When the Backup Lover Gets Caught in a Messy Love Triangle

A melodramatic story, unbelievably melodramatic! I want to write melodrama so badly. I'm going crazy, I'm losing it, I'm going to take on the whole world!!! On his coming of age, Zhou Mingshan unexpectedly learns that he's the pathetic bottom in a scumbag romance novel. Maybe the author especially likes his name, because the pathetic bottoms in several of their angsty novels all have the same name. But it seems the worlds of these scumbag romance novels have merged. * Zhou Mingshan has a kindhearted childhood friend, praised by everyone for his gentle temperament. They've gone to the same schools since they were young. In everyone's eyes, they're inseparable and a perfect match. No one expects his childhood friend to start dating someone else in college. When people express regret that the two childhood friends didn't end up together, his friend calmly and gently says that he and Zhou Mingshan have always been just friends, and nothing more. So Zhou Mingshan can only suppress his love and remain behind him like a silent shadow. The marriage promise once made between the Zhou family and his friend's family seems to have quietly fallen through, too. In truth, Zhou Mingshan is hopelessly hooked on this twisted, one-sided love. His friend's polite rejections, the way he is warm to everyone but distant and cold to Zhou Mingshan, and his deliberate attempts to make Zhou jealous with his boyfriend... Every little thing makes Zhou's scalp tingle and his heart race, until he mistakes it for love. * But this push and pull doesn't last long. The Zhou Corporation decides to expand, and with funds running low, Zhou's father arranges a marriage alliance for him. To wealthy families, joining forces with an equal is the best way to maximize their interests. The moment Zhou Mingshan meets his intended, he recognizes him as the second scumbag love interest. So, just like in the novel, he realizes the man is the upperclassman who once saved him in high school and falls for him at first sight. The man is just as cold and indifferent as the story says, looking down on Zhou's eager advances. He won't even pretend to be nice. He even deliberately humiliates Zhou, letting scandalous rumors about himself spread as though he's certain Zhou will put up with it. Zhou Mingshan falls for him helplessly and immediately forgets about his childhood friend. Everyone assumes his childhood friend will be glad to finally be rid of such a persistent suitor. But no one expects the gentle mask on his face to crack. He loses all his old composure and, like a desert traveler dying of thirst, begs Zhou Mingshan to take him back. * Of course, Zhou Mingshan doesn't take him back. He doesn't have time for him. After all, scumbag love interest number three has appeared, too. As graduation approaches, Zhou Mingshan naturally joins his family's business. He's still a young man just starting out, so it's inevitable that he'll run into some difficulties at work. That's when he meets scumbag love interest number three, one of his father's friends. The man is refined, steady, and widely read. He's only in his thirties, yet his standing is on a par with Zhou's father. Because of work, the two spend a lot of time together. He's thoughtful and capable, and every problem seems easy for him to solve. A man like him, still unmarried at his age? Even without the novel's plot, Zhou Mingshan knows he wouldn't fall for someone easily. He's like a mountain, impossible to climb. Zhou Mingshan is so excited his veins stand out. He deliberately shows the man a young person's enthusiasm, shyness, and timid longing for love. Just as the story says, the man treats him only as a younger relative and earnestly teaches him... Zhou Mingshan respectfully calls him Uncle, but in private, the taboo thrill of it makes his scalp tingle. With all his attention on number three, how could he have time to fawn over his marriage match? His intended soon notices how cold Zhou has been lately. After looking into it, he turns livid. Everyone assumes he'll pull his investment from the Zhou family and do whatever it takes to destroy Zhou Mingshan. Instead, the man holds back and awkwardly starts trying to win Zhou Mingshan over. He even prepares a grand proposal banquet. Zhou Mingshan can't help seeing him as the kind of trash he just can't get rid of. At the same time, his older third love interest sends him a message. The man's tone is patient and calm: "Mingshan, I'm a respectable man. I won't be the other man. If you're going to pursue me, you have to end things with him first." Zhou Mingshan: ! In a single night, his whole world has fallen apart. * Actually, Zhou Mingshan has a secret he can't tell anyone: he's lithromantic. It means "having romantic feelings for someone but not wanting those feelings returned. For people like this, their romantic feelings may disappear if the other person reciprocates." Theme: Work hard to improve yourself and love life