I Only Realized I Was a Substitute After the Crematorium

[Two Substitutes + Reborn Shou's Revenge Arc + A Messy Teacher-Disciple Romance]

A somewhat slow-on-the-uptake, wild and carefree master gong + a cold, aloof disciple shou who swings between madness and normalcy

Shou's perspective:

Gong Heng was humiliated for three years by Pei Jilan, who treated him as a substitute. After Gong Heng died, his farewell letter drove Pei Jilan mad.

Pei Jilan went mad, died, and was reborn.

Looking at his master, so carefree and composed, he swore he would never let him down in this life.

He gave everything to help Gong Heng uncover the truth, repeatedly teetering on the brink of death. Gong Heng always stayed by his side, except for the time his face was disfigured in an explosion.

The one who had pulled him from the endless hell personally pushed him into an abyss without end. In his final moments, Gong Heng's gaze was cold and distant. "Without that face, you're nothing."

And the longing and love in the farewell letter that had plunged him into despair and madness had only been written in mourning for his late husband.

From beginning to end, he was nothing but a substitute.

Reader's Guide:

1. The blurb is from the shou's perspective; the main story is from the gong's perspective.

2. The gong has an ex, but nothing serious happened between them. The shou's unattainable love is the gong.

3. The shou gets a revenge arc. The gong suffers early on, and the shou suffers later.

4. The blurb may change before the story begins.

Theme: Have the courage to be yourself.