The Substitute Finally Let Go

The protagonist had been with Fu Huai for five years.

For all five years, he earnestly played the role of Fu Huai's beloved, the one who got away, until he fell ill and the doctor told him he had less than two years to live.

The protagonist decided to make every moment of those two years count.

Fu Huai had buried his parents for him, paid off his debts, covered his food and lodging, and given him 100,000 yuan a month for living expenses. So the protagonist would stick around for that first year.

After that year, he'd have saved enough to buy a burial plot. Then he'd spend another six months or so traveling around, and come back for the last two or three months. He could stay anywhere he liked and wait quietly for death.

The protagonist thought it was a perfect plan, and that he wasn't wasting a moment.

So he burned the diagnosis and continued being good to Fu Huai.

Then, when their relationship reached its sixth year and Fu Huai's beloved was about to return, the protagonist packed his things and obediently stepped aside.

That's right. He didn't love Fu Huai.

Fu Huai had always thought the protagonist wouldn't leave. He was the dirty little puppy Fu Huai had found and taken in.

So he never told him he loved him, never cared about his feelings, and devoted himself to his career and the person he'd loved since he was young. When the protagonist finally left, Fu Huai couldn't believe it, and it hurt more than he could bear.

How could the protagonist leave?

How dare he leave?

Fu Huai gave up everything and searched for him like a madman.

Then he found the protagonist in an unremarkable corner of Tibet.

He'd grown thinner, but he was still beautiful. Surrounded by children, he laughed with a brightness Fu Huai had never seen in his entire life.

So the protagonist had never loved him at all.

# He was a migratory bird. When autumn came, it was time to fly away.

Screenshot saved on August 19, 2023

Warnings: 1. The protagonist dies. BE.

2. Not a traditional groveling arc. The love interest loves the protagonist, but the protagonist doesn't love him.

3. The love interest has someone he has always cherished, but his dependence on them is greater than his love (the love interest is a virgin and has only slept with the protagonist). That person isn't a villain.

4. A slice-of-life story. Later on, the protagonist will travel to different places, and the love interest will chase after him, looking pitiful.

Theme: Never lose the ability to love and be loved