Completed column story: "Meeting My Ex-Boyfriend on a Wilderness Variety Show"
Blurb:
When Young Marquis Pei learned that he was not the biological son of the marquis and his wife, but a child the marquis had accidentally rescued on his journey south, everything changed.
That was also the year the youngest son of the Duke's household was kidnapped, and the Imperial Guards turned the capital upside down searching for him.
The marquis said, "I was far from the capital when I went south all those years ago. I only learned recently, during a casual conversation with a colleague, that the dates line up... Your age and the route both fit. That Lord Lu in court may well be your biological elder brother."
The young marquis felt as if he had fallen into an abyss, cold sweat pouring down his body. "W-what? That iron-faced Lord Lu, the Devil of the Underworld!"
The marquis told him to spend time with the Duke's family as he pleased. If they were truly related, they could acknowledge him as family. If not, there was no need to force it.
The young marquis was handsome and charming, and a master at playing cute and acting spoiled. He soon won over everyone in the Duke's household, except the eldest son, Lord Lu, who called him a spoiled, useless wastrel, ignorant and incapable of shouldering any responsibility.
The young marquis was angry. The young marquis felt wronged. The young marquis refused to believe he couldn't win him over.
When Lord Lu was sent on a diplomatic mission, the young marquis went along. When bandits attacked Lord Lu on the road, the young marquis took a blade for him.
When the young marquis first took on official duties, Lord Lu patiently taught him. When the young marquis fell gravely ill, Lord Lu stayed by his bedside day and night.
They faced life and death together, were inseparable, rode the same horse, and slept with their feet touching.
Everyone said they were as close as brothers.
The young marquis proudly put his hands on his hips. "What do you mean, as close as brothers? We are brothers!"
At the family reunion banquet, the duchess wept, and the duke was overcome with emotion as he took the young marquis's hand and said, his voice trembling, that his youngest son had finally come home.
The young marquis looked at his elder brother, tense with anticipation, only to see his expression darken. His gaze was as cold as needles. "No. You aren't."
The young marquis went deathly pale.
He still hadn't won him over.
Later...
The young marquis cried, "So you wanted to get into my pants!"
* The political intrigue is incredibly childish.
* The leads are not related by blood. The top is an older, nurturing type, twelve years older than the bottom.
* The top misunderstands the bottom early on, but later falls for him.
* The views of all characters in this story do not represent the author's views.
Upcoming story: "Sorry, I Thought You Were My Daoist Partner"
Wen Li was reborn.
He was reborn before his senior brother was poisoned, before a heart demon possessed him, before he endured the agony of having his meridians severed, and before he cultivated demonic arts, fell to the demonic path, and became the Demon Venerable.
His senior brother was still the peerless genius with an innate Purple Mansion, an immortal's beauty, and an aloof, otherworldly presence.
But he was also the senior brother whom a low-ranking disciple like Wen Li could never hope to reach, let alone touch.
Wen Li killed the villains who had poisoned his senior brother, and burned both the poison and the people to ashes. He devoted himself to cultivation, following in his senior brother's footsteps one step at a time.
Rare spirit herbs, extraordinary treasures, cultivation techniques, places teeming with spiritual energy... He shared with his senior brother everything he had known in his previous life.
Before long, his senior brother's eyes began to linger on him. When he looked at Wen Li, his icy gaze held a trace of a smile...
Beneath the flowers and moonlight, his senior brother took his hand and smiled at him. "Junior brother, I know how you feel."
They embraced and kissed. Unlike in his previous life, his senior brother's kiss was gentle this time.
"Wen Li, you really made me look for you everywhere." A familiar, husky voice suddenly came from behind them.
Wen Li shuddered and turned around in shock.
A black-robed man wreathed in demonic energy stood there, surrounded by a ghostly aura. His hair was as white as snow, and his dark eyes stared coldly at them.
Demon Venerable Xiang Wuji looked at Wen Li's lips, red from kissing. A glint of blood flashed in his eyes as he glowered at his other self. "Daoist, he is my partner."
Wen Li stared blankly as the two men took to the skies and fought, their swords flashing.
Ah... So he hadn't been reborn... He had transmigrated again?
Theme: Every beginning is difficult
