A Body-Swap Romance

[Next up: After a Career-Obsessed Soul Transmigrates into a Sucker Who Gets the Short End of the Stick], coming soon in my author column~ Ten years ago, a natural disaster struck. Species mutated, and the world fell into chaos. Two boys leaned on and supported each other, and amid their struggle to survive, they fell in love. Chu Chenli was gravely wounded and on the brink of death after saving Ye Lanzhou. He slept for ten years. When he woke again, the world had become strange to him, and so had the lover he once knew. During the years he missed, Ye Lanzhou became the revered leader who saved the world. He had someone else at his side, no place left for Chu Chenli, and no time to comfort or keep him company. Chu Chenli didn't fit into the new world, but he didn't care. He only wanted to stay somewhere he could see his lover. Until the hospital was attacked by mutated creatures. Having only recently woken up, Chu Chenli was too weak to fight back, and ended up a hostage while trying to save others. Ye Lanzhou rescued him. He should have been relieved, but the words slipped out before he could stop them: "Could you stop holding me back?" Chu Chenli was silent for a long time, then said, "Okay." It took only a few days for him to go from waking up to giving up. Then he disappeared from Ye Lanzhou's world. He never got the chance to tell Ye Lanzhou how, for ten years, the desperate wish to see him again had helped him survive countless brushes with death in that brutal infinite world and return to reality. And he wasn't the only one who returned. His companions, who had truly shared life and death with him for ten years, came back too. Late that night, Chu Chenli dragged his injured body to the edge of the hospital's high-rise and leaped down, landing in the arms of his longtime teammate waiting below. Mu Yanshen caught him securely, then chuckled and whispered in his ear, "Brother Li, I'm here to marry you." Chu Chenli closed his eyes and ruffled his hair. "Don't fool around." Mu Yanshen smiled. "Just kidding." It was a long time before Chu Chenli realized it hadn't been a joke. Mu Yanshen could deceive the entire world, but he would never lie to him. - Ye Lanzhou saw Chu Chenli again during a mission, after blundering into a trap and being left helpless as monsters surrounded him. Just when he thought he was going to die there, Chu Chenli descended from above. Having narrowly escaped death, Ye Lanzhou's heart pounded as he remembered the tenderness and intimacy they had once shared. But this time, Chu Chenli didn't risk his life to protect him as he had before. He stood beside his own teammates and looked at Ye Lanzhou like a stranger. Ye Lanzhou looked up and met a cold gaze. Mu Yanshen was draped over Chu Chenli, acting intimately without a care for anyone watching. But when he looked at Ye Lanzhou, his eyes were like knives, silently declaring: "Mine." - A few notes: 1. I've changed some character names and minor details, but the central premise is the same. 2. The love interest changes. Mu Yanshen is the endgame love interest, a younger man with little of the usual younger-man flavor. 3. The protagonist may look like a pretty vase on the surface, but he's actually a hot-tempered, unhinged beauty. Later on, he becomes the strongest character in the whole story. The protagonist gets all the love, the protagonist gets all the love, the protagonist gets all the love. I'll say it three times. 4. The setting is a natural-disaster apocalypse, with various elements mixed together at random. The story is fictional from beginning to end, all made up by the author. 5. The early chapters have a melodramatic, bittersweet flavor. Next up: After a Career-Obsessed Soul Transmigrates into a Sucker Who Gets the Short End of the Stick [Blurb] The legendary Lin Zhaoye has transmigrated. The original owner was a rich second-generation heir with money and looks, but unfortunately, he was a sucker. Even worse, Lin Zhaoye arrived just after the man had lost everything chasing after his crush. His unrequited love ran off with his sworn enemy. After nearly squandering the family fortune for that person, he was thrown out of the house by his furious father, who brought home his illegitimate son to take his place. Overnight, the original owner fell into ruin and became a laughingstock in his social circle. According to the original plot, he should have fallen into despair and let himself go, then one day, driven by jealousy, shown up at their door with a knife. He would become the final stepping stone that brought his crush and sworn enemy together in a once-in-a-lifetime romance. After serving his last purpose, he would end up in prison and fade from the story in disgrace. But after taking stock of all his "inheritance," Lin Zhaoye fell silent. Several luxury homes, a garage full of sports cars, a few million in savings, a company, and a sucker who kept giving him spending money from time to time. Ah, no, a kind and gentle older brother. Lin Zhaoye: ...This is what you call "ruin"? He was much better off than when he first started his business in his previous life. With all these assets, there was so much he could do. Why waste it chasing a young celebrity who didn't love him? Who knew how much he'd already thrown away. Lin Zhaoye took up his old line of work again, full of righteous indignation: making money. - Years later, Lin Zhaoye, an outstanding young entrepreneur whose reputation was on the rise, abruptly entered the film industry and bought an entertainment company. People had plenty to say about it. Only his former crush, whose career had steadily declined until he was almost forgotten in the industry, secretly rejoiced: He must still love me. But when they ran into each other at the company, the former crush tried to sound him out, only to receive a cool glance and a casual reply: "I'm just taking back what I wasted before." Then, with hardly any effort, Lin Zhaoye turned another young actor into a top-tier star. His former crush, who had dreamed of returning to Lin Zhaoye's side, became a laughingstock. Rumors spread that President Lin was keeping a young pretty boy. Lin Zhaoye didn't care and made no effort to hide it. At a banquet, cameras flashed excitedly as the usually refined and impeccably proper President Guan appeared with a dark expression and dragged his cheap little brother out of the venue. That night, the hot search exploded: #Guan Mingxi: Mine# The next one was #Famous Entrepreneur Comes Out in Public# - To be fair, Guan Mingxi hadn't given that cheap little brother much thought at first. After all, they weren't related by blood, nor did they have any emotional bond. If Lin Zhaoye's mother hadn't once helped him, he and Lin Zhaoye would have been complete strangers. Even though he was frustrated by his cheap little brother's lack of ambition, Guan Mingxi couldn't simply stand by while people kicked him when he was down. Fortunately, Lin Zhaoye had seen the error of his ways, so looking after him was easy. Everyone likes a well-behaved, sensible kid who wants to get ahead. So one indulged without restraint, while the other accepted it as his due. And as that favoritism went on, it seemed to veer in the wrong direction... Advance Reservation 2: After Becoming the Dragon-Proud Hero's Kid, the Cannon Fodder Decides to Lie Flat One-line premise: RBT Theme: Love means equality and never abandoning each other