The Bridegroom Forced into a Substitute Marriage Has Something to Say

There’s a kind of story where the protagonist is nasty and selfish, taking pleasure in trampling on other people’s sincere feelings. They’ll stop at nothing to climb the ladder, and their own feelings matter more than the whole world. The characters who are coldly abandoned and exploited, or who follow the protagonist around as underlings only to die miserably, are the ones who get the short end of the stick. Lan Wenzhu is one of them. World One: ABO arranged marriage Zhao Bingjing was adopted by his family. So afraid of being abandoned, he knows how to play the victim and act cute. He clings to the real young master, who is only a few months younger than him, and calls him big brother. He carefully chose his target, then clung to the real young master like a parasitic vine, leeching off his vitality. He badgered and manipulated him, isolated him, and engineered misunderstandings, testing everyone’s love for him. Even before the wedding, he had to test his fiance’s love. He deliberately fled overseas to hike in an uninhabited area, forcing the real young master to marry in his place. His plan was to make his fiance fly into a rage, then, after stoically going through with the wedding, send the real young master back and marry him instead, declaring to the world that his fiance only wanted someone perfectly compatible with him. The real young master was sent over. On their wedding night, the man forcibly marked him. Lan Wenzhu: I don’t think that’s how the story goes? System: Close enough. * World Two: The one who gets the short end of the stick The frail eldest heir of a marquis’s household was once the family’s pillar of support. But after entering government service, he fell ill while accompanying the emperor on a tour, suffering lasting damage that left him unable to have sex or children. His dissolute half-brother, a playboy with no claim to inherit, had been allowed to run wild. Then one day, he rose to power. The eldest heir returned to the capital to find that his title, friends and family, political connections, and even his long-promised fiancee had all been handed over to his half-brother. Unable to go on living, Lan Wenzhu urgently needed someone powerful to lean on before returning to the capital. After looking around, he decided the ruthless and cruel emperor was his best bet. The emperor was also known to have no interest in women. Maybe he had some hidden ailment. At least they had something to talk about. Lan Wenzhu meant to be a loyal lackey, throwing his weight around. But he overdid the flattery, and the emperor took him to bed. * World Three: The one who gets the short end of the stick You’re a low-level newcomer who only got into the industry through luck, but you’ve somehow become one of Young Master Huo’s friends, someone he can call to go drinking, chat, and confide in when he needs to unwind. Using his name, you land several major projects and become a rising star in the tech industry. You sponsor a poor child from the mountains, but after graduating, he wants to take your place at Young Master Huo’s side. In the story, he gets drunk and sleeps with the man. He’s thrown out, and you’re driven out of City A along with him. Seven years later, he wins back his wife after a painful pursuit, they reconcile, and they reach a happy ending. Lan Wenzhu: But... what about me, exiled overseas? To avoid being sent to work in the mines, Lan Wenzhu drank the medicine first. When he woke up the next morning, the man was still there. World Four: The one who gets the short end of the stick Theme: Rescue and love.