The Year the Substitute Died

The story is complete. (A scum top gets his comeuppance. Please check the content warnings before reading. If it's not for you, don't read.) [Please add my upcoming novels to your collection: After Getting Canceled by the Entire Internet, I Go Viral on a Dating Show with My Ex-Husband and They All Regretted It After the Universally Hated Man Died.] Jiang Yanqing is terminally ill. Clutching his test results, he wants to lean against Xu Tingxu's chest and have a good cry, but Xu Tingxu hangs up on him. Jiang Yanqing walks into the rain, dejectedly holding his phone. He and Xu Tingxu met during the rainy season. The weather in the south was wet and rainy. As the rain pattered down, Jiang Yanqing, who had no umbrella, took shelter under the eaves. Xu Tingxu joined him to escape the rain. He pulled his expensive coat over his head, then turned to Jiang Yanqing with a smile. "Want me to give you a ride?" They got together after that. Xu Tingxu treated him well, brought him into the entertainment industry, and spent money to get him opportunities. Jiang Yanqing thought Xu Tingxu had fallen in love with him at first sight, too. Only later did he learn that he was a stand-in for Xu Tingxu's beloved, the one who got away. Xu Tingxu didn't love him. His kindness was fake, and he had never even acknowledged Jiang Yanqing's existence in public. Back at their home, Jiang Yanqing looks at everything so familiar and focuses on preparing dinner while waiting for Xu Tingxu to return, so he can tell him about his illness. With only a few months left to live, he hopes Xu Tingxu will see him off in the end. That day, Jiang Yanqing waits in vain for Xu Tingxu. Instead, Xu Tingxu's beloved appears in their home and sneers at him: "Xu Tingxu doesn't like you at all. How can you shamelessly cling to this place? We're getting engaged. You should leave." Soon the news spreads that Xu Tingxu is going to get engaged to someone else, and Jiang Yanqing becomes the biggest joke of all. His heart grows cold. The last time he waits for Xu Tingxu to come home, he prepares one final meal and smiles as he wishes Xu Tingxu happiness. The next day, he moves out. Alone by the roadside, he watches the traffic passing by. For the first time, he feels exhausted by life and wants to leave it all behind. Before leaving, he appears on a show to thank the handful of fans who have stayed by his side. Haters accuse him of putting on an act. He visits his mother one last time, but she scolds him for failing to win Xu Tingxu's heart and tells him to get out. He wants to have one final meal with a friend, but the friend turns him down, afraid of offending someone. It seems no one in the world needs him anymore, so Jiang Yanqing buys a plane ticket and leaves. Later, his plane crashes, and everyone thinks he's dead. Xu Tingxu frantically searches the entire city for him, but Jiang Yanqing has erased every trace of himself, as if he had never existed. Only then does Xu Tingxu realize that Jiang Yanqing is the one he has always loved. A year later, the "dead" Jiang Yanqing suddenly makes a comeback. The media still doubt him, saying his career won't last after being abandoned by his sugar daddy. But Jiang Yanqing has changed. His gaze has grown colder, and he focuses more and more on his career. Even when the outside world continues to doubt him, he works diligently. Later, Jiang Yanqing becomes famous and gains many admirers. Among them, he sees Xu Tingxu again. But things have changed, and Jiang Yanqing no longer loves him. (I accidentally saw my story being recommended. Thank you to all the video creators who featured it. I bow to you.) Content warnings: - A scum-top redemption story. The top acts like a real jerk, but is faithful. (If he weren't, it wouldn't be a story about him chasing his ex after messing up.) - Maximum angst and melodrama, from the start to the very end. But the angst isn't there just for its own sake: the further the plot progresses, the worse the scum gets punished. Most readers have said the later punishment is pretty brutal. - Many readers who jump straight to the comeuppance without reading the setup have trouble getting invested. My writing is what it is, and I've said from the start that this is just practice. You can tell from the first chapter. If the writing bothers