The Tree of Life and Death

Ambitious, cool seme & arrogant, entitled uke

(Names aren't decided yet. I'll borrow the seme and uke names from the story next door, In This Mountain.)

[Temporary Blurb]

Both alphas, Fu Hongjian and He Bieqing overcame every obstacle to get married. Everyone thought theirs was an enviable love story.

Only later did they realize it was a joke.

They were locked in a cold war all year round, at each other's throats at work and trading barbs at home. Whenever the mood struck, they smashed a set of furniture for fun. Only during those few days of heat did their pheromones deprive them of reason, letting them sleep together peacefully as husband and husband.

Then they woke up and went right back to being "as cold as ice."

A friend advised Fu Hongjian, "If you can't make it work, just get a divorce."

"No."

"Are you two putting each other through some kind of torture?"

"No divorce." Fu Hongjian clenched his jaw around those two words.

He wouldn't divorce, and he didn't love him. He just tortured the other man, and himself along with him.

Fu Hongjian came from a noble family and had influence everywhere. He Bieqing rose smoothly through the ranks and held power in his hands. Neither of them lacked money, yet neither thought to see a therapist.

He Bieqing believed this marriage was revenge.

He used Fu Hongjian, and Fu Hongjian ground him down. It was perfectly fair.

On the path to the top, He Bieqing climbed ever higher, never looking back. Fu Hongjian watched as desire stripped away his timidity and power ground away his principles. He watched him sink into the whirlpool of power, chasing money, authority, and profit, arguing endlessly with him over it time and again... until he gradually became someone Fu Hongjian no longer recognized.

At last, Fu Hongjian could take no more. "How much do you have to get before it's enough?!"

He Bieqing stopped and turned to look at him.

"Fu Hongjian, you never knew me at all."

After three years of marriage, Fu Hongjian received a divorce agreement.

[Reading Guide]

1. Both are alphas, strong, and pure. Their story goes from sweet campus love to a tangled sea of hatred and passion.

2. A redemption story (absolutely). The uke saves the seme.

3. They mistrust and torment each other. In short, it's a very unhealthy relationship.

4. He Bieqing isn't a corrupt official, for the record.

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