After I Mistook Myself for the Stand-In

After marrying by agreement, Bai Wu and Han Qi became casualties of a business alliance between their families. After the wedding, they each lived their own lives and stayed out of each other's way.

Then, after an accident, Bai Wu had a hazy dream.

In the dream, Han Qi had long since fallen for a childhood friend who remained forever out of his reach, his unattainable white moonlight.

And Bai Wu, the son of Haicheng's richest man, who was said to have been born with a diamond spoon in his mouth and doted on from birth, was actually nothing more than an insignificant stand-in!

Worse still, after the white moonlight returned to the country, Bai Wu lost all value. Before long, the two of them joined forces to make him the fall guy, bringing his tragic marriage to an early end.

Bai Wu was so furious he nearly passed out. To hell with being a stand-in! A stand-in for your grandpa! Stand-in, my foot!

Why should he be the stand-in? He'd make the white moonlight his stand-in instead!

And so, later on...

Han Qi was discussing a business deal with the white moonlight at a cafe.

Bai Wu called him, all pitiful and aggrieved, making little sobbing sounds. "Hubby, why aren't you home yet? It's so, so dark here at night. Xiao Bai is so scared, sob... I need a hug from you to feel better."

Han Qi, covered in goosebumps from the saccharine voice: "..."

The two of them went to pick up a relative's child from kindergarten and "happened" to run into the white moonlight.

Bai Wu took Han Qi's hand and patted the child's head. "Our kid's already this big. He's up to your knees. Come on, say hi to Daddy."

Han Qi, unwillingly becoming a father: "..."

After a meeting one day, Han Qi saw more than a dozen missed calls on his phone and hurried home, worried.

The moment he stepped inside, he saw Bai Wu dead drunk, hanging off the coat rack and belting out "Can't Take It Anymore." When Bai Wu saw him, he let out a howl, flung himself at him, and cursed him for being a jerk.

"What's so great about him? He's not as good-looking as me, he's not as rich as me, and he's not as sweet as me. How did you go blind at such a young age?"

"Do you prefer seeing me smile, or do you like it better when I cry...? Oh, right, when I cry I don't look like him, so you don't like it."

After being put through this for more than half a year, Han Qi finally couldn't take it anymore. He ground out, word by word, "You'll find out soon enough."

That very night, Bai Wu finally understood.

Han Qi liked seeing him cry, and the harder he cried, the more excited Han Qi got. QAQ

[A troublemaker who has fun stirring things up / an overactive imagination in everyday life / a spoiled, dramatic receiver x a cool, mature, calculating schemer who enjoys watching the receiver stir things up and sometimes even plays along]

Reading guide:

1. The receiver's stand-in identity is a product of his overactive imagination. The giver has no white moonlight. This is a marriage-first, love-later story, and both leads belong to each other in body and heart.

2. A sweet story. The blurb may change before the novel begins, but the central premise will stay the same.