you, feel free to leave. - Different strokes for different folks. If this isn't your kind of story, please move on instead of hurting each other. Trying to ruin someone's livelihood is a very immoral thing to do. Plenty of readers enjoy this kind of story, so please leave them something to read, too. - The characters' values don't represent the author's. Please don't conflate them with me, and keep your comments civil. (Though the comments are all just people cursing me out...) [Please add my upcoming novel: After Getting Canceled by the Entire Internet, I Go Viral on a Dating Show with My Ex-Husband.] Xu Yinan gets canceled by the entire internet after an assault incident, forcing him to stop working altogether. His manager tells him to film a relationship reality show with his ex-husband, the award-winning actor He Xiao. Their breakup was ugly, and they haven't been in touch since. Now that they're meeting again, neither can stand the other. Xu Yinan asks his manager in a swaggering tone, "Would celebrity He agree to do it? I won't, anyway..." Manager: "He agreed." Xu Yinan: "Oh. I suppose I'll go, if I have to." So the two of them appear together on the show. The day the dating show's announcement goes live, Xu Yinan is back on the trending list for all the wrong reasons. - He keeps leeching off his ex-husband. Shameless. - He Xiao must've been cursed to meet a piece of trash like you! A week before filming begins, rumors spread that He Xiao and his agency aren't happy about him joining the show, and that he might drop out. Just as everyone waits to laugh at Xu Yinan, He Xiao shares the show's promotional post and officially announces he's joining, sparking rumors that the two might get back together. - It's all for publicity, no doubt! - I'll never forget the decisive look He Xiao gave the media when he divorced him! - They haven't spoken since the divorce. There's no way they'll get back together! I'd eat shit if they did! Once the show starts, casual viewers and fans flood the livestream, expecting He Xiao to look down on Xu Yinan and Xu Yinan to rage and throw a fit. But the truth is the exact opposite. He Xiao, who's usually a little cold toward people, can't stop worrying about Xu Yinan's ash-gray hair and keeps telling him to dye it back. He Xiao: "Dye it back." Xu Yinan scoffs: "He Xiao, you're such a nag. I'm not dyeing it!" Xu Yinan, who's fearless and swaggering, panics when He Xiao catches him sneaking a cigarette. He Xiao: "Smoking." Xu Yinan: "I was wrong! I won't do it again!" Viewers/fans: Why is this kind of cute?! As the show gets popular, the couple's fanbase keeps growing, and Xu Yinan becomes a sensation. As the show nears its finale, fans cry out desperately for them to get back together: I'll eat shit, just please get back together! Please! The media personally approaches Xu Yinan and He Xiao to ask if they'll reconcile. Xu Yinan snorts, about to snap, "What's it to you?" But He Xiao, beside him, takes his hand and simply says, "Yes," to the camera. Xu Yinan turns bright red. Fans: Ooh la la Blurb posted on 23/4/8 [Please add my upcoming novel: They All Regretted It After the Universally Hated Man Died.] Su Qing dies on a rainy night. In his final moments, he looks back on his life and finds it utterly tragic. He is the eldest son in his family. His father favors his half-brother, strips him of his right to inherit the company, and kicks him out. After his mother remarries, she starts a new family and has a child, gradually growing distant from him. Even the person he loves despises him, wishing he didn't exist. With the last of his strength, Su Qing calls Gu Changfeng. The phone rings for a long time before someone finally answers. Gu Changfeng says with disgust, "Su Qing, enough. Stop bothering me." Su Qing freezes for a moment, then smiles and says, "Okay." He hangs up. Darkness slowly closes in, and he dies in his car. When he opens his eyes again, Su Qing discovers that he has somehow been reborn. His last life was too painful, and he doesn't want to repeat it. This time, he plans to stay far away from them. But they regret it. Su Qing looks at his remorseful parents and the lover who is overcome with grief and begs him to come back. He says coldly, "It's too late." Blurb posted on 23/2/5 Thesis: Face difficulties with positivity and courage.