaim the power she lost. But as she navigates the treacherous world of court intrigue, one question lingers—Was Cairon truly her greatest enemy? Or had she been blind to an even greater threat?Time is running out. The villain has been given one last chance. And this time, she refuses to lose.

Su Jianan was marrying the love of her life. It all seemed picture-perfect, except for a few catches. One, it was a marriage of convenience. Two, she would be divorced after two years.

With her well-being under threat, Su Jianan had only one choice to keep herself safe: marrying, and pretending to be loved by a powerful man capable of protecting her. Conveniently, her soon-to-be husband was Lu Boyan, a man she had been secretly in love with for fourteen years. She went along with the marriage, knowing full well that her love was one-sided.

Or was it?

Business tycoon Lu Boyan had known Su Jianan ever since she was ten. Back then, the death of his father had plunged his world into darkness, and Su Jianan’s presence had brought a new ray of light into his life. Now, it was his turn to protect her. He would marry her to keep her safe. But two years later, he would divorce her: it would no longer be safe for her to remain by his side.

What fate awaited Su Jianan and Lu Boyan? Would their marriage mark the beginning of a happily ever after? Or would it lead to heartbreak and sorrow? Would their marriage outlast the two years? What kind of secret was Lu Boyan keeping?

Follow along with the twists and turns of this slow-burn, action-packed love story!

- Description from Novelupdates

{MATURE CONTENT! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.}

Jade Nova Frost, heiress to the Frost Empire, a Mafia gang. During a family celebration, she had her full family and its supporters, murdered by a rival Mafia family.

Escaping with her life, Jade moved to Star Cross City to lay low, changing her identity and plotting her revenge against her sworn enemy, Zale Anders.

Jade meets Xander Warner, the all-time wealthy, handsome, intelligent CEO of the Warner Corporations, blessed with a mysterious power, in an unfortunate incident, where the latter tries to protect her, both unaware of each other’s true identity.

Through revenge and chaos, both fell in love with each other, only to be faced with a shocking truth.

Would she let her revenge take over and end all those who took her family from her or would she let her love for him rule out everything?

What secrets lay in dark and what cruel destiny awaited her?

*********

“Is that any way to treat the person who saved you thrice in one night, tigress?”

“I didn’t ask for your help. I could handle it myself,” Jade protested.

“Really? I wonder what you had done to them, for so many men to be chasing after you right now.” His calm cool voice breezed into her ears, sending chills down her spine at how lovely his voice could be.

“Not your business. Why do you keep coming after me? Who are you? I do not know you.”

She raised her head, so she could look at his eyes to be sure he wasn’t going to lie. A terrible mistake she made as her eyes came in contact with those sexy lips that would capture a girl’s heart at once.

His eyes melted a little at the sight that captivated him. Taking his gaze back up, he took in what he could of her beauty and felt he was been drowned in.

“So pretty.”

“Huh?”

The next thing he did, left her wide-eyed and blinking uncontrollably, trying to process what was happening. Xander had leaned in and captured her lips in a sensual, breathtaking kiss, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her lips on his.

To care for her ailing sweetheart, college student Lu Chenchen gave up her white-collar office job and chose the higher-paying caretaker profession instead. Going around in circles, she ended up at the Mao family’s home.

The Mao family background was complicated. Old Madam Mao was not her son Yanning’s birth mom, but his young aunt. His wife was Old Madam Mao’s first love’s daughter, spoiled and pampered. Despite over ten years of marriage, husband and wife were distant.

To repay Old Madam Mao’s kindness in raising him, and for the sake of his three children, Mao Yanning endured again and again – not just a loveless but outright destructive marriage.

Lu Chenchen walked on eggshells among these people – carefully serving young and old, currying favor with the lady of the house without offending the man of the house, while also worrying about his sweetheart’s illness and missing “his” elders and children back home. Her heart was like a cookie flattened between the pages of life, living a difficult and cautious existence.

However, as the saying goes, “You reap what you sow.” A life that has been polished will eventually shine with a brilliance that ordinary years cannot compare.