I Fell for My Friend's Ex-Boyfriend

A down-and-out, aloof and carefree film director × a shrewd businessman who only pretends to be gentle The love interest pursues the protagonist and dotes on him. He's a lovesick fool who throws himself at the protagonist. - Li Bozhao first met Zhu You in a bar. Young, jaded, and quiet amid the noisy crowd that fawned over him. He was always quiet. Even when one of Li Bozhao's former friends came to him, fell to his knees, and begged him for a few words of love, he stayed quiet. The crowd gathered, then dispersed. Alone, he walked indifferently into the dark, drizzling night. The best thing Li Bozhao ever did was grab an umbrella, chase after him, and ask, “Are you making a movie?” - Zhu You has few family ties and is utterly alone, drifting through life as if he doesn't quite belong. His only interest is film. He uses movies to express his own soul and the souls of others. The meaning of his life is to put what he wants to show on the big screen. If his first film fails, he'll make a second, then a third. Zhu You won't give up. Life is long, and he lives only to make movies. “Are you making a movie?” someone asked on a rainy night. He nodded indifferently. - Before meeting Zhu You, Li Bozhao thought freedom and love were both nonsense. But they turned out to be real, made tangible in the two characters of Zhu You's name. Li Bozhao wished more than anything that Zhu You would love him. But Zhu You's life was light and free, racing across mountains and rivers, never stopping for anyone. So Li Bozhao selfishly hoped Zhu You would fail forever, remain down and out forever, and always need the love he could give him. * Expected to be a short story, under 100,000 characters. Updates will be slow, but won't affect my main story. Not contracted. - Reader's Notes: 1. Lowbrow artsiness. The characters' depth is limited by the author's knowledge. 2. This isn't a career-success wish-fulfillment story. The protagonist will stay down and out. He's an aloof, niche kind of guy, and fame would ruin his mystique. 3. The protagonist has a lot of romantic entanglements. Many people fall for him like moths to a flame. If you call him a scumbag, he'll just say, “Whatever.” 4. The love interest is very shrewd at first, but once he falls in love, he'll keep throwing himself at the protagonist, wholeheartedly and without regard for the cost. He's a lovesick fool. 5. Another title for this novel is “About Zhu You.” The plot always prioritizes what the protagonist wants. 6. The movie ends with “May you be free forever.” The character art was drawn by a friend: Zhu You, the most melancholic man in the universe. Theme: Freedom is humanity's highest ideal.