After Being Captured by a Big Shot

[ABO]

Lu Kou had never seen Chu Xi like this: curled into a small ball, too afraid to look anyone in the eye.

Everyone said the third young master of the Chu family had a terrible temper. His two older brothers put together couldn't match him. Lu Kou had taken plenty of flak from him when they were young, and tutoring him had been ten times the headache.

As a child, Lu Kou used to complain that he never wanted to see the guy again.

Well, now he really couldn't see him anymore.

Years of fleeing and wandering had made Chu Xi afraid even to breathe too loudly. In front of strangers, he instinctively put on a forced smile, and whenever his temper showed, he ruthlessly pushed it back down.

He had grown used to being beaten, to eating whatever he was given, and to swallowing his pain in silence. He was a far cry from the third young master of the Chu family he used to be.

For the sake of their past acquaintance, Chu Xi was willing to show a little temper in front of Lu Kou, but he was still nowhere near as bold as before.

Lu Kou could clearly tell that he had grown thinner, quieter, and gentler in his speech. Whenever Lu Kou held him, it felt as if a little hammer were tapping at his heart, over and over.

Later, Lu Kou cared for this little cat as if he were a child, practically wanting to feed him every bite himself. Chu Xi refused to tell him anything, but Lu Kou realized that communicating with him wasn't entirely impossible. When Chu Xi was happy, his eyes sparkled. When he was unhappy, he pressed his lips together.

At last, after the little cat had settled in, they had a huge argument, and Chu Xi couldn't stop himself from slapping Lu Kou across the face.

They both froze.

Then Lu Kou came to his senses, pressed his face against Chu Xi's hand, and grinned shamelessly. "Your Majesty, that was a good one. Feeling better now?"

Your Majesty: "...You're nuts."

Sweet romance / Both leads are each other's first and only

Age gap √

Size difference √

The romance is sweet overall

[The aggressive one who is gentle only to his beloved × the polite one who goes wild only for his beloved]

Synopsis of My Emperor's Ministers Can't Read:

1.

Someone from Nan Shu's dreams fell from the sky, crying and clinging to his leg, saying that in their past life they had kowtowed before the immortals and vowed to be together for all eternity.

Nan Shu didn't believe a word of that nonsense. He thought it was some kind of sorcery cast by the enemy and tried to get rid of the man several times, but when the moment came, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Yet in less than half a month, Nan Shu's suspicions had completely vanished.

Reason 1: He had never seen a spy this delicate.

He wouldn't eat leafy greens, radishes, fatty meat, or liver. Nothing too sweet or too bitter. The tea was too bitter, the milk tea too salty, plain water didn't taste good, and fruit wine was too sweet and cloying.

He lacked the stamina to stand for long, had bad knees and couldn't kneel for long, was too timid to hear anyone raise their voice, didn't like going to bed early or getting up early, and would cry if you so much as bumped into him.

On top of all that, he fainted at the sight of blood and was afraid of knives.

Whenever Zuo Rang got sick, Nan Shu was at his wits' end.

He coaxed him to drink a bowl of medicine, tricked him into drinking it, and even tried forcing him. When Nan Shu coaxed him, he didn't want it. When the medicine was tricked into his mouth, he spat it out. When Nan Shu got too forceful, he started crying.

Every day, Nan Shu tried every threat and bribe he could think of, using every interrogation technique he had learned in his youth on Zuo Rang.

Reason 2: He had never seen a spy this dramatic.

Every three days there was a little tantrum, and every five days a big one.

One afternoon, Nan Shu came to see him after finishing work. From the moment they met, Zuo Rang ignored him, wouldn't let him pull him close or touch him, and pretended he couldn't see him.

Nan Shu coaxed him for ages before finally getting him to sit down and talk.

Nan Shu: "What's wrong?"

Zuo Rang: "You're always so harsh with me. I might as well die."

Nan Shu: "I was wrong about what happened before. If you have..."

Zuo Rang: "I didn't mean before. I mean now!"

Nan Shu: "Now? When?"

Zuo Rang: "You slammed your cup down this morning. You were obviously mad at me for talking back."

Nan Shu (thinking it over carefully): "I only put it down a little too hard."

Zuo Rang: "Liar. I don't believe you."

Nan Shu: ...

Nan Shu was glad he didn't suffer from headaches, or he might have died young.

2.

One day, Zuo Rang fell from his horse and transmigrated to a parallel world.

The System told him that in their past life, they had made a vow on a sacred mountain to be together for all eternity.

Before Zuo Rang could lose himself in romantic fantasies, he nearly got beaten up, so he clung to his lover from his past life and wailed.

Luckily, his lover enjoyed literature and calligraphy, and had a soft spot for people who were good at painting, so he decided to keep him in the palace.

But Zuo Rang never expected his taste in his past life to be so terrible.

In public, his lover was gentle, considerate, and obedient. In private, he was completely different, interrogating him every day until Zuo Rang couldn't get out of bed for three days.

If he had known that being kept in the palace meant becoming His Majesty's favorite, he would never have agreed, no matter what!

That's what he said, but his body told a different story. Every day after the interrogation, he hid in his lover's arms and refused to come out, complaining even as he burrowed closer.

[The emperor, seemingly gentle but actually cruel × a delicate little fool]

Content warnings:

1. A mindless, sweet little story with no logic

2. Both leads are each other's first and only

3. Zuo Rang is a bit fierce at first

Theme: Only after leaving the wasteland can you see the sunshine