A Moment of Starlight [Exes Fiction]

#A gloomy, high-ranking aristocrat with a nasty tongue × a flashy, penniless assassin who loves to act obedient and stir up trouble

#Exes-to-lovers, near-future setting

As a resident of the Lower City, always treated as inferior, Liao Xing has gone so long without dessert that he's starting to think it wouldn't be so bad to live, or to die.

"Humanity should just be wiped out" has become his catchphrase.

Then his words come true: humanity really is on the brink of extinction.

An unknown planet hurtles past Earth at 70 kilometers per second. Scientists are convinced it's an uncontaminated new planet, suitable for human life.

So, when the planet and Earth intersect, the upper-class elite will flee Earth aboard spaceships, at the cost of destroying the planet. The terrifying kinetic energy needed to break free of Earth's gravity will cause an irreversible collapse.

Only the people of the Lower City die while those filthy aristocrats survive? That's not quite what Liao Xing prays for every night, especially since he has a six-year-old sister.

A seat aboard a spaceship is worth a fortune. To earn his sister a precious ticket to survival, Liao Xing sets his sights on the fastest way to make money: a reality show where contestants entertain the audience through murder.

The champion who wins three consecutive matches will be rewarded with a seat.

Liao Xing doesn't hate killing. In fact, he's a bona fide menace by nature. By comparison, the person he used to be, falling in love with his ex, Zong Tingyue, and dreaming about tomorrow, feels like a long, hazy dream.

But he'd been deceived.

-

With nowhere else to turn, Liao Xing has no choice but to go to his ex. As one of the uppermost elite, Zong Tingyue should be able to get a seat for Liao Xing's sister.

Reunited after a long separation, Liao Xing casually leans in. "My little sister has brown eyes, and she's adorable. You even held her when she couldn't walk yet."

His fingers twist together silently under the table, but Zong Tingyue's face remains expressionless. "I don't remember holding your sister."

Liao Xing's smile widens as he straddles Zong Tingyue's lap. "You never held my sister, but you did 'hold' me."

"..." Zong Tingyue looks down at the hand gripping his. Warm breath brushes his ear, followed by the other man's honey-sweet voice, so sweet it's almost hoarse. "Could you do it tonight? I'll let you do whatever you want... Just save my sister."

*

The next morning, Zong Tingyue looks at the young man beside him, sucking on a lollipop. The bruises along his back and behind his ears are shocking to behold.

"Marry me. As my spouse, I can take you and your sister with me," Zong Tingyue says. Liao Xing gives him a practiced, docile smile, and Zong Tingyue lowers his head. "...I'm begging you."

What do I have to do to get a future with you in it?

[Reader's Guide]

1. Fictional near-future setting, sci-fi in name only

Theme: Love the Earth