When a Fake Player Meets a Real Casanova

[I won't abandon this story. I've just had way too much going on lately. I'll update after I get back from my thesis defense.]

Younger, innocent puppy-like top x older, flirtatious, universally adored bottom (the two-character name is the top)

Shi Qingyue is the undisputed flower of Rongcheng's Twenty One Bar, famous for his womanizing ways.

Ji Zhuo is the notorious playboy second son of the Ji family of Rongcheng. Rumor has it that he's a real Casanova, flitting from one flower to another without ever getting attached.

They've both heard plenty about each other, but they've never crossed paths.

The first time they meet, Ji Zhuo falls in love with Shi Qingyue at first sight and asks him right away, “Can I be your boyfriend?”

Shi Qingyue takes in Ji Zhuo's strikingly handsome face and remembers the rumors that he's a womanizer too. With an amused smile, he agrees.

Shi Qingyue soon discovers that although Ji Zhuo says he never takes relationships seriously, he'll cross half of Rongcheng for something Shi mentioned in passing. When Shi's stomach hurts, Ji Zhuo clumsily makes him a bowl of hot congee. He seems completely devoted and utterly sincere.

Still, for people like them, no matter how serious they seem, it's all just an act. There's no need for genuine feelings.

So when Shi Qingyue spots another face that fits his tastes, he makes his move and asks for the guy's contact information.

Then he turns around and sees Ji Zhuo looking shocked and heartbroken.

Ji Zhuo: “We haven't even broken up yet! Cheating is wrong!”

Shi Qingyue: “Cheating? Didn't we agree this was just for fun?”

Ji Zhuo angrily breaks up with him and walks away looking incredibly carefree.

A week after the breakup, Shi Qingyue gets a call from Ji Zhuo, now his ex-boyfriend. Ji Zhuo sobs pitifully over the phone: “All those dating guides were fake. My first love is over QAQ.”

Shi Qingyue is baffled. “Dating guides? First love?”

There comes a sudden clatter from the other end, like glass hitting the floor.

Ji Zhuo, drunk at the bar and calling the wrong number: “I've really suffered too much for love.”

[Content warning: The bottom is not a virgin, but the top is.]

[Upcoming campus story featuring two alphas]

The cool-headed, upright, meticulous student council president, Lu Chang, stops Xiang Bianye at the school gate. Xiang Bianye is rumored to be at odds with him, and has been caught smoking several times this semester.

The former grabs the latter by the collar and leans close to his neck, eyes lowered, his hidden gaze filled with obsession and possessiveness.

Alphas' pheromones naturally clash. For one alpha to act this way toward another is practically a challenge, both to onlookers and to Xiang Bianye.

Everyone waits for the school bully to blow up. Xiang Bianye does not disappoint: he slaps Lu Chang's hand away, curls his lips coldly, and says, “Mind your own business.”

Then he strides through the school gates.

Lu Chang expressionlessly glances at his arm, which is starting to turn red. He takes the attendance book from a student council member standing dumbly beside him and, without drawing attention, crosses out three names.

Everyone thinks the president doesn't argue because he can't be bothered. Now the two of them are even more at odds.

One day not long afterward, a student spots two familiar figures in an alley by the rear gate and starts to move closer for a better look. Then he meets the sharp gaze of the usually well-mannered student council president.

The other person turns around, revealing the school bully's defiant face.

And what are the two of them doing? The school bully is bent over, asking the student council president, who has a cigarette between his lips, for a light!

The ember flickers. The two big shots look unmistakably intimate. The student turns and leaves at once, afraid that if he stays too long, they'll “kill him, silence him, and dispose of the body.”

#Help, the perfect student has fallen from grace#

No one knows that Xiang Bianye and Lu Chang both let themselves go in a frenzy on the same day, for the same reason.

The completed entertainment industry story "What Do I Do About My Clingy Friend?" is also available. Please add it to your reading list.

Cover image by: Chang Yi

Inspired by something found online, used with permission.

Theme: Sincerity is a virtue.