After Xu Jing's mother was beaten by the city enforcement officers, her internal organs were severely injured. It was the kind of agonizing trauma people often called an "internal wound," a hidden rot that didn't bleed but slowly stole her life away. If she had received proper treatment in time, the tragedy that followed might never have happened.
However, she was terrified that her condition would become a financial burden to her daughter. She endured the sharp, stabbing pain in silence, refusing to say a single word as her skin grew paler by the day. The injury worsened as time passed, the inflammation spreading through her frail body, until at last she passed away in the quiet of the night.
In truth, the creator Su Li had no real understanding of whether internal organ damage could actually cause death in such a specific timeframe. She had simply decided that the mother had to die. Otherwise, how could the daughter be freed from her family circumstances and begin a romance with the protagonist? The author seemed to think the girl hadn't suffered enough for the sake of drama.
After her mother died, the father's chronic illness suddenly flared up in the damp, mourning-filled house. Before long, he passed away as well, leaving behind a significant amount of debt that weighed on the girl's shoulders like lead. From that moment on, she was completely alone. She became an orphan and had to work part-time jobs until her feet ached, all while continuing her studies in order to slowly repay those mounting debts.
Originally, according to Su Li's plan, the girl would have been driven to the brink by cruel, predatory creditors, forced into a dark situation where she might have had to sell herself to repay the debt. At that critical moment, the male lead Yang Ming would step forward to save her from despair. From then on, her heart would belong entirely to him. In order to compete for Yang Ming's affection, she would even turn against her best friend Yang Qianqian.
A storyline where two close friends fall out over a man might disgust female readers. In real life, such bitter situations happened far too often. People even joked about the necessity of guarding against fire, thieves, and best friends. For male readers, however, this kind of plot was extremely enjoyable. They wished every good woman in the world would fall in love with the protagonist, because they imagined themselves in the male lead's position. The vast majority of this series' audience was male.
The more deeply the author portrayed the friendship between Xu Jing and Yang Qianqian, the more powerful it would seem when the girl eventually turned against her friend for the sake of love. It would show just how much she loved the male lead. Male readers would surely find the betrayal thrilling. Two women fighting over one man was the perfect dramatic battlefield to boost ratings.
As for the ending, the result would naturally be that all the women loved the male lead so much that they compromised with one another. Each would declare something like, "No matter how many women you have, as long as you keep me in your heart, it's enough." In the end, the male lead and all the women would live together happily in a sprawling home. That was the grand happy ending readers loved. Many harem novels and manga used the same formula. After all, love was supposed to tolerate everything.
Yet because this kind of ending had become so common, a work like Pure Love would gradually fade from the readers' memories over time. More and more similar harem stories would appear and replace it in the rankings. Once the girl became merely one of many in a crowded cast, she would lose the uniqueness that defined her character. Some readers might even begin to dislike her. Her behavior would look cheap and shameless. Turning against her best friend just to fight over the male lead completely contradicted her original character design. If she truly acted that way, the character would collapse entirely. How could she ever become a classic figure?
Because of this, Zhao Youyue decisively took control of the story's direction. The deaths of the parents became the perfect opportunity for change. The creditor she encountered wasn't some evil, snarling debt collector. Instead, he was a long-time friend of her parents. After learning about the girl's desperate situation, he felt deep sympathy. Rather than rushing to demand repayment, he allowed her to pay the debt slowly over time, his voice gentle and understanding.
This kind of change only required a single thought from the author. Readers would likely feel relieved when they saw such a development. At least the story had stopped tormenting the girl for the moment. The image of her working part-time while continuing her studies to repay the debt would leave a far stronger impression than if she simply joined the male lead's harem as another nameless girl.
The person who introduced her to a job naturally became her best friend, Yang Qianqian. Every weekend she would visit Yang Qianqian's house and voluntarily help with the chores and cleaning, her hands moving efficiently across the surfaces. She refused any payment. Many readers might assume that during this process, the girl would gradually fall in love with the male lead Yang Ming.
This time, however, they would be completely wrong. Yang Ming wasn't the type of man who actively pursued anyone. He unconsciously attracted female characters without realizing it, moving through life with a dense, passive aura. When it came to romance, he was slow and frustratingly passive. A man like that had no way of capturing a heart as guarded as hers.
The strong girl didn't need anyone's pity or sympathy. She would rely on her own efforts to escape her difficult circumstances, her expression remaining as unreadable as ever.
After her parents died and she was left alone in the world, the most important person in her heart became her closest friend, Yang Qianqian.
For Yang Qianqian's happiness, she could do anything.
But she didn't believe that Yang Qianqian loving her older brother so deeply would bring happiness. On the contrary, she saw that it would only cause her friend unnecessary pain.
In truth, after losing her parents, she had already entered a darkened state of mind. She developed a powerful, suffocating possessiveness toward Yang Qianqian and began to see the girl as the only reason she remained alive. All her emotions were poured into that single person. She fell deeply in love with Yang Qianqian. It was a twisted kind of love, born of grief and isolation. If her life hadn't been so tragic, she might never have become like this.
So when she listened once again to Yang Qianqian confiding her feelings about love, she pressed her lips together and lowered her head slightly. Her eyes lost their focus, staring at the floorboards.
Why did Yang Qianqian always mention that "Yang Ming"?
What was so great about him?
A worthless Gege who couldn't even understand his meimei's feelings should simply die.
But I can't do it myself. If Qianqian finds out, she will definitely hate me.
Actually, I don't need to act personally. Aren't there already so many foolish women surrounding him?
Those women deserve to die as well.
If they didn't exist, would Qianqian still be so troubled?
Everything is Yang Ming's fault. Everything is those women's fault. If they disappeared, Qianqian would be happy.
Because I'm here.
I will definitely make Qianqian happy.
When a top student falls into darkness, the destruction they can cause is often immense.
Zhao Youyue, possessing the girl's body, officially began making trouble.
First, she used Yang Qianqian as a connection to meet Yang Ming's childhood friend, Li Xiaotong. She was a very calculating girl who always appeared energetic and cheerful, wearing a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She liked to dominate the male lead and treated him as something that belonged to her, something no one else was allowed to take away.
The possessed girl arranged to meet Li Xiaotong privately on a quiet street corner. Her opening sentence immediately wiped the smile from Li Xiaotong's face, leaving it cold and tense.
"You have noticed it too, haven't you? Yang Qianqian's feelings for her Gege go beyond ordinary sibling affection."
Li Xiaotong snorted coldly, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms. "So what? Ah Ming only sees her as his Meimei, even if they aren't related by blood. What is this? Did Yang Qianqian send her little follower here to provoke me?"
The girl remained expressionless. Her voice was calm and steady as she spoke.
"I came to help you."