The Surgeon’s Studio - Chapter 106 - Crossed Hands Maneuver

Zhao Chuchu was reborn in a time before the apocalypse. As soon as the space was filled with supplies, something fell from a high altitude and killed her. Then, she transmigrated, becoming a small villager in an unknown dynasty. She started this new life by taking out the natives, dealing with the plague, and becoming a divine doctor in one fell swoop. Using her fists, she gained high status. She bullied those scums until they cried for their mommy and begged for mercy. She produced large quantities of rice, beans, and sweet potatoes… She could do everything, and she earned a lot of money with that. Everyone watched as she reconciled with Xiao Xiucai. They watched until a baby was born, as well as until Xiao Xiucai became the top scholar and smoothly became the Chief Minister. Then, everyone waited for the day the Chief Minister would divorce his wife, who went through hardships in life with him. They waited and waited until the couple had grown old, the two living together for the rest of their lives.

He kept her by his side, never letting go! “Please, can you let me go?” “Impossible,” he said, “unless you're no longer my only one.” After they fell in love, he declared possessively, “I want to keep you by my side, to make you belong only to me. You can only love me too, your mind, your world, must be filled with only me.” Yet his domineering love sent a chill through her.

Shi Qing Xia is practically an angel.

Kind, sweet-hearted, and good at her studies, she was admitted to the top university in Taipei.

However, the living expenses for the metropolitan city were far greater than she had ever imagined, so she started to work as a private tutor for wealthy families to make ends meet.

On her first day of work, she met Zhao Yi Bo and Zhao Yi Xuan, a pair of neglected 16-year-old genius twins whose prosperous and wealthy parents heartlessly abandoned in Taiwan. Shi Qing Xia found them to be gentle, compassionate, friendly, clever, mysterious, pitiful and attractive.

But appearances can be very deceiving…

Because behind those sweet smiles…

Deeply twisted and cruel demons lurked, waiting to rip apart the wings of this angel, condemning her to an eternity of conflicted bittersweet suffering — a rollercoaster ride of a heart-wrenching, twisted, and tragic romance more extreme than what someone so innocent could possibly imagine.

- Description from Novelupdates

Elias “Grim” Kingsley, a nine-year-old orphan with a hardened heart and sharp tongue, dies alone from pneumonia in an overcrowded orphanage. Known for his perpetual scowl and biting remarks, he's labeled a “problem child” by caretakers and “damaged goods” by potential adopters. Years of rejection have built thick armor around his young heart.In death, he encounters the God of Balance who offers him a second chance at life in a different world—this time as Grim Van Ambrose, son of a noble house. Balance explains that every soul deserves to know love and connection, something Elias was cruelly denied in his first life.Promised the family and belonging he never experienced, Grim begins his new life only to suffer an immediate tragedy: his mother dies moments after his birth. This cruel twist of fate reinforces his belief that loss is inevitable, leaving him with a distant father and the mysterious voice of a “Guidance Assistant” in his head.As Grim grows into his new identity, he struggles with his dual nature—the emotional scars of his past life bleeding into his present one. His difficult personality and sharp tongue remain, now paired with noble privilege and expectations. Despite his outward brashness, he carries the deep wounds of his first life and the fresh loss that welcomed him into his second.What begins as one orphan's second chance evolves into an epic journey through a world of ancient beasts, elemental magic, and deadly political intrigue. As Grim uncovers the truth about the Ambrose Clan's fall from grace and the conspiracy that framed them for treason, he faces increasingly dangerous adversaries—both human and monstrous. His quest for revenge against those who destroyed his family's legacy will challenge him to master forbidden techniques, forge unexpected alliances, and ultimately decide whether to rebuild the Ambrose Clan as it was, or transform it into something entirely new.In a realm where power determines survival and ancient secrets lurk beneath noble facades, Grim must learn that sometimes the greatest battles aren't fought with swords, but with the choices that define who we truly are.