The Sickly Outcast Is Reborn

I'm posting under a different author account now~ Visit Weibo and search for Zhanchao Sheng to find out my new pen name.

--Story blurb--

[Sickly, universally despised character becomes a deceptively innocent, universally adored schemer + regretful pursuit + both leads reborn + epic love rivalry]

Qing Yuan'an, the son of a treacherous minister, was sickly to the bone. Everyone despised him and thought he deserved to die. One snowy night, he saved a taciturn young boy, Xiao Jiyue.

When the boy was injured, he cared for him personally, kept him by his side as a study companion, taught him to read and write, and even drew his sword to protect him when they were pursued.

The hand the boy offered him on a snowy night, that fleeting glance during the lantern festival, the warmth of being held close during the Shangyuan Festival... Every one of these moments made his heart race.

He naively thought that at last, he had glimpsed daylight from the mire.

Qing Yuan'an bent down and asked gently, "When I get better, will you come with me to see the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas?"

The boy raised his pale eyes slightly, which was as good as a promise.

Years passed. Everything changed.

He thought that one day, Xiao Jiyue would take him to see the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas he had never seen. Even just once would be enough.

But the only thing he received was poisoned wine.

He drank it with a bitter smile. Their years of affection were severed inch by inch by the wind and snow, and he died on that cold, silent snowy night.

--

When he opened his eyes again, he was back on the day he had met Xiao Jiyue.

This time, he gave a cold sneer and ordered the sedan bearers to take another route.

What he didn't know was that Xiao Jiyue smiled at his retreating figure, his eyes concealing a thousand kinds of greed.

--[The seme's perspective]--

Xiao Jiyue was thriving at court, but there was one person he had failed.

Years later, countless people tried to curry favor with him and prove their loyalty, but he ignored them all and did everything he could to get close to the Grand Tutor.

His advisors said this man was rebellious by nature and only knew how to cling to power. He was not someone to trust. But Xiao Jiyue stubbornly refused to listen.

"I've been searching for him for ten years. How could I give up so easily?"

No one knew that on that snowy night, he had crossed three thousand miles with a soul-summoning lantern, searching for the remnants of Qing Yuan'an's soul, all for the chance to bring him back.

Sitting at the edge of the sandstorm, he told the broken soul about their past:

"For more than a decade, I wandered in a daze. Then I met someone, and the warm sun returned, spring came to all things. That person has lived in my heart for a very, very long time..."

Xiao Jiyue once carried the shattered remnants of a soul along a long road.

That was the road that would take them home.

--

[After you left, nothing in this world was you, and everything was you.]

[If Heaven takes pity on us and grants us another life, if you go mad, I'll go mad with you. If you shine bright, I'll ride alongside you and turn the world upside down.]

Tips:

1. Happy ending. They start out using each other, then discover how wonderful it is to be together. The uke only pretends to be a villain.

2. A small amount of the plot involves spirits and the supernatural.

3. Updating according to the ranking schedule. I'll let you know in the comments if I need to take a break.

This is a self-indulgent story I wrote for myself. If it's not your thing, feel free to leave. Stay or go as you please, no need to tell me. No need to get upset; let's look forward to having more fun with the next story.

Theme: Stand with the one you love and protect the peace of your country and family.