One Degree Below Zero

On February 16, a tall, lean man stood outside the gates of Jingzhou First Prison.

“Sheng Han, don't let anyone trick you again this time, understand?”

Zhu Shenghan lowered the brim of his hat, his thin lips parting as he replied in a cold voice.

“Of course.”

Zhu Shenghan was the eldest son of a family of military and police officers, a role model in his circle with a brilliant career ahead of him. But he was imprisoned for conspiring to murder Shen Ling's adoptive brother, his boyfriend. From then on, his family lost faith in him and turned against him, and his future was ruined.

When the case broke, everyone was shocked. Yet he had no regrets. Even at the very last moment before his sentence began, he was still smiling as he asked his friend to pass a comforting message to Shen Ling.

His friend looked at him with pity and told him that Shen Ling had changed his testimony at the last minute. He claimed Zhu Shenghan had killed his brother to force himself on Shen Ling, and that they had had sex without Shen Ling's consent many times. His sentence would be extended again, and he might even face the death penalty.

Zhu Shenghan felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss. He could not believe that his gentle, innocent lover would do such a thing.

He smashed his head against the prison walls until it was covered in blood, insisting that he had to see Shen Ling.

The cold light made his lover's skin as pale as snow, while his features were dark and striking, as if meticulously painted in ink. Even then, he looked so pure and immaculate that the bare interrogation room seemed to shine in his presence.

“Shen Ling, just tell me the truth. If you say you didn't do it, I'll believe you...” Zhu Shenghan's voice was humble. His broad shoulders were hunched and tense as he practically begged through his tears.

Shen Ling gazed at him in silence, then suddenly smiled.

Even after Zhu Shenghan came to hate him with all his heart, he had to admit that he often thought of that smile in his midnight dreams.

“Zhu Shenghan, thank you for my birthday present.”

“Whether it was turning my brother into a vegetable or ruining your ideals and future...”

“Those were... the happiest moments of my life.”

One-sentence summary:

A story about an upright, devoted golden boy top, driven to madness by a sweet-looking but secretly scheming beauty bottom, before finally giving in happily and the two of them settling into domestic bliss.

Please Note:

1. The bottom is not the top's first partner. Handsome top, beautiful bottom. The bottom pursues the top before he goes to prison, and the top pursues the bottom after he gets out. Do not maliciously insult the bottom under any pretext. No top-bashing, top-worship, or ship-breaking and switch-shipping comments.

2. The top only loves the bottom in this life, and the bottom only loves the top. They are mutually devoted, one-on-one, with a clearly marked happy ending. Han and Ling forever.

3. Extreme top fans, please don't read. Old Zhu can never stay tough with Brother Ling for more than three chapters. This is not a groveling-after-the-beloved story.

4. Extreme bottom fans, please don't read. Shen Ling has a hard life and makes several unsuccessful suicide attempts. He only finds true happiness at the end.

5. Feel free to comment. It won't affect the planned plot.

Theme: A thick layer of ice doesn't form in a single day