The Tycoon Keeps Pretending to Be Poor

Next up: "Knock Down That Real Young Master", opening in October. The complete manuscript is already finished, so please add it to your reading list.

💝 Contract romance 💕 Identity reveal 💖 An unconventional groveling romance

Lin Jiayan is nineteen and has never been in a relationship. When a friend jokingly tells him to find a kept man for practice, he takes it seriously and the next day approaches a tall, handsome young man.

“Hi. Would you be my kept man?”

The financial tycoon just back from abroad, future head of the Rong Group: ?

Is there something wrong with this kid?

He gave the other man a casual once-over, and felt his heart flutter despite himself.

Apparently, this was exactly his type.

Beautiful and sweet, like a doll.

Rong Chen: “Oh? Let’s see how sincere you are.”

Lin Jiayan pulled out more than a dozen bank cards and pressed them into his hands. “Is this enough? There should be fifty or sixty million in here…”

Rong Chen: .

Whose kid is this, throwing money around like that? If he runs into a bad guy, he’ll get swindled in no time.

That very night, Rong Chen followed Lin Jiayan to his spacious apartment near campus.

Watching his well-behaved kept man follow him, Lin Jiayan secretly opened his notebook. What are the hundred things couples have to do together… Oh! Kissing!

He meowed his way over, cornered Rong Chen against the wall, planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then sprang back.

Rong Chen was both amused and exasperated. That’s it?

*

The kid could be a handful, but he was fun, too. Once their contract ended, they could simply go their separate ways. At first, that was exactly what Rong Chen thought.

Who knew that their time together would be such a chaotic adventure? The trillion-yuan tycoon had to practice acting poor every day.

Lin Jiayan: “Where do you live? I’ll go with you to get your things.”

With his cover about to be blown in an instant, Rong Chen pretended to be broke. “You want to keep me, but you want me to go back to my old life and wear those shabby clothes?”

Rong Chen had a morning meeting. Seeing how late it was, Lin Jiayan offered to let him drive his car there.

Caught driving a luxury car, Rong Chen calmly explained, “It’s my boss’s car. I’m picking him up on the way.”

Lin Jiayan curiously asked Rong Chen, “You work at the Rong Group. Have you ever met that mysterious Young Master Rong?”

The mysterious Young Master Rong, going by the alias Yi Chen: “…Yes. He’s just an ordinary guy.”

…

*

Rong Chen raised a cat with Lin Jiayan, did charity work with him, and watched the sun rise and set by his side. He thought that as long as he didn’t fall in love, he could walk away unscathed.

He never expected that somewhere along the way, he’d fallen for him.

He’d fallen in love for real. He secretly prepared a diamond ring, planning to confess to the kid.

But the kid came to him first, getting in ahead of him to say that Rong Chen had plenty of money and had lied to him, so their contract was void and they were through.

Rong Chen panicked. “How can we be through? Don’t you like me even a little?”

Lin Jiayan apologetically took out his notebook and showed Rong Chen the list of things couples should do, all crossed off. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do. Thank you, but I really don’t like you.”

Rong Chen was stunned. Rong Chen was furious. Rong Chen was utterly devastated.

Hah! The little brat had toyed with his feelings and thought he could just run off? Rong Chen wouldn’t allow it!

Lin Jiayan ran, Rong Chen chased. Lin Jiayan couldn’t escape even if he sprouted wings…

Later, Rong Chen held Lin Jiayan tightly in his arms, his eyes brimming with intense affection. “Now it’s my turn to do all those things again!”

❤️ Seven-year age gap between the love interests. They only have eyes for each other.

Coming next: "Knock Down That Real Young Master". Please add it to your reading list.

Yu Lin was eighteen before he learned he was the fake young master, switched at birth.

A few days later, the real young master came home and immediately called the couple Mom and Dad.

Yu Lin nearly blacked out. The real young master was Lin Zhiyu, the top student who’d earned a recommendation to university!

If only he’d known the top student’s family was poor. Then he heard the top student lived way out in the mountains, and nearly blacked out all over again. Did he really have to go there? Sob…

To keep the real young master from kicking him out, he took his best friend’s advice and deliberately set out to seduce Lin Zhiyu.

He brushed Lin Zhiyu’s hand by accident while bringing him some milk.

He asked Lin Zhiyu to tutor him and kept inching closer.

He pretended to trip and fell into Lin Zhiyu’s arms.

He called him “big brother” in a sweet voice and followed him around like a little sidekick.

What did dignity matter if it meant he could stay?

Just before New Year, his adoptive parents told Yu Lin that his birth parents wanted him to come stay with them for a while. Yu Lin’s vision went black again and again. He knew this was just an excuse to get rid of him.

If he wanted to stay, he’d have to bring out the big guns.

That night, emboldened by alcohol, he climbed into Lin Zhiyu’s bed.

After a night of reckless passion, he clung to Lin Zhiyu.

“You slept with me, so you have to take responsibility for me.”

Unable to resist Yu Lin’s tears, Lin Zhiyu agreed to go with him to stay in the mountains for a week before coming back.

When the car reached the foot of the mountain, Yu Lin stared at the magnificent manor before him, dumbfounded.

So after all that, he was the real young master!

A week later, Yu Lin decided he wasn’t leaving.

In the dead of night, Lin Zhiyu held him captive in his arms, his eyes red at the corners.

“Little liar, weren’t you the one who wanted me to take responsibility?”

Theme: Love’s seed will eventually break through its hard shell, take root, and grow strong.