He Was Just a Substitute After All

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Ji Haoran came from a powerful family and did as he pleased. He was indisputably the richest man in City A.

Even more enviable was the beautiful, virtuous wife at home who loved him with all her heart.

In their three years of marriage, Mu An'an had memorized every food he was allergic to by heart.

When she saw that his face was injured, she anxiously drove him to the hospital in the middle of the night.

She protected the positive image of his company and secretly did charity work all over the world.

She kept finding new scripts for his company to produce.

She even missed her own birthday every year so she could go to Paris a week in advance to buy him a birthday present.

Then one day, Mu An'an, who had loved him to the bone, suddenly asked for a divorce.

Ji Haoran held a glowing cigarette between his fingers and looked up indifferently. "Have you made up your mind? If you regret it later, you can beg me on your knees and it still won't do you any good."

But inwardly, he thought: Within a week, Mu An'an will be done throwing her tantrum and come back in tears, begging me to forgive her.

But Mu An'an replied without hesitation: "Divorce."

Ji Haoran's face darkened. He nearly crushed the phone in his hand. "Get out."

A month later, Ji Haoran still hadn't seen Mu An'an change her mind. Instead, he heard from a friend that she'd been in a car accident and lost her memory. Her memories had stopped at the year she first met him.

In the end, he couldn't hold back. He anxiously hurried to the hospital to see her.

But through the half-open door, he saw Mu An'an, who had always loved him to the bone, clutching the sleeve of a strange man who looked remarkably like him. Her eyes sparkled as she introduced him to her best friend: "This is Brother Minzhi, my boyfriend."

Ji Haoran was struck as if by lightning. Only then did he realize that his ex-wife had always kept her first love in her heart, and he had merely been a substitute who resembled him.

Later, on a night of torrential rain, Ji Haoran fell to one knee and begged Mu An'an to come back to him.

Ji Haoran: "..."

Woof, woof. Honey, do I still have a chance?

Warnings:

1. The male lead is a substitute in this story. The female lead is somewhat repressed early on; later, the male lead suffers, and there's a long road to winning his wife back, but it ends happily.

2. The leads' values do not represent the author's. If you don't like the story, please move along without flaming. Let's all be happy.

3. The author likes both leads to have no prior sexual partners. No need to question this.

4. Everything in the story serves the romance. It mixes all kinds of old-school, melodramatic, cheesy tropes with an indulgent Mary Sue style.

╰☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Recommended: My Wife from the Seventies, by Xia Wange

My next contemporary romance, Starlight for You, is open for preorders. Please add it to your collection.

The first time Gu Youjing saw Yan Fei, the man was standing at the podium in a black suit, giving a speech. He answered the female students' questions with wit and ease, drawing shrieks from the students in attendance and creating a lively, electric atmosphere.

From then on, Gu Youjing fell for Yan Fei at first sight, and loved him even more the second time she saw him.

When she learned Yan Fei had been single his whole life, Gu Youjing was overjoyed. She summoned her courage and boldly confessed her feelings.

Yan Fei's eyes held a trace of impatience, and he brushed her off casually. "Sorry, I already like someone."

A few months later, a new intern joined the law firm. She was beautiful and fair-skinned, and the men at the firm all pursued her. Gu Youjing politely turned them down one by one.

Everyone noticed that Gu Youjing seemed to treat Yan Fei differently. Even Yan Fei thought so. The young woman had boldly pursued him before, and after a few months apart, it was only natural that she still liked him.

Someone egged him on: "Mr. Yan, I can tell she's into you. If you like her, make a move! We'll be waiting to hear good news."

Yan Fei leaned back against the sofa, crossing his legs with a lazy smile. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "It's a deal. I'll take you all out for dinner tomorrow."

That night, Yan Fei was just about to confess when he arrived outside Gu Youjing's room.

Before he could knock, he heard Gu Youjing inside complaining on the phone to someone: "Lately, my boss has been looking at me more and more strangely. He wants to take advantage of me. Sob, sob, I'm so scared."

"Didn't you used to like him? If you like him, why not let him take advantage of you?"

Gu Youjing refused with righteous indignation: "I don't like him anymore. Let him take advantage of me? No way. That scumbag Yan Fei isn't even good enough to carry my shoes. I'm packing my bags and running away tonight."

Yan Fei: "..."

Three months later, someone saw Yan Fei crouching down with a pair of cloth shoes in his hands, carefully helping Gu Youjing put them on after her feet got tired from shopping. He raised an eyebrow and asked in an indulgent tone, "There, do I measure up now?"

Theme: Even when stuck in the mire, you can stay positive and face life bravely