The Widower Doesn't Want to Remarry Today, Either

[Switch-bottom story. Please add it to your reading list, little angels! Comments are open, so come hang out, cuties! My whole author page is full of strong-top, top-centric upcoming novels. Stop by and take a look!]

In the eyes of the Lu family, Lu Chengxun is undoubtedly the most outstanding head the family has ever had. In this world of Sentinels and Guides, peerless mental strength is the least of his many merits. He's shrewd and composed, decisive and merciless, and wholly devoted to his family's glory. He treats his clan generously and looks after them well.

Most importantly, he's ambitious.

Ambition can make a person move fast. The range of abilities needed to support that ambition can take them far. And behind his desires stands the entire Lu family, whom he'll lead to greater heights.

On the road to fulfilling his ambitions, Lu Chengxun treats all living beings as pieces on a chessboard.

[Powerful, high-ranking, and in total control, daddy Sentinel top x Kind-hearted but strong, devoted Guide bottom]

The bottom pursues the top. This is a switch-bottom story.

The main story includes a nontraditional spat between the bottom and the top's legal wife.

The top is a general in the Tower District, while the bottom is still a novice in his eyes.

The top as seen through the bottom's early perspective differs from the real top, haha. The bottom has an 800-meter-thick filter over his eyes when it comes to the top, just let him be.jpg

From the top's perspective, this is a political intrigue story set in a futuristic spacefaring world, a personal showcase for Daddy (what?).

From the bottom's perspective, it's the story of a stubborn Guide who believes in staying single, falls in love at first sight with a powerful Sentinel daddy who's nearly a widower during a family-arranged marriage, discovers he's married, and begins a painful unrequited romance. After many hardships, he finally becomes the second wife.

I have to fold this book up like a pangolin. Readers who want to come in and sample it, please read these notes all the way through!

Let me start with the disclaimers:

1. Important: The top is married! The top is married! The top is married! He has a legal wife, who survives through the early and middle parts of the story and has quite a few scenes. Then the top suddenly becomes a widower. This is still a switch-bottom story, though! The top and his wife were married for political reasons, to keep each other in check. Their relationship is a complicated love-hate mess. She loves him deeply, but he doesn't love her. (It's hard to say he has no feelings at all, either. Responsibility weighs more heavily on him, and too many things happen between them, with too many matters more important than love, and many missed chances.)

2. Due to their families' connections, the bottom has to address the top as his maternal uncle, but they aren't related by blood at all.

3. The bottom falls in love with the top at first sight. He has a strong sense of propriety and morality, and does his best to control himself, keeping his feelings within the bounds of propriety. Young people can be impulsive, but he never acts on it. The top controls the pace of their relationship, and while his marriage is still in effect, the bottom never knowingly crosses the line.

4. This is absolutely not suitable for fans of exclusive pairings, nor for those who expect a straightforward true-love romance. This should only suit readers like me: suddenly bored and eager to try a somewhat off-kilter, unconventional relationship, and able to handle melodrama and difficult subject matter. In reality, there are two couples' storylines, each progressing at a different pace, with intersections and divergences. If that's a deal-breaker, please steer clear.

5. The early part, estimated at about 30,000 words, will mainly be from the bottom's perspective, but the top is still the protagonist. Once the main plot gets underway, it will continue from the top's perspective.

6. The main characters aren't perfect, but they're all good people. They're good to each other and treat each other with respect. I'm the bad one, so if you get mad, don't blame them. Blame me.

7. This is a futuristic fantasy featuring Sentinels and Guides, but the timeline isn't that far in the future. I keep arguing with myself about this: if the technology gets too advanced, I feel like there'd be little point in Sentinels and Guides existing. So technology has advanced, but not by much. They can't pilot mechs or travel between star systems. Many missions still have to be completed by Sentinels and Guides using their own bodies, so to speak. Also, both the top and bottom come from great families of ancient Earth, so despite living in the future, society may still be very feudal, hmm.

Theme: True sincerity is precious.