Checking on the Male Lead's Mental State After He Became a Widower

An Yao was an ordinary office worker on Blue Star, working nine to five and following the same three-point routine every day. Not long ago, she had even met a beautiful, delicate husband through a matchmaking arrangement, and her life was happy and fulfilling.

Then, on her 27th birthday, a monster burst into her home.

An Yao was stunned. She watched as the monster charged toward her husband, roaring, and thought, If my gorgeous husband gets bitten, he'll die on the spot. In a moment of impulse, she threw herself in front of him, putting herself right into the monster's jaws.

And so she was the one who died, at the age of 27.

*

An Yao was reborn a hundred years later.

When she woke up, Blue Star was no longer the world she remembered.

Ninety years ago, the world had launched the "Doomsday Preparedness Plan." Pollution had spread across the globe, and contaminated creatures had only two possible fates: mutation or death. Everyone lived in fear.

But humanity had its own savior.

The Tower of Babel, the world's largest organization for supernatural abilities, spanned hundreds of countries across Blue Star. It operated independently, with authority surpassing that of any government, and wielded powers ranging from supernatural education and administration to law enforcement. It was also humanity's strongest line of defense against contamination.

By now, the Tower of Babel had become the bedrock of Blue Star.

As for the person who founded this great institution, they were so mysterious that people simply honored them with the title of "Leader."

On her birthday once again, An Yao opened the news to eat along with.

Every media outlet around the world switched to the same broadcast.

The human Leader of the Tower of Babel was appearing in public for the first time.

A young man with black hair and blood-red eyes, wearing a perfectly tailored military uniform and beautiful as a painting, had taken control of the world's media to announce his existence.

The whole world erupted. An Yao: ...

Good grief! My husband hasn't aged a day, and he's become humanity's Leader!!!

Then the young man laughed loudly and announced his defection and rebellion, boldly declaring war on the world.

"From this day on, the Tower of Babel has nothing to do with me, and neither does humanity. Call it betrayal if you want. I don't care."

"Hahaha! Try learning to walk on your own, you giant babies!"

An Yao: ...

Good grief! My husband is about to go out and take on the whole world, one against all!!!

*

The A Jiu she thought she knew: frail and helpless, a delicate flower who needed to be carefully tended or she'd wither.

The real Director Jiu: unhinged, arrogant, and utterly imperious, a true villainous boss who had both the human and monster factions wrapped around his finger.

An Yao: Jiu, you fooled me for so many years :) I'm leaving.

Director Jiu: ...Sob.

Reader's Guide:

1. The male lead is widowed from the start, and his mental state has been wonderfully unwell ever since. Warm on the outside and cold on the inside, but genuinely crazy. He's a cheerful, sunny sort of dark ghost, and he really is mentally ill. Ill!

2. As the blurb makes clear, this is a romance wearing an apocalypse skin. The focus is on the relationship. If you want a strong female lead fighting monsters and leveling up, read with caution, because you may not get what you're looking for.

3. The female lead has children, but she didn't give birth to them herself. After she died, the male lead missed her so much that he used science and some unconventional methods to create them. She becomes a mom without the pain of childbirth.

4. Please be kind and polite in the comments. Don't bring up other novels or drag online culture-war topics into this story. I'll delete comments that try to provoke fights, make sweeping judgments, or sow division. I wrote this story for fun, and I hope everyone can enjoy reading it too.

Theme: True affection exists in this world.