Drama

The Xie Family all studied law, possessing the fine qualities expected of a scholarly family. Xie Shang too had them: elegance, deep learning, a Fragrance Connoisseur versed in classics, also skilled in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
    But he was mad, capable of reciting the scriptures while holding a Buddha statue, as well as breaking people’s hand and foot bones, very gentle, yet very cruel.
    Xie Shang didn’t become a lawyer but opened a pawnshop instead, where you could pawn anything as long as the story was compelling.
    One day, someone came to the pawnshop and told a story:
    In Fragrant City, there was a family with the surname Wen, where daughters took their mother’s surname. The daughters of that family could cast spells, the kind that bewitched men, leaving their lovers either buried with them or taking vows of celibacy; in short, either dead or destined for a lonely life.
    Xie Shang’s uncle had died in Fragrant City, which is why he accepted this particular pawning business.
    Bewitched, confused, thrilled, deeply in love, but love unattained, and a pain so intense it made life unbearable. — This was the script Xie Shang had prepared for the deaf boy Wen Changling.
    In the end, it was Xie Shang who ended up with this romance-addled script.
    Wen Changling: Are you surprised, Mr. Xie Shang?
    (This isn’t a book transmigration story, it’s a contemporary sweet romance. The ‘script’ in the book title implies deliberate plotting.)