The Ultimate Showdown Between Two Scheming Minds

[See the other story in the author's collection, Year After Year, for the extras to Playing Hard to Get. It's free.] [The simplified Chinese print edition, The Hunter Behind the Scenes, in two volumes, has been published by Tianwen Kadokawa and is available at major bookstores.] [The audio drama, produced by Zhenren Culture, has two completed seasons and can be listened to on the Maoer app.] [Blurb] Qi Yu really can't understand how his twin younger brother grew up to be gay. He's pondering this very question while a handsome, impeccably dressed man is hitting on him. Qi Yu wants to try being gay, too, so he instinctively flirts right back… But he quickly realizes that he may have done something stupid. As usual, he hurriedly puts on his younger brother's secret identity, pretending that “his brother” was the one who did it. Only this time, his attempt to shift the blame fails… Not long afterward, the handsome man he flirted with begins a ghostly, inescapable hunt for him. Fu Yansheng (smiling): I hear you had fun flirting with me and running off? Qi Yu: Uh-oh, I've been caught! [Story blurb] While helping his father investigate the true state of a clothing company under the corporate group, Qi Yu almost gets dragged into an economic crime case. Fortunately, an experienced “old hand” who has been selflessly helping him gets him out of trouble. But as Qi Yu spends more time with this old hand, he gradually realizes that things aren't as simple as they seem. He begins to question the man's true identity and the reason he appeared in his life… “There is only one true heroism in the world: to see life as it is and still love it.” Romain Rolland [Couple] Financial investigator top × tycoon family's second-generation bottom Keywords: business intrigue, evenly matched couple, straight man pretends to be gay and gets caught in his own trap Also known as The Hunter Behind the Scenes and Sealed with a Kiss Question on Zhihu: What's it like to train an apprentice who ends up putting you out of business? Fu Yansheng: Thanks for the invite. Don't ask. All I can say is that I regret it, very much! [Before-you-read notes and warnings] 1. This is the story of Qi Yu, older brother of Qi Feng from The Days I Pretended to Be the Campus Hunk's Boyfriend. Besides the romance, this story also has workplace and business-intrigue plotlines. Please decide whether to give it a try based on what you're looking for and how you feel about the first three chapters~ 2. The bottom is mischievous but not scheming early on, and there's a slight age-upbringing element. If you want to see two cunning characters face off right from the start, proceed with caution. 3. The organizations and place names in the story have been altered to some extent and are not meant to allude to reality. Please don't connect them directly to real life. [Revision note] The polished edition of Playing Hard to Get has many cuts. Because of Jinjiang's word-count rules for revisions, the replacement work has been postponed for now. P.S. Let me recommend my good friend Feng Liu Shu Dai's new novel, Students in Hand, the World Is Mine. It's pure, unapologetic wish fulfillment! Theme: Through the protagonists' business battles with others, this story exposes unscrupulous business operators who undermine ethics and disrupt market rules. It promotes the sound business values of “putting righteousness before profit, giving and taking in moderation, and earning money through proper means.”