I Found an Imperial General While Scavenging

[Restrained, fatherly top x slow-witted puppy-like bottom]

1.

Duan Xuran is a spacefaring drifter who survives by scavenging trash.

He's all alone, with no money, no strength, no family, and no friends. In the poor district, where the land is harsh and the people are cruel, he's at the very bottom of the food chain. Anyone can kick him around.

As he endured constant bullying, he gritted his teeth and worked hard to scavenge every day, hoping he could save enough money to escape someday.

No one expected Duan Xuran, who could barely take care of himself, to bring a man home from the junkyard.

2.

The man was injured, had lost his memory, wasn't very bright, and ate a lot... He was tall and handsome, but in every other way seemed like a burden.

People laughed at Duan Xuran for being stupid. "All you can find in a junkyard is junk. Don't think just anyone can be your protector!"

But Duan Xuran had never planned to rely on the man for protection.

He didn't want anything else from him. He just liked that the man was strong and honest. With him helping out, Duan Xuran could collect a lot more trash in a day.

But why were the looks on everyone else's faces getting more and more frightened?

They stopped shortchanging Duan Xuran and stopped sneering at him as a good-for-nothing.

Someone who stole his belongings yesterday came crying to apologize today.

Duan Xuran asked what he was doing. Lying on a stretcher, the man felt his three broken ribs with his only surviving left hand and trembled through his tears. "I'll turn over a new leaf!"

Duan Xuran looked at the man beside him and suddenly understood: being strong could make you a protector, too!

Later, a gang fight broke out in the poor district, and everyone ran away screaming for their lives.

Duan Xuran tried to flee with the man, but the man shielded him and then single-handedly surrounded the whole group on the other side.

Duan Xuran: How can one person be so strong?!

Everyone else: How can one person be so good at scavenging?!

3.

Mu Xiao, the deadliest human weapon in the Empire.

He was born into nobility, a fearless warrior famous for his iron-fisted methods. Everyone admired him, but few ever got to see this distinguished figure in person.

General Mu has recently gone missing.

Rumors are running wild. Some even claim they saw him in the poor district.

They say he hit his head and lost his mind. He actually let some poor kid at the junkyard grab him by the ear and scold him!

No one in the imperial capital believed the rumors when they got back.

What a joke. Even the emperor has to show him respect. Who would dare lecture him?!

Far away in the poor district, Duan Xuran sneezed and angrily scolded the man. "I told you not to wash my shorts!"

4.

The old Mu Xiao once declared to Duan Xuran, with absolute conviction, "Love is the most useless thing in the world."

Later, the still-cold and ruthless Mu Xiao said, "If Ranran doesn't like it, then nothing matters."

Updates follow the rankings before the paid chapters, then daily updates afterward.

One-on-one, happy ending.

This is what I'm writing next!

"He's Actually Not a Bad Guy"

[Pure-hearted, unhinged top x straightforward beauty bottom]

From the first day he met Pei Du, Shi Xuqiu disliked him.

Rich kid, terrible temper, always looking for trouble... Every single thing about him hit one of Shi Xuqiu's sore spots.

During the year they were classmates, Shi Xuqiu was like a mouse who'd spotted a cat whenever he saw Pei Du: annoyed and afraid.

Then he died unexpectedly, his soul trapped in place. He watched Pei Du grow more and more unhinged, investigating the cause of his death to avenge him, until he finally sacrificed his own life, too.

Shi Xuqiu understood at last.

The attention he'd once gone out of his way to avoid had been a burning, heartfelt love offered by a boy.

Later, Shi Xuqiu was reborn.

He walked up to Pei Du, whose face was cold and cruel, and calmly asked amid a chorus of gasps, "Classmate, can I sit here?"

Pei Du glanced up, his gaze gloomy and dark. "...Yesterday you said you were moving out, and now you want to move back in. What's wrong with you?"

Shi Xuqiu: "..."

Oh no. Why did it have to be this moment?

-

There's a rumor going around Ping City No. 3 High School that the top student who gets financial aid has become a new transfer student's lapdog.

They go everywhere together, inseparable, closer than brothers.

"No way. Isn't he usually so aloof and unwilling to talk to anyone?"

"Tsk, it's all an act! He used to look down on people with bad grades who got into fights, but now he knows the guy's rich, so he's sticking his ass out for him... Ngh!"

The speaker was kicked to his knees. A hand with long, defined knuckles clamped around his neck, forcing him to look up as he struggled to breathe. "B-Brother Du..."

Pei Du's eyes were icy, his mouth curling into a chilling smile.

"If you don't know how to use your tongue, should I cut it out for you? Hm?"

"Mmph!"

"Pei Du, what are you doing?" a startled voice called out.

Pei Du released him, flipped his wrist, and put away his craft knife, looking irritated and guilty at being caught.

He stood up, about to make an excuse, when Shi Xuqiu first comforted the boy who was wailing in fear. "He's only trying to scare you... He's actually not a bad guy."

Pei Du: "..."

The boy: "..."

-

Shi Xuqiu thought that as long as he stayed by Pei Du's side and lived well, Pei Du's life would get back on track and he would become that bold, carefree boy again.

But the person before him stroked the artery on the side of his neck and whispered the most sinister words in his ear, holding him in the most intimate embrace.

"I want to lock you up so badly."

"Then you'll never leave me again."

Theme: As long as you remain kind, the clouds will eventually part and the moon will shine through.