The Aloof Bottom Decides to Let the Second Male Lead Take Over

[Successfully Took His Place, Now at the Crematorium]

Cool, mature man x younger wolfish man, switching love interests, the second male lead comes out on top

*

When they were young, Lu Quezhi saw Lin Zhenyan as a lonely, distant moon in the sky. He would whisper in Lin Zhenyan’s ear again and again, “Ayan, I’ll love you for many years.”

Just before turning thirty, Lu Quezhi cheated.

The boy was as young as Lin Zhenyan had once been, but livelier and more passionate.

Lu Quezhi wanted to have his cake and eat it too.

“Zhenyan, you’re boring and rigid. If you leave me, who else will put up with you for another seven years?”

Lin Zhenyan knew he wasn’t a romantic partner, and that he wasn’t particularly likable.

But he knew when to advance and when to retreat, understood boundaries, and knew when to walk away. He’d already seen how things would end.

So he refused Lu Quezhi’s offer of compensation, signed up for a company transfer overseas, and ended things with Lu Quezhi once and for all.

*

In a foreign land, someone else pursued Lin Zhenyan passionately, telling him he was a bright moon that hung high in the sky and never set.

Lin Zhenyan merely lowered his eyes, his expression weary and indifferent to love. He raised a hand to the man’s lips, refusing his confession.

“Lu Hao, I don’t want to play at a fling just because you’re caught up in the moment.”

Lost in those cool, tired eyes, Lu Hao let his true feelings slip out. “Yan-ge, this isn’t a passing fancy. I’ve loved you for years.”

*

Ever since the day Lu Quezhi brought you home.

I’ve loved you for years.

*

Two years after the breakup, red roses left Lu Quezhi’s hands covered in thorns. After going around in circles, he realized that the moonlight of his youth was still the warmest thing of all.

When he heard that Lin Zhenyan had finally returned to the country, Lu Quezhi eagerly tried to meet him and beg for forgiveness.

He made a grand show of welcoming Lin Zhenyan at the airport, only to find him behaving intimately with another man.

Stunned, then furious with a sense of betrayal, he grabbed Lin Zhenyan’s wrist and demanded, “You, you found someone else just like that? What’s so great about some young kid compared to me?”

In the depths of a snowy winter night, Lin Zhenyan smiled faintly, his charm dazzling. “He’s young, knows how to make life interesting, and is willing to stay by my side for many years.”

The man took off his baseball cap. Lu Quezhi stared at him in disbelief.

Lu Hao put an arm around Lin Zhenyan and smiled brightly at Lu Quezhi. “Uncle, you’re old. Let me have him, okay?”

#Lin Zhenyan is the bottom x Lu Hao is the top

[Coming Soon 1]

Stray kitten bottom x gentle, guiding top. More or less a story about finding a stray kitten, broken in body and spirit, then mending him piece by piece until he grows into a confident beauty.

If you want to make your way out of the mountains, you have to pay a higher price than everyone else.

*

In the winter of his junior year, Chen Zhuo’s mother was diagnosed with cancer.

To scrape together the money for her operation, Chen Zhuo took a job promoting drinks at the most luxurious private karaoke club in town.

Chen Zhuo was handsome, and on his very first trial shift, a customer requested him for a private room.

The whole place was noisy with laughter and chatter. Chen Zhuo’s face had gone pale, and his fingers were tightly intertwined. Just as he was about to take the offered glass, a weight settled on his left shoulder. Someone had come to stand beside him.

“He’s not selling drinks tonight.”

The newcomer turned, took Chen Zhuo’s cold, trembling fingers in his hand, and said, “Come with me.”

*

Mr. Dai had money and power. Paying for Chen Zhuo was much like buying a decorative ornament that suited his taste.

An ornament didn’t need to speak up and pledge its loyalty. It just had to fulfill its duties in bed.

Though Mr. Dai had a private ailment, and Chen Zhuo needed nearly half a week to recover after each time, Mr. Dai was also very generous.

A newly built villa back in his hometown, a promising job, and the public status of his boyfriend: Chen Zhuo never had to ask for any of it.

People urged Chen Zhuo, “While he still likes you, hurry up and marry him.”

He only shook his head.

A sugar daddy paid for a service, not true love.

He and Mr. Dai had never belonged to the same world.

*

In their sixth year together, news spread that Mr. Dai was going to get married.

Chen Zhuo knew it was time for him to leave.

He didn’t have much. He packed everything into one small suitcase, so light it was no heavier than the day he’d arrived.

But when the door opened, Mr. Dai was standing in the hallway.

Chen Zhuo lowered his eyes slightly. “Thank you for taking care of me all these years, Mr. Dai. I have to go.”

Instead of the expected “Mm,” a figure pressed him against the doorframe.

In the dim room, a faint glimmer of light caught the ring inside the box.

Chen Zhuo looked up in shock and met the other man’s deep, gentle eyes.

“I haven’t said we’re breaking up.”

Mr. Dai slipped the ring onto his ring finger. “Chen Zhuo, marry me.”

[Coming Soon 2]

Third-person narration, bottom-focused, switching love interests

We’d been married for three years, and happy together for all three. Lately, though, he’d suddenly stopped wanting to come home.

He always said the company was busy and he had to work overtime.

But I knew he was entangled with another man.

*

That man came from an ordinary family, had an ordinary job, and was even my subordinate. With his sweet talk and a little knowledge of my wife’s preferences, he’d managed to keep my wife from coming home.

And apparently, that was just his type.

He wasn’t working overtime at all. Every time he said he was, he was actually at that man’s place.

They cooked together, watched TV, kissed, and then fell asleep in each other’s arms.

But it was all right. I wouldn’t get angry or blame my wife.

His health was poor, and the doctor had said that getting too worked up could be dangerous.

*

But I wouldn’t let that man off the hook.

I assigned him impossible workloads, short-tempered clients, and project documents riddled with errors.

Heh. If he had to work overtime, my wife wouldn’t have to.

He was so busy every day he could hardly keep up, and he was miserable.

At last, one day, he couldn’t take it anymore and knocked on my office door.

“President Xie, this is my resignation.”

“Oh?”

He took a deep breath. “Xu Ying has surgery coming up, and he’ll need someone with him during his recovery. I can’t make time, so I have no choice but to resign.”

“You can resign. But if I remember correctly, I arrange for a family doctor to treat him every week. If you hadn’t kept him distracted by clinging to him, would he have reached the point of needing surgery?”

His eyes widened. He seemed unable to hold back any longer. “But he’s my wife! You were only supposed to look after him for me!”

Xu Ying x Xie Fengjun

Theme: Sunk costs should not determine major decisions.