Does He Like Me?

[My next novel, Childhood Friends Are Hard to Raise. Blurb below]

[The full novel is 3.13 yuan. Thank you for your support.]

[Younger, innocent college-student top vs beautiful, wealthy, ambitious bottom]

When Jiang Heng was a freshman, his mother became seriously ill and urgently needed surgery.

Just as he was at his wit's end trying to raise the money for it, his cousin showed up.

"If you agree to let my boss keep you, the surgery fees won't be a problem."

Jiang Heng became his boss's lover, always cautious and careful.

He thought the man had called him over to his house so he could fulfill his duties as a kept lover, but instead the man pulled out... an English textbook?!

He couldn't quite understand his sugar daddy's hobby, but he respected it.

But as Jiang Heng went on being his little lover, he realized the CEO didn't even touch him. Instead, he treated him with respect in every way and especially loved dragging him into English lessons.

Under the man's attentive care, Jiang Heng couldn't help coming up with a bold theory.

Does he... like me?

*

Jin Ze was young, successful, rich, and beautiful. His only flaw was his poor English. After being mocked for it, he took the matter seriously and decided to master the language.

His assistant caught his hint and soon brought someone over.

His English teacher was young, handsome, gentle, and considerate. Besides teaching him English, he also fussed over him and took excellent care of him.

He even started asking about Jin Ze's love life!

After a gathering, Jiang Heng suddenly leaned over and put his arms around him.

In the dim light, the young man asked in a low voice, "If you start dating someone, could you tell me...?"

Looking at that face so close to his and the earnest, affectionate gaze, Jin Ze froze.

Does he... like me?

Also known as: "My Tutor Thinks He's My Kept Lover," "One Photo Turned a Straight Man Gay," and "He Loves Me So Much!"

Please note:

1. Younger top, ten-year age gap. The top is nineteen and the bottom is twenty-nine.

2. The story opens in 2010.

3. Short story, probably only around a hundred thousand characters.

4. The POV is unclear because both characters get POV chapters, but their roles are set: the top is younger!

Cover art used with permission from artist Yixu.

Upcoming novel: Childhood Friends Are Hard to Raise

Xu Zhixing had a great childhood friend: rich, handsome, and smart. Although he often wore a sour expression, he always did whatever Xu Zhixing asked.

From helping him with his homework when they were little to delivering love letters for him when they grew up, he was almost always willing to help.

On the day he graduated high school, Xu Zhixing got drunk at a party and started asking Lu Ximing to help him pursue a girl again.

"Lu Ximing, just this one last time, okay?"

He thought Lu Ximing would agree right away, but this time, Lu Ximing unexpectedly gripped his chin, his tone firmer than ever.

"No."

Not only would he not do it this time, Lu Ximing had never delivered any of the many love letters before, either.

Lu Ximing's parents divorced when he was five.

The couple went their separate ways and started new lives, leaving Lu Ximing behind as an unwanted reminder of the past.

One day, while the nanny was out grocery shopping, Lu Ximing sat alone on the balcony, locked inside the house.

The child on the neighboring balcony, Xu Zhixing, waved his lollipop and grinned. "Why do you sit out here alone every day?"

At first, Lu Ximing didn't want to talk to Xu Zhixing. But Xu Zhixing kept asking every day. One day, tired of being pestered, Lu Ximing replied, "Because no one wants to raise me, so I have to be alone. Got it?"

He thought his tone was harsh enough to scare Xu Zhixing away, but the next day Xu Zhixing was still crouched on that balcony. The lollipop in his hand had been replaced by a pink piggy bank.

Xu Zhixing shook the piggy bank excitedly. "Lu Ximing, I have lots of lucky money. I can raise you."

"Will you play with me?"

From that day on, Lu Ximing understood one thing.

His price was 272.5 yuan, the entirety of five-year-old Xu Zhixing's savings.

Sunny, cheerful, straight bottom vs refined scum, troubled top

Please note:

1. The top has a psychological disorder and sometimes goes off the rails.

2. The bottom is straight, and the top turns him gay.

Upcoming novel: I'm His Dad [Reborn]

After a car accident, Cheng Che transmigrates seven years into the future and becomes a high school freshman.

The good news: He's in the same class as his son, Lin Yunqing.

The bad news: His son is the story's main villain.

To stop his son from turning evil, Cheng Che works hard to change the plot and mend his son's strained relationship with the overpowered male lead. In his son's name, he showers the male lead with care and secretly helps him. He also gives his son lessons in morality, determined to guide this promising young man back onto the right path.

After Cheng Che has worked at it for a while, his son becomes more and more upright, but the overpowered male lead turns evil.

Yu Song comes from a poor family and is withdrawn. He's the least noticeable student in school and is often bullied.

Then one day, a transfer student named Cheng Che arrives in his class. When Yu Song is in trouble, Cheng Che steps in and drives off the students bullying him.

But every time Cheng Che helps him, he claims he's doing it on Lin Yunqing's behalf. He thinks he's come up with a clever lie, but it's full of holes.

Yu Song assumes they've come up with another new trick and refuses to be moved.

Yet his gaze can't help lingering on Cheng Che in his blue-and-white uniform. He thinks Cheng Che is going to tease him, but later realizes Cheng Che never intended to.

Because Cheng Che doesn't care about him at all. He only cares about Lin Yunqing.

Yu Song thinks that if he can just become good enough, one day Cheng Che will pay more attention to him. But no matter what he does, he can never match Lin Yunqing's place in Cheng Che's heart.

"What does Lin Yunqing have that I don't?" Yu Song asks, almost in despair.

Cornered against the wall, Cheng Che hesitates. "Maybe, possibly, because..."

"I'm his dad?"

Lin Yunqing never expected his adoptive father, who had been dead for seven years, to be Reborn as his classmate. What's more, his father tells him he's just a villain in a book, advises him not to get himself killed, and urges him to get along with the overpowered male lead.

Lin Yunqing is overjoyed: No problem. I'll listen to everything Dad says.

After that, Lin Yunqing treats Yu Song like a real brother, until one day he discovers that Yu Song has forbidden feelings for his dad.

Lin Yunqing: Yu Song, what the hell! I treated you like a brother, and you want to be my dad?

Please note:

1. The son is not biologically his. Before the car accident, the bottom was twenty-three; after being Reborn, he's seventeen.

2. The couple is Cheng Che (bottom) and Yu Song (top). His relationship with his son is purely familial: a family of three living their school life together.

Theme: Live earnestly and keep looking on the bright side!