Against the Clock: The Team Leader's Pursuit of Glory - Chapter 9 - I Won’t Give Up

Meili is a once-in-a-generation beauty raised in secrecy in the inner courtyards. To keep her safe from the palace concubine selections, her family conspires to make everyone, including her, believe that she's ugly. The secret's revealed when 3 peeping Tom’s get more than they bargained for spying on the 'ugly sister' bathing.The perverts are best friends, a young commander, the second prince, and an admired poet, and the 3 young men compete fiercely for her affections. As Meili emerges from 16 years in seclusion, her deeply rooted body dysmorphia has hilarious consequences as she misreads her interactions with men and proves to be a far more complex puzzle to woo than any of them are equipped for.A cdrama romcom where a young girl is a glittering prize trying her hardest not to be won.[#teen #lovequadrangle #historicalromance #romcom #chinesedrama #sweetromance]EXTRACT: Meili slipped out of her robe and sat on a ledge in the warm pool. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, tiny silver bells tinkled as she moved.It felt wonderful to be free of her chest binding. It was starting to get quite painful. She didn't dare stop wearing it in case it encouraged her already disconcertingly large breasts to keep expanding.It was onto this scene that the Commander, the Prince and the poet happened, as they soundlessly raised their heads above the peaked roofline. For a full minute not one of them moved or breathed.Her long hair covered her generous curves, allowing tantalising glimpses. She reached behind her neck to push back her hair.Commander Bai, realising what was about to happen, clamped each of his hands firmly over the eyes of the Prince and Tan Bowen. A fight broke out on the ridge-line as the men clawed and scratched in a panicked attempt to see what came next.Meili looked up in fright, just as the commander forcefully pushed his two friends, sliding them down the steep rooftop.For just a split second, the eyes of Commander Bai and Meili met.

Arriving in a new world where the steam industry was booming, he inherited a three-story apartment on the capital’s royal square, took in someone else’s cat, and listened to the whispers at his ear, ready to witness this mysterious and bizarre era. The epic of the Sixth Era was about to commence, and behind the curtain, The Chosen One was destined to step into legend. Old Gods, Relics, steam, witches, detectives, ancient secrets, the Era’s brilliance... “Would you like to play a round of Roder Cards?” Time engraved the hours, as Silvermoon illuminated the shadows. I compose your legend, you whisper your verses to me.

This is a time of great powers: The vast Persia, Sparta that was founded by force, Athens with its trade and business, Thebes the rising star, The ambitious Macedonia, The twin heroes of the Western Mediterranean, The rising Rome and so on.

This is an era of brilliant stars: Agesilaus II – the last king of Sparta, Epaminondas – the Rising General of Thebes, Philip II – the founder of Macedonian’s hegemon, Dionysius – the tyrant of Syracuse, Camillus – the Roman dictator and savior…

This is an era of contention among a hundred schools of thought: Plato – the great philosopher, Antisthenes – founder of cynicism, Pythagoras – school of number, Democritus – the encyclopedia scholar, Hippocrates – the father of western medicine, Aristophanes – the great dramatist…

What will the hero bring to the world when he comes to this age as a humble mercenary through rebirth?

There’s an ancient saying in Great Ruins, ‘Don’t go outside when it’s dark.’