Everyone's Fighting, Only I Give Up [Reborn]

[A sweet and satisfying reborn romance about getting revenge on scumbags. I really want to put this one first and write it now. If you're interested, please add it to your collection. Thanks!]

After being reborn, Lin Juanshi decides to stop trying so hard.

As a celebrity, he'd once been hugely popular and a top-tier star, only to end up abandoned by everyone and cursed across the entire internet.

It takes a car accident sending him back three years for him to learn that his life was merely a foil for the protagonist of a book, and that all the love and glory he'd received had only been stepping stones for someone else.

The real protagonist is his adopted younger brother, Guan Changqing.

Since that's the case, now that he's finally been given another life, wouldn't it be better to do what he likes instead of fighting with all these people?

*

Lin Juanshi gives up competing with Guan Changqing for resources and joins a travel variety show known for "provoking fights and chaotic editing."

So viewers see:

While several guests argue over the unfair bedroom assignments, Lin Juanshi sips a coconut nearby and watches with great interest.

While everyone trudges through mountains and rivers, looking utterly miserable, Lin Juanshi smiles as he admires the beautiful scenery below.

While everyone complains about the awful conditions and the shameless production crew, Lin Juanshi lies in a hammock woven from fishing nets, singing as he enjoys the starry sky.

The online commenters who initially tore into Lin Juanshi gradually decide he's so laid-back and adorable.

But... wait a minute???

Who picked your coconuts?! Who's carrying your luggage?! Where did that hammock come from?!!!

How come you have a bodyguard when everyone else is just here to do a variety show?

The "bodyguard" is the mysterious guest on the show: Xie Qinming, who's been enjoying tremendous success lately and is known as a "genius producer."

No one knows that this young man, only five years younger than Lin Juanshi, is the adopted son of Lin Juanshi's ex-boyfriend.

Even fewer people know that Xie Qinming has secretly loved Lin Juanshi for years. When the car accident happened, he threw himself in front of Lin Juanshi, and the two of them were reborn together.

*

The show becomes a sensation.

Lin Juanshi becomes famous all over again.

He looks at Xie Qinming sitting beside him, diligently opening coconuts for him, then at the flood of comments saying, "I'm dying from shipping them," and can't help laughing.

What nonsense. This little sidekick who's been attached to him since childhood is being mistaken for his pursuer.

So he discusses it with Xie Qinming, hoping they can keep a little distance.

"Otherwise, people will keep misunderstanding our relationship, and it'll hurt your reputation."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the air around them seems to freeze. Xie Qinming abruptly looks up, his expression darker than Lin Juanshi has ever seen.

*

"There's no misunderstanding."

That night, Xie Qinming pins Lin Juanshi to the bed and whispers softly in his ear:

"When they say I like you, that I want to be your sidekick, your bodyguard, your puppy, your lover, they're telling the truth."

Lin Juanshi looks up in shock. The boy he once knew has grown into a man taller than him, his shy, youthful gaze now brimming with possessiveness.

"It's also true that I'd go crazy if you weren't by my side."

You should know, I've fought and clawed for everything. From the moment I first saw you, I never planned to let go.

Bonus scene:

Lin Juanshi's ex-boyfriend, Xie Jin, is still waiting for him to come back, when he sees the trending topic "Xie Qinming Lin Juanshi" at the top of the hot search list.

He is furious and shocked, and can't help going to confront them.

But when he reaches Lin Juanshi's home, the person who opens the door is Xie Qinming, wearing a robe.

His adopted son, now in the prime of youth, looks at him as if sizing up a defeated rival.

"Go home, godfather," he says. "From now on, you're no longer the one who has the right to stay by his side."

A younger possessive, devoted boyfriend and fanboy top, versus an all-round superstar bottom who's luckier the less he tries.

Core message: May the gods grant my wish to escape from love, and find icy freedom in the heights of nothingness.