Simple version: Princess 1 x Knight 0
Buffed-up version:
Popular, self-centered, beautiful genius athlete, the top
Gay men's dream guy, steady and reliable coach who often dishes out harsh words, the bottom
Ruan Qi was born the golden child: handsome and popular.
His athletic career had been strewn with flowers, and he had never faced a single setback.
Until one match ended in a crushing defeat.
A new coach joined the club. He was tall and intimidating,
and tyrannical and autocratic too. The whole team had to obey him.
He not only refused to treat Ruan Qi like a genius athlete or give him any special treatment,
but kept laying down the law and limiting some of Ruan Qi's personal freedoms.
From his very first day with the team, he set countless rules, seeming to single Ruan Qi out with particularly strict demands.
For example:
Ruan Qi treated girlfriends like clothes, changing them when he got bored. Even if he couldn't feel his partner's enthusiasm, he would dump her.
It seemed that all he ever wanted from a relationship was "something new."
He wanted people to treat him well but never made an effort himself.
The new coach restricted his freedom to date from the moment he arrived.
There was even a curfew!
For example:
After Ruan Qi lost a match, he angrily provoked his opponent and nearly got suspended.
The new coach grabbed him and hauled him away, then berated him until he was a quivering wreck.
He even took away Ruan Qi's right to compete!
When had Ruan Qi ever had to put up with this kind of unfair treatment?
Why did everