After Becoming the Fake Young Master Who Was Switched at Birth

[Rainbow couple: happy puppy x youthful dad]

After being betrayed by someone close to him as a child, Ye Yonghuan developed an avoidant disorder. After he died, he transmigrated into a book, becoming the villainous male supporting character with the same name in a wealthy-family danmei novel he'd read while alive.

He was the disabled fake young master of a wealthy family, switched at birth. The protagonist was the real young master, Ye Qingzhou.

The real young master returned and drew everyone's attention. He was talented and healthy, and everyone placed their hopes in him. Even Ye Yonghuan's childhood friend said he wanted Ye Qingzhou as his marriage alliance partner.

Unable to walk properly, the original Ye Yonghuan couldn't accept this. His mentality warped, and he became gloomy and vicious, wishing he could take revenge on the whole world.

He provoked Ye Qingzhou time and again and tripped him up at every turn. In the end, his misdeeds were exposed, and he was sent abroad. He became homeless, and thugs dragged him into an alley and assaulted him.

At the time, his childhood friend and the second male lead passed by the alley but did nothing to save him, because they were in a hurry to celebrate the real young master's birthday.

That day was also the original Ye Yonghuan's birthday, and it became the day he died. No one knew.

When Ye Yonghuan arrived, the original had just framed the real young master. He had quietly locked the door, keeping the punished real young master from getting inside.

The real young master entered through the glass side door and dragged the original into the swimming pool several times, leaving his already frail body even weaker.

By rights, Ye Yonghuan should have dropped to his knees, begged the protagonist's group for forgiveness, then worked hard to win their favor.

But...

Ye Yonghuan glanced at the protagonist outside the door, sneered, and locked it.

What did he care? Don't come near me.

▼

When Ye Qingzhou was six, his worker father died in an accident, and his cold-hearted mother ran off with the compensation money.

For the next ten years, he never stopped hating her. He couldn't understand how any mother could bear to abandon her children, until Ye Xiujie found him and brought him to the Ye family.

From the first time he saw that woman's son, Ye Qingzhou didn't like him much. He had inherited nearly all of her best features.

Later, he realized that it wasn't just her looks that he'd inherited...

Ye Yonghuan was foolish and childish. His revenge schemes were so clumsy that Ye Qingzhou didn't even consider him a real opponent. Everyone could see through his supposedly well-hidden little tricks. They were just waiting to see when he would cross the line and bring about his own ruin.

But gradually, Ye Qingzhou realized that Ye Yonghuan wasn't quite what he had imagined. Before he knew it, he began paying far too much attention to the disabled young master.

Ye Yonghuan drank the milk he'd offered as an apology, then pretended to be sick and framed him.

Later, he found out that the young master's list of allergies was long enough to fill a book. He really was sick...

He saw Ye Yonghuan secretly poisoning his food!

Later, he found out they were just Ye Yonghuan's health supplements...

Ye Yonghuan's lackey pitched him a wicked plan, and he agreed!

After waiting a long time, he realized Ye Yonghuan seemed to have forgotten all about it...

Ye Yonghuan scooped cat poop into his room to disgust him!

The cat was a stray Ye Yonghuan had picked up from a dumpster...

Only belatedly did Ye Qingzhou realize that all his attention was on Ye Yonghuan.

His every thought and glance was filled with Ye Yonghuan...

Ye Yonghuan, who wasn't all that bad, but was never happy...

Before he knew it, Ye Qingzhou no longer hated Ye Yonghuan. Instead, a strange thought came to him: why not let him be as happy as his name, forever?

◆ A note for readers of this laid-back story: It includes games, amnesia, drama queens, childish bickering, stubborn denial, and other melodramatic tropes, but not too much. At heart, it's a slice-of-life story that simply follows the characters' daily lives. Read at your own discretion. Do not post spoilers in the comments. Pirated-content readers, behave yourselves.

◆ The avoidant disorder is fictional. Don't infer the characters' personalities from the term's literal meaning. There is a related term, social avoidance disorder, but it's not the condition you're imagining, where someone avoids people and keeps their distance whenever they interact with them.

There's also a related term, avoidant personality disorder, but that doesn't mean someone acts excessively cold toward others. A person with sense and social awareness won't display their shortcomings openly.

I won't go into the specifics of the disorder. I'm a novelist, not a doctor.

Huan is meant to be a happy puppy. He was sick before transmigrating into the book, but recovered completely after getting a new body. At first, he didn't realize it himself, so this isn't a case of his character changing. It's his true nature coming out. Once he felt at ease, he let himself go.

◆ I care about copyright protection and have authorized a professional litigation firm to handle copyright enforcement. Piracy groups, please behave yourselves and avoid the unpleasantness of legal disputes.

Theme: Leave the painful past behind, stay optimistic, and look forward to a new beginning.