After Faking My Death, He Started Loving Me [Substitute]

[Manuscript in progress~]

Wen Dong was the illegitimate child of the Wen family, and he only dared to secretly love Ji Huaiyan.

Through a twist of fate, Wen Dong became Ji Huaiyan's lover.

The day he moved into Ji Huaiyan's private residence, Wen Dong saw a bedroom wall covered in photographs of Ji Huaiyan and "him." The pictures spanned from childhood to the present, silently declaring the depth of their love and leaving no room for anyone else.

He stared at them for a long time. The butler remained calmly unmoved, still smiling. Wen Dong, too, realized how cheap his love had become, and silently moved out of the master bedroom.

Later, a photo of Wen Dong, homeless and disheveled, was taken. The next day, it was published in the news. Right beside it was another report: Ji Huaiyan, holding flowers, standing at "his" grave, looking utterly devoted.

On the day Wen Dong had eagerly planned to announce his relationship with Ji Huaiyan, Ji Huaiyan went out to sea to look for "him," leaving Wen Dong to face endless ridicule.

During the anniversary trip they had planned for so long, Ji Huaiyan abruptly changed their route and forced Wen Dong to look at the pitch-black sea.

"Back then, he gave me his chance to live on a sea just like this. And you can't even stand steadily."

Wen Dong's face went deathly pale. His voice was barely audible. "I'm not him. I'm sorry..."

After the fright, Wen Dong's fever refused to go down. A helicopter took him away. A few days later, Ji Huaiyan received the news that Wen Dong had died.

*

The man from the Ji family seemed to have gone mad. His beloved white moonlight had returned, yet he pushed him away and went to the cemetery in the middle of the night.

Muttering, "Wen Dong is afraid of the dark and water. He can't be underground," he dug at the earth, utterly heedless of his appearance.

They say that when the coffin was finally opened, there was no one inside.

The belief that Wen Dong wasn't dead kept Ji Huaiyan going. He often stayed awake until dawn in Wen Dong's bedroom, which was filled with Wen Dong's paintings.

He became obsessed with visiting art exhibitions and buying paintings, demanding to meet the artists behind them. Others assumed Ji Huaiyan had developed a new taste, but only the butler knew the truth. Ji Huaiyan didn't want the artist. All he wanted was Wen Dong.

The winners of the highest honor at the World Illustration Awards were announced. One of them was an unknown, slender, gentle young Chinese man.

The reports circulating in China showed only a blurry silhouette. The instant Ji Huaiyan saw it, he clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

Wen Dong.

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