He Is Dangerous and Irresistible

In a dangerous game played out beneath the night sky, who is the pawn and who is the player?

Zhou Yu is a born hunter in the game of love, yet also a prisoner of fate.

His parents are dead, his debts are astronomical, and his younger brother is in a vegetative state... Fate pushed him into the abyss, and he chose to arm himself with the sharpest of desires.

His benefactor, Zuo Tingyun, treats him like a caged bird, yet falls for the tenderness he feigns. His childhood friend Jiang Ji has pined for him for years, but can never reach the heart he keeps hidden. Zhang Jinhou, his senior in the club, sheds his innocent facade and willingly becomes his devoted admirer. Even Ling Huaixi, the enemy's son who personally pushed him into hell, kneels at his feet, begging for redemption...

He moves among the powerful and wealthy, his smile guileless, his eyes glinting with ice. Physical intimacy is a bargaining chip, and declarations of devotion are pawns. He tramples on the hearts of every man and climbs, step by step, to the top.

But when Zuo Tingyun's wedding ring, Cheng Yan's obsession, Meng Cangzhou's regret, and Lin Jinnian's threats come one after another, the truth he deliberately forgot at last tears apart the mask he so carefully crafted: the lie about his bloodline, his brother on the brink of death, and the betrayal of the person he once had a crush on.

"What is love? Nothing but the most useless pawn on the board."

Zhou Yu once thought he had no heart, until a fire burned away every escape route.

Are the men he manipulated so completely willing sacrificial lambs, or wolves that have been lying in wait?

When the final move arrives, the hand that played the game is stained with blood, and the last pawn... turns out to be Zhou Yu himself.

[Content Warnings]

* Beautiful, strong, tragic, universally adored bottom x older childhood-friend top / an overabundance of rivals vying for him

* Unhinged side-character tops face their comeuppance / multiple endings

* "I love you" is a lie. "I'm using you" is the truth.

Premise: Family comes first.