The Ultimate Showdown

[Dual male leads + equally matched + younger man/older man + not mutually exclusive firsts + moderate sweetness and angst]

[Flashy, vain, smug, self-satisfied playboy bottom vs. scheming, fake-innocent, cold-blooded, oblivious-to-his-own-love, stubbornly straight top]

Gu Yanzhi and his father had a huge falling-out. The very next day, his father sent him abroad to study, hoping it would straighten him out. But after Gu Yanzhi returned, he spent every day drinking and carousing, never doing anything useful.

His father finally lost his temper, canceled his credit cards, confiscated his car, and sent him to Yuehai, a subsidiary of the Gu family, to start at the bottom and work his way up.

Yuehai's chairman at the time was Qi Chen. He was younger than Gu Yanzhi, but had a bright future ahead of him in business. Gu Yanzhi was the first to refuse to accept that. Just as expected, he had barely been at Yuehai for three days before he and Qi Chen were at each other's throats.

They kept butting heads until both were left battered and bruised.

One day, at his wit's end, Gu Yanzhi pointed at Qi Chen and cursed, “I'm saying, what would it hurt you to back down and admit defeat?”

Qi Chen sneered, refusing to be outdone. “And which one of us is the one who won't admit defeat?”

Gu Yanzhi glanced at him. “You, obviously.”

Qi Chen shrugged defiantly. “I think that's you.”

Gu Yanzhi snorted. “It's you. Don't make excuses.”

Qi Chen's face filled with disdain. “One of us is the other's grandson.”

Gu Yanzhi replied with a beaming smile, “That's right, good grandson. Come massage your grandpa's legs.”

Qi Chen: “You old fart, go to hell.”

This is a story about two people who refuse to admit the other is better than them.

They are not each other's firsts, and both male leads are pretty eccentric. I guess it takes all kinds to make a match. The sweet parts are genuinely sweet, and the angst is every bit as real.