You Should Like Me!

[Might start with this one! A perfect child on the surface, actually full of bad ideas and unable to go a day without being a sword-wielding menace, the overconfident bottom x A taciturn, brooding cool guy in front of others, because opening his mouth would reveal he's a complete idiot, the top]

Ye Huanyu is handsome, bright, cheerful, well-off, and has loving parents. To his teachers, he's the perfect child; to his classmates, an outstanding class monitor. But in the eyes of his childhood friend Yan Suian...

He's moody, capricious, sweet-tongued but treacherous, sinister and deceitful. He acts obedient, considerate, and kind, but underneath he's a sharp-tongued bastard full of bad ideas.

And after seventeen years of everything going his way, Ye Huanyu finally faced the only two problems in his life during the break after the college entrance exams:

1. His childhood friend, whom he'd barely been apart from since he could remember, had gotten mediocre exam results. Not only could they not attend the same university, but his friend was about to be sent abroad by his family.

2. His friend had been extremely anxious about it lately, and had become especially... clingy!

The clinginess included, but wasn't limited to: bombarding him with messages, calling him nonstop, wanting to see him every waking moment, and practically showing up every night to squeeze into his bed.

But whenever Ye Huanyu tried to say no, Yan Suian's usually impassive face would take on a pitiful, abandoned look. After agreeing to one too many requests without knowing how he'd gotten talked into them, Ye Huanyu finally lost patience and, in a fit of rage...

Posted a plea for help on an anonymous forum: [My inseparable childhood friend and I are going to be apart. He has terrible separation anxiety, and he's so clingy it's affecting my daily life. How can I turn him down gently without hurting him?]

Amid a flood of bizarre comments like “I'm shipping it,” “Get together,” and “Kiss right now so I can see,” Ye Huanyu hesitated, sifted through them, and finally found one that sounded sensible:

“Looks like both people involved are guys. The more you resist, the more excited the other person gets, so you'd better say more sentimental, clingy, and inexplicable things to him. Take the initiative and do things with him that you'd normally never do. Just provoke his rebellious streak, and the problem will be solved.”

Yan Suian thought Ye Huanyu had been acting a little strange lately.

Fewer sarcastic remarks and eye rolls, more forgiving smiles; less passive-aggressive sniping, more praise and compliments; fewer refusals and rejections, more cooperation and indulgence. He even often took the initiative to invite Yan Suian to try things they would never have done before.

Unable to make heads or tails of it, Yan Suian asked for help in an anonymous group chat: [My inseparable childhood friend and I are going to be apart because of school. Lately he's suddenly become so gentle. He used to barely give me the time of day, but now he's incredibly warm and keeps saying all sorts of roundabout, cryptic things. What does this mean?]

After discussing it, the helpful group members reached a conclusion: “Isn't it obvious?”

“Your childhood friend is absolutely in love with you, doesn't want to lose you, and wants to be with you forever!”

It was like a bolt from the blue. Yan Suian suddenly understood everything.

Right. Makes sense. Got it.

Ye Huanyu...

He loves me so much!

[Synopsis saved on 2023.10.2]

Theme: Super sweet!