Beloved [Yandere]

Next story, following The Mad Dog.

[Main couple: Photographer x Artist]

Jiang Youyu knew Zhou Yusheng had a personality disorder, but she had vastly underestimated how sick he was.

Human greed has no end. When you meet a twisted madman with no sense of right and wrong, the one trying to save him can never satisfy his greed. That's just like the farmer and the snake.

A fish swimming freely beneath the sea bites the fisherman's hook. What awaits her is an open gilded cage. Her freedom depends on how lenient the hunter chooses to be.

Zhou Yusheng is a brilliant actor, especially at playing the part of an innocent college boy.

He can act obedient and adorable to make his little fish happy, indulge her every wish, and be her sweet and charming little brother.

He can play dumb to trick his little fish into coming closer. His innocent foolishness is only meant to win her favor.

When he sets down his paintbrush, he's a dark and selfish capitalist, shackled by material desire. He is utterly corrupt, broken, and imperfect.

When he picks up his paintbrush, he's a quiet and elegant artist, using it to mend the imperfections of the real world.

1.

Jiang Youyu's love life never goes smoothly. Every relationship falls apart for its own reasons. Eventually, she catches the culprit.

In a dimly lit room, Zhou Yusheng reveals his ugly, vicious side and pins her down. He doesn't even bother making up an excuse to coax her. "Who the hell wants to be your little brother? Have you figured out what you feel? You always lie to yourself. Is that fair to me?"

Her body and soul are free. Later, Zhou Yusheng makes her understand that freedom has a destination, too, and that destination is Zhou Yusheng.

Many men have loved her, and she has tried to love many men.

But the only man she has ever loved without holding anything back, the only one she has indulged without limits, has always been the same one.

2.

News that the Zhou Group had changed hands shook the entire business world. After spending most of his life in wealth and glory, the old chairman of the Zhou family died in a foreign land. It was all deliberate revenge.

The new head of the group is an exceptionally handsome young man. He commands vast capital and admires refined art, while pathologically demanding the spiritual solace he can never obtain.

3.

A long, long time ago, Zhou Yusheng had already chosen a wedding dress for her, one called Muse. He stitched it carefully, one stitch at a time, just so he could put it on her himself.

P.S. They're a couple with an older sister and younger brother dynamic, two years apart, childhood friends.

Warnings 1: The male lead is a deranged yandere with values unlike those of a normal person and a deeply flawed personality. He clearly meets the standard definition of a villain.

Warnings 2: There is some competition between men for the female lead, and the canon couple clashes with the rival pairing. There is a kept-lover storyline, but no extreme coercion. The male lead's madness is restrained.

Note 1: The first part takes place at school, the latter part in society.

Theme: Independence of character, ideals above all.