After the Divorce

Zhang Manhao has recently been pursuing a handsome young man who's new at the company. He's a guy, sure, but he's gorgeous.

Except... he's proving a little difficult to win over. He's not like the girls Zhang Manhao has pursued before.

With the pretty new girls at the company, Zhang Manhao was always gentle and refined, keeping their conversations discreet. Once the girls caught on, they'd flirt with him coyly, pretending to resist.

The same old seduction tactics don't seem to work on a pretty young man. What should be subtle comes off as downright brazen when Zhang Manhao does it. Who knows if the guy is doing it on purpose or if he's just too good at playing along?

When Zhang Manhao invited him out to dinner, he happily agreed. Once they arrived and saw it was just him and Hao Ge, he innocently asked where everyone else was. Zhang Manhao made up an excuse, and he believed it.

Zhang Manhao thought: Girls really are too perceptive to pursue. Pretty young men are much more tantalizing.

First they went out to eat, then to see a movie, and eventually they were taking trips together, just the two of them...

At first, Zhang Manhao only wanted to see what it was like to seduce a young man. He never expected to fall for him himself.

That young man was a little demon, stealing people's souls and leaving them bewitched.

Lu Mengyu dropped out of university during his sophomore year to work and make money.

It wasn't easy to find work in City B. He had no connections, experience, skills, or anything else going for him. After sending his resume everywhere, he finally found a job as a greeter at a company in the service industry.

He wasn't sure what the job involved, but meals and accommodation were covered, and the salary started at five thousand. That was enough to draw Lu Mengyu in.

At first, Hao Ge, the company's general manager, often organized group dinners. Lu Mengyu was thrilled. He never expected a company to treat its junior employees so well, and he happily went along.

Lu Mengyu agreed to the dinners mainly to save money. When his parents were still around, he'd never had to worry about money. Now things were different. Everything cost money, and he saved wherever he could.

Whenever he ate with Hao Ge, he took photos and sent them to Lu Mengxue, making her think her little brother was really eating fancy meals, watching movies, and going on outings every day...

"Little bro, you weren't tricked by that old man, were you?! He says he's not married, but who takes his word for it?"

"Has he ever introduced you to any of his friends outside work? What about his family?"

"Little bro, don't ignore my messages!"

At the time, Lu Mengyu was so infatuated that he even dared to ignore his sister's words.

With a storm brewing, Lu Mengyu finally replied to a message from his sister that had been sitting there for ages.

"Lu Mengxue, I got scammed."

She didn't reply. Instead, she called him. "Where are you? It's time for your big sister to earn money and put you through school."

Zhang Manhao must have gone to a lot of trouble to find him.

"I'm divorced," Zhang Manhao said.

"And?" Lu Mengyu replied with a roguish smile.

Zhang Manhao said, "You told me back then, either break up or get divorced."

He gazed at the young man ten years his junior, his eyes shining. "I'm divorced."

"Too late."

The words came out in a flat tone, sharp and cold, like the dead of winter. They turned to mist and vanished without a trace.

A lovestruck puppy in romance, then a hot-tempered wolf-dog top who learns the whole truth and gets as rough as he wants: Lu Mengyu (19 when they first meet) x a married beauty who flirts with everyone and pretends to be refined, later a regretful bottom who tries desperately to win his husband back: Zhang Manhao (29 when they first meet)

Younger top, ten-year age gap

Told from both perspectives. Choose whose point of view to follow below!

Content warning: Hao Ge and his ex-wife are both awful people. There is no physical affair during the marriage, but as Hao Ge puts it, he acts mild and refined in public and is an animal in private, sexually harassing people to blow off steam. He has a daughter.

Theme: Live again for you.