After Falling Out With the Love of My Life

Ye Duyuan was once the most dashing young man in Yunjing, heir to the Marquis of Yong'an's estate, carefree in the way of the young.

But the Marquis of Yong'an died in the Imperial Surveillance Bureau, condemned for treason, at the hands of Chu Yunzheng.

The entire Ye clan was found guilty. Before they were led to the execution ground, Ye Duyuan's final words were, "Commander Chu, is the Imperial Surveillance Bureau cold and dreary?"

It was the first time he hadn't called him A-Zheng.

Chu Yunzheng's hands, long since stained with blood, gently touched Ye Duyuan's face. He whispered in his ear, "With so many vengeful spirits, of course it's cold."

In that instant, Ye Duyuan's heart froze over. "Chu Cenxi, you'll regret this."

"You're worrying too much, Young Master. Cenxi would never regret what he's done, even if it cost him his life."

It snowed heavily that day. The only thing left in Ye Duyuan's memory was that cold, merciless figure walking away.

Three years later, their positions had reversed. The emperor's most favored minister in the capital had become a pawn the emperor was willing to sacrifice to save himself.

That year, Ye Duyuan gripped Chu Yunzheng by the throat and smiled coldly. "They say His Majesty Ling values Commander Chu above all others. Apparently, that's not entirely true. I wonder, which is colder: the imperial prison or the walls of the northern frontier?"

It was the dead of winter, and the frontier was bitterly cold, not a bit warmer than it had been back then.

Chu Yunzheng, you owe me this.

For a long time afterward, he wanted revenge, yet each time he couldn't bring himself to go through with it. Love and hate tangled together, leaving him alone to suffer. He followed his heart, yet felt guilty, until one day he saw the father who was supposed to have died in the Imperial Surveillance Bureau.

By then, Chu Yunzheng was already gravely ill.

Back then, he hadn't been able to protect the young man he held dear. Now he would do everything in his power to secure a way out for him and his father.

Emperor Ling had always doubted what happened back then. The supposed power to control everything was merely a way of raising someone up to bring them down. Every day in Yundu, he had been walking on thin ice. At least the winds of the north were easier to bear.

And that person was still willing to love him!

Ye Duyuan's three years were a slow climb out of hell. He hated that the person he had trusted and loved most had hurt him the deepest, yet he couldn't suppress the heart that had always loved him.

He knew how cold the walls were in the depths of winter, because that night, wearing only a single layer, he too had been swallowed by the blizzard.

Torn back and forth between love and hate, he could no longer tell whether he hated Chu Yunzheng himself or hated himself for being unable to let go.

At long last, the skies cleared and the sun came out. But that person seemed like a withered tree that would never see spring again.

It doesn't matter. I love you, so I'll do everything I can to keep you here. If I can't, I'll go with you.

But he knew that person could never bear to let him go.

Note: A dark, unhinged top who is gentle with his love interest, paired with a ruthless yet devoted bottom who is harsh on himself.

Age gap: The top is younger.

More or less, it's a story about a rabid dog and his leash struggling to the limit (just kidding).

It's not really an angst story, because whenever the top thinks about doing anything, his love gets in the way and he can't bring himself to do it. In essence, he just fights with himself, forgives the other person early on, and it's basically a sweet romance.

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Hit Me Again and I'll Punch You Twice (next story)

Shi Ning was a highly paid professional about to enter the workforce. But during a trip before his first day on the job, he was caught in an avalanche. When he woke up, he was an eighteen-year-old high school dropout working odd jobs.

His privileged family background was gone, his degree was gone, and so was his high salary. It was as if he'd returned to square one overnight.

Fortunately, he had a good attitude and could take life as it came.

But the longer he lived here, the more this world felt like a melodramatic novel he'd once read.

For instance, the male lead grabbed the other male lead by the collar, trying to humiliate him with the poor life of a nursing aide. "Without me, you'd have to be self-reliant like him, struggling to get by and earning next to nothing."

The male lead was on a yacht with his first love when someone splashed wine on him. His first love grabbed a waiter to use as a shield. The young waiter shivered in the cold, reeking of wine.

Then there was the haunted house at the amusement park. The two male leads were too awkward to hold hands, but eagerly embraced when a ghost in white startled them.

The problem was, that nursing aide was Shi Ning, the waiter was Shi Ning, and even the hanging ghost was Shi Ning.

So he'd come to this world to work, and they were going to wring every last drop out of him!

In the original story, nameless NPCs might put up with anything, but Shi Ning wouldn't. You think you're royalty? I'll knock your skull right off.

Once he realized there was no escaping this, Shi Ning's mental state grew increasingly unhinged. Besides giving the two lunatics a couple of merciless punches whenever he got the chance, his attention gradually turned to the world's biggest villain, Chi Wang.

A guy who, like him, didn't treat the entitled like royalty. A top-tier fantasy who fit Shi Ning's every expectation of a domineering CEO.

So the little fox stretched out his claws, trying to drag him into his den so they could give those two crazies a couple of punches together.

Can We Skip the Crematorium?

At twenty, Ning Huaiyu passed the imperial exams and rode proudly through the long streets. He was a refined young gentleman and a perfect match according to the exam rankings. Who could have guessed that, after being caught up in factional strife, he'd be sentenced to three thousand li of exile?

In a city blanketed by snow, the dashing young gentleman was carried off to a den by Huo Yun, a famous general guarding the frontier. General Huo had only meant to kidnap a cheap military adviser, but the adviser was even more alluring than the foreign women of the frontier.

With little to do at the border, Huo Yun thought he might as well keep a flower around to brighten the place. But after enduring so much hardship on the journey into exile, the young gentleman had sustained many hidden injuries. The slightest mistake could leave him too sickly to survive.

The rough-and-ready General Huo had no choice but to be careful at every turn and do his best to give him everything.

Unfortunately, Huo Yun happened to overhear Ning Huaiyu stubbornly say, "I have no feelings for him, but I need his power."

He couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on him, but he couldn't bear to make him leave either. So General Huo's tent rang with laughter and music every night as he summoned young men to drink and amuse him.

For the first time, Ning Huaiyu, who had always remained composed and let nothing get to him, lost his peace of mind.

The lamps burned night after night. Every day, Huo Yun dozed with his head propped up, never glancing below. But in the end, he couldn't help asking, "How is he these days? Why haven't they brought him food?"

His subordinate replied cautiously, "Young Master Ning vomited blood two days ago. He can no longer get out of bed."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You said you didn't want to hear about him."

Before the words were out, the man in the main seat had vanished, knocking over several platters of fruit in his undisguised panic.

A fake groveling-at-the-crematorium romance, really a rough-edged top who wins himself over.

Theme: Love yourself, love others, and always be kind and brave