The Substitute Ran Away

The bird yao Shi Yao accidentally ended up in the body of a dead person, who turned out to be a side character in a storybook.

The original owner of the body was also named Shi Yao. He was the second son of the Marquis of Nanyang, with a cool, beautiful face, and had grown up in luxury. His only flaw was that he was a cannon-fodder stand-in for the male lead's unattainable first love in a storybook.

The male lead, Prince Duan, had a beloved first love. When that person went to the frontier, Prince Duan used Shi Yao as a substitute. Even though Shi Yao knew he was only a stand-in, he stayed by Prince Duan's side, foolishly hoping that the other man would fall in love with him.

He was clearly as cool and otherworldly as an immortal, yet whenever he met the male lead, he seemed bewitched, falling hopelessly in love. He fought for power on his behalf, helped him conquer the realm, took blows for him, and even served as his substitute.

The ending was easy to guess. He was tormented in body and mind, then abandoned by Prince Duan. He died saving the man's beloved first love.

Remembering the story's plot, Shi Yao felt suffocated. He decided to run away.

He would leave Prince Duan's residence and go home.

Prince Duan didn't believe he would leave. He only sneered. "He'll be back within three days."

He had seen this act too many times.

-

Everyone in Luoyang knew that the heir of the Marquis of Nanyang had the talent of a top scholar. He was cool and aloof, yet had fallen in love with Prince Duan, loving him with desperate devotion. He had even cut ties with his family for the man and gone to work as a strategist at Prince Duan's residence.

He had poured his heart and soul into helping the once-unremarkable young prince rise to a position where he could control half the court, and had even worn himself sick in the process.

Now he said he was leaving. Who would believe him?

But leave he did, and he never came back.

When the backlog of official documents became impossible to handle and the household fell into chaos, Prince Duan finally couldn't hold back any longer and went to find Shi Yao himself.

"Zi Ming, don't be childish. Come back. I've always kept a place for you by my side."

Shi Yao shook his head. To put an end to Prince Duan's hopes once and for all, he said, "But I've already fallen for someone else."

Prince Duan didn't believe him. "Who?"

The image of the storybook's cold-blooded villain flashed through Shi Yao's mind. He answered offhandedly, "His Highness the Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince happened to be passing by and stopped dead when he heard those words.

No one knew that His Highness the Crown Prince secretly loved someone, loved him so deeply it consumed him, loved him until he went mad, like a rabid dog.

That person hated him, so he had to make himself a leash and keep himself chained up, terrified he might hurt him.

Until the day he heard that person say he loved him.

And then the leash snapped.

-

No one believed Shi Yao had really fallen for someone else. They waited for him to come back in tears, but they waited and waited, until all they could do was stand below and watch the hem of his robe.

*Mad Dog Crown Prince Gong X Adorable Bird Yao Shou

*The original male lead gets his comeuppance

Theme: Become an independent and powerful person