Book summary - lives 1–3 (feel free to fill in and add!)

Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes/Love You Seven Times - novel summary (spoilers ahead, obviously)

Narrator: FL's POV, 1st person

Passage of time:
1 day in Heaven is 1 year in Mortal World/Netherworld
Mortal World has same time as Netherworld (so 1 year in Mortal World = 1 year in Netherworld)

Characters:
Xiao Xiang Zi (XXZ) - our FL, subordinate of Yue Lao, Cloud Fairy
Chu Kong (CHK) - our ML, Celestial Star (oldest - oversees 1st month of the year)

Heaven/Netherworld: 1 (Chapter 1)
The story opens with XXZ and CHK being punished by Heavenly Emperor for messing up red strings of fate. To clear the resentment between them (and for his own amusement), the Emperor sentences them to seven lifetimes of fated, mutual love. They go to Netherworld to drink the soup of oblivion and start their first reincarnation. But when XXZ overhears CHK badmouthing her to Ying Shi and calling XXZ "eunuch" (he called her "fierce woman who looks like a man" earlier), XXZ throws her bowl of soup at him, angering Madam Meng who is responsible for making the soup. XXZ blames the soup spilling on CHK and jumps off the bridge of reincarnation with her memories intact. As we later learn, Madam Meng was so angry that she took a leave for 3 000 years and CHK stayed behind for 5 years as a punishment for making a commotion. Therefore, he is 5 years younger than XXZ in their first life.

The First Life (Chapters 2–9) - XXZ has her memories, CHK doesn't
XXZ is reborn as Song Yun Xiang, daughter of Prime Minister Song Qin Wen. Their neighbor is the family of General Lu Lian. Both Song Qin Wen and Lu Lian are close to the current Emperor. When XXZ is 5 years old, Lu Lian has a son, Lu Hai Kong, whom she recognizes as reincarnated CHK. Their fathers decide to arrange a marriage between XXZ and CHK once they are old enough. XXZ decides to kill baby CHK to prevent their love fate, but in the end she can't bear hurting such a cute baby.

When XXZ is 15 and CHK is 10, a coup (organized by Emperor's brother who has Daddy Song on his side) takes place and CHK's family is murdered. XXZ originally goes to his house to find CHK's body but when she finds him alive (just wounded and with damaged right eye), she ends up saving him and they both run out of capital to CHK's uncle Lu Lan, who protects them against the new Emperor. XXZ spends the next 5 years living in the mansion and drinking often in the local pub. Meanwhile, CHK practices martial arts because he wants to become strong enough to protect her. Two men who work for Daddy Song contact XXZ and tell her to come back to the capital: her father arranged her a marriage with the Emperor's third son. After XXZ overhears Lu Lan comparing her unfavorably to his goddaughter, whom he wants CHK to marry, XXZ is jealous and calls CHK "white-eyed wolf". Later that night, XXZ apologizes to CHK and he asks her to marry him. XXZ doesn't believe that he loves her, decides to disappear from his life and lets her father's men accompany her to the capital.

Once she arrives to her home mansion, she discovers that her father is sick and frail but even so, he has never sent anyone after her and CHK and even protected them for years, hoping that they woould stay far away and safe. The men XXZ thought to be her father's people are imperial guards: XXZ realizes she fell into a trap and is taken to the palace. CHK secretly visits her in the middle of the night, proclaiming his love for her but she assures him that she left him willingly and CHK leaves before the palace guards find him. When XXZ is about to get married to the third prince, the prince reveals that her father died the previous night. Having no reason now to go through with the wedding, XXZ hits the third prince. Suddenly, CHK and his people come to her aid. XXZ realizes that the wedding was a trap to capture CHK because with her father being dead, she is useless as a political pawn, no need for a wedding. CHK and XXZ escape but XXZ is shot in the back with a poisoned arrow and dies in CHK's arms, telling him to finish his life well. (she dies while lying on the snow and this is very traumatizing moment for the ML)

Netherworld 2 (Chapter 10 + beginning of Chapter 11)
XXZ wakes up in Netherworld with a deep sense of loss in her heart and thinks fondly of Lu Hai Kong. For causing a commotion 20 years before, she is brought before Yan Wang and sentenced to 15 years of soup making duty. After 12 years, CHK appears. XXZ hoped that he would live longer and that they would "miss" each other in their subsequent reincarnations and is shocked to see him. CHK lashes his whip at her and slashes her neck, then they argue and fight again. CHK makes her drink 2 bowls of soup of oblivion, dooming her to be a simpleton in her next life. Then he jumps off the bridge of reincarnation without drinking the soup himself. XXZ finishes her remaining 3 years of soup duty and then starts her life number 2...

The Second Life (Chapters 11–18) - XXZ is simple-minded and has no memories, CHK has his memories intact
In her second life, XXZ awakes as a 5 year old, simple-minded Yang Xiao Xiang. Her family has just been murdered by Shengling sect of assassins. CHK, who is in this life an 8-year old master of the sect and kept his real name, finds her hiding and decides to spare her life and take her as his servant, more-or-less telling her that her parents entrusted her to him. At the Shengling sect manor (Fengxueshan), XXZ (whom CHK calls by her real name) starts working as a servant girl, helping with cleaning, sweeping and making beds. After CHK witnesses her being bullied by others, he protects her and starts teaching her martial arts and cultivation. She calls him "Shifu" (teacher). When XXZ is 13, she finds a ginseng demon, whom CHK allows to take refuge in the sect's manor for three days (cause people want to eat him...). XXZ, completely misinterpreting some random information, thinks that it's a good idea to "cultivate harmoniously" (i.e. to have sex) with the demon. Before they go through with it, CHK arrives and kicks out the demon. XXZ is angry with him because he didn't let her eat the demon, nor cultivate with him (LOL!) and runs away.

XXZ is kidnapped on her run by two men, who already captured a purple-dressed man. The purple-dressed man is really a stone demon named Zihui, but XXZ doesn't realize that. XXZ remains cheerful and tells Zihui that her Shifu will save them – which he really does a couple of days later and Zihui goes on his way.

Some months later, Zihui starts appearing in XXZ's dreams, calling himself "a person of her dreams". When she asks around about it, the people of Shengling sect tell her that the person of her dreams might be her future husband. XXZ is happy: if she'll find herself a husband, they can both serve Shifu. But when she mentions her wedding plans to CHK, he thinks that she's in love with someone from the sect. After some time, she tells Zihui in her dreams that he is not real and that she'd rather stay with her Shifu. When she is 15, CHK organizes a "choosing a husband feast" for her, because he wants to know whom she likes. But she doesn't choose anyone from the sect and they don't want her either (cause they don't want to anger CHK). XXZ tells CHK that the one she likes the most is him. Suddenly, Zihui arrives and asks for XXZ and CHK, thinking that XXZ likes Zihui, consents with the marriage. CHK is so jealous that he gets himself drunk and when XXZ later finds him sitting on the roof, he spontaineously kisses her (which she misinterprets as "biting"). 

Zihui then easily manipulates XXZ into eloping with him and leads her to her home town, saying that they need to ask for her parents' blessing. But when they arrive, XXZ finds her old home destroyed and learns that the Shengling sect did it. CHK arrives to take her back with him, but she angrily refuses, thinking that he killed her parents. Zihui then takes XXZ to his cave and she willingly drinks a potion he gives her. Unknowingly, the potion was made from his own heart, which makes their life forces connected and he also closes five of her senses, so she doesn't feel the outside world. CHK arrives and is shocked to see XXZ in such state; Zihui admits that he was dying, so he needed a heart of a demigod to restore his power. (CHK is a demigod already thanks to years of cultivation.) CHK can't kill him cause Zihui connected his life with XXZ's, if his soul gets scattered, so does hers. CHK cuts off his own heart, so Zihui can become immortal demon and XXZ can live long as well. Zihui frees XXZ and is willing to take care of her for the rest of her days. Dying CHK tells XXZ that they are even now. Desperate, XXZ jumps off a cliff with CHK's body and wakes up in Netherworld again.

Netherworld 3 (Chapter 19)
XXZ is completely devasted and humiliated after being a simpleton for the last 15 years. After meeting CHK again near the bridge of reincarnation, he is shocked to see her so soon, assuming that the stone demon tricked him (had not taken good care of her). They argue (again) and they fight physically (again). XXZ pushes CHK into a reincarnation well of animals but he drags her with him. Since they didn't drink the soup of oblivion before starting to fight, they are bound to be animals in their life number 3 but with their consciousnesses intact.

The Third Life (Chapters 20–21) - both are reborn as animals, both have their memories
XXZ wakes up as a young tigress. Remembering cultivation methods that CHK taught her in the previous lifetime, she starts cultivating and in a year she is able to talk. She also analyzes the previous life closely and realizes that CHK didn't treat her all that bad and that he might even like her, since he kissed her while knowing who she was (lol, she's not wrong here). She comes upon CHK and learns that he reincarnated as a boar and that he can talk too, thanks to cultivation. They have the first civil conversation (finally!), but when XXZ asks if he likes her, CHK says he was only repaying her for the life number 1... They agree to go their separate ways in this lifetime but when suddenly an earthquake comes, they run away together. They come upon a cave where a human sacrifice took place recently. CHK deduces that the human sacrifice was for some Netherworld being, possibly a punished Heaven immortal who is held prisoner in the Netherworld (18th floor) and has nothing to lose. He realizes that Yan Wang must be informed about this immediately and decides to get himself captured and killed to appear in Netherworld asap. XXZ doesn't want to die such a painful and slow death but even when CHK diverts the attention of humans and she has a chance to flee, she decides to stay instead and dies a miserable death only moments after CHK.

Netherworld 4 (Chapter 22)
You can see that XXZ and CHK's fights are becoming notorious in the Netherworld, ghosts around are clearly anticipating another showdown. After reporting what they discovered with human sacrifices, Yan Wang relates to them instructions from Heavenly Emperor: they need to stay at least 20 years in their next life, unless they want to do all sorts of embarassing tasks for Yan Wang as a punishment (kiss him, make him laugh etc.). CHK then tricks the ghost who hands out soups of oblivion and they only pretend to drink it. To prevent himself from falling for XXZ again, CHK pushes her into the Yang side of the reincarnation well, but she mirrors his movements and pushes him into Yin side. Therefore, in their next lifetime their genders will be swapped...

Can you post more about the other lives?

My favorite was when he got his period when in the body of a girl and thought he was pregnant/dying. Him giving birth to a stillbirth was both sad, yet also funny.

The new god declares that he will marry only her, and she finds out that it is him. He says his memory is recovered and they bicker about it. They get married, pleasing the emperor who has been shipping them the entire time. There is a brief chapter from his PoV, and then they get married and he comes to consummate their marriage, opens the veil and finds out she has been eating.

Note that Lifetime 7 echoes lifetime 2 in the book, where he took care of a younger her.

A couple of things that I noted are different from the novel.

1. ML in the drama is the war god. In the novel, ML is one of the constellations #12 or #13 or something. I remember finding this quite refreshing.

2. I don't remember a scene with FL and ML in demon form so that will be interesting.

3. Animal lifetime has been changed to the 1st lifetime

Edit: I was originally going to list all the differences between the novel and drama, but I'm going to have to give up on that. The drama isn't really following the novel, pacing is kind of rushed and some scenes are cut-off, characters that aren't in the novel shows up and seems to play important roles, and some important characters have their personality changed (e.g., zihui in the novel is smooth and intelligent gentleman, whereas in the drama he is a naive baby)

Lifetime #5 - they were sent back to the mortal world in their celestial body to complete a mission  (sealing the evil Netherland being found in lifetime 3) and met the stone demon again. Forgot how they died in this lifetime.

In this 5th life, they were sent to fill in the hole that connects the 18th Hell with the mortal realm. They went in to a mountain to collect some stones that can seal the hole, fought with parents of fiery beasts babies, XXZ used her cloud form to save herself and Chu Kong and bring the stones in the bag as well (you know that small bag with no bottom they usually use in xianxia.. forgot what it's called). When they went to fill in the hole Jin Lian killed Chu Kong, but his soul managed to escape. XXZ went in the cave and he killed her well, but her soul barely managed to run to the Netherworld woth the help of Chu Kong's soul. Hole got sealed tho.