The Chess Prodigy's Secret Lover Is a Gambler

Original title: The Deposed Empress Will Kill

*

Luo Yi may be exactly the kind of idiot everyone online loves to hate:

"I don't want lots and lots of money. I want lots and lots of love."

If only he really did have lots of money. Instead, his freeloading ex swindled him out of everything he owned, right down to his underwear.

If only he really were an idiot. Instead, he's an international chess prodigy.

When this love-starved genius is robbed of everything on a New York street, it's hard not to fall for the big shot who rescues him, thanks to the endowment effect.

Especially when the man in front of him has broad shoulders, a narrow waist, stands six foot five, and hands him fifty thousand dollars on the spot.

What he doesn't know is that this big shot is a gambling broker caught between the titans of the legitimate and criminal worlds.

And Luo Yi is nothing more than the gambler's strongest trump card.

*

Tristan may be exactly the kind of capitalist everyone online loves to hate:

"If it brings in a profit, I don't care how many employees have to suffer."

Since arriving in New York as a teenager and clawing his way up from the bottom to the top, Tristan has believed he's become the most ruthless gambler in all of North America.

To win every gamble in business, he'll use his looks to his advantage, keeping the brilliant young lucky charm who entered his life firmly in his grasp.

And to win the gamble of life, he'll discard every card in his hand that could work against him,

including the brilliant young lucky charm he picked up off the street, the one who depends on him most.

"I thought all you chess players understood this," Tristan said coolly. "To win, you have to sacrifice your strongest piece."

Luo Yi let out a long sigh. "I get it. I'll leave right now."

Tristan: Wait? What do you get? Did you misunderstand me? Hold on! Come back!

*

Luo Yi (wiping away tears): I thought I'd be his queen. Turns out I'm just a pawn.

Tristan (sighing): Have you played so much chess you've gone stupid? In chess, pawns can promote to queens.

// Bonus Scene //

Tristan pinned Luo Yi against the wall. "What have you been avoiding me for all these years? Why would you rather die than see me? Do you only tell me the truth in bed?"

Luo Yi: "Wait... Let go of me first..."

A child who looked exactly like Tristan suddenly appeared and wrapped both arms around Luo Yi's leg. "Don't you bully my dad!"

Tristan: "...Are you carrying my child? How is that possible?"

Luo Yi: "..."

Reader's Guide:

- Scheming sugar daddy gambler seme x genius beauty chess player uke

- The uke is not intersex. He's a man. The child in the blurb is not his and the seme's.

- Includes classic melodramatic tropes such as a fake marriage misunderstanding and a groveling chase after the love interest. Please avoid if these aren't for you.

- Neither male lead is sexually inexperienced! Neither one! Neither one! Important: please avoid if this bothers you.

- The uke has long hair early on. Please avoid if this bothers you.

- The seme is 34 when he first appears, and the uke is not yet 21. They are about 13 years apart. Please avoid if this bothers you.

- Both the seme and uke will suffer. Not suitable for readers who strongly favor one or the other. Please avoid if this bothers you.

- HE. International chess and Texas Hold'em knowledge will be simplified as much as possible so it won't affect your reading.

No characters in this story are based on real people, and it has no connection to real life.

This blurb was written on March 31, 2026, and the timestamp is proof.

Theme: Pursuing a happy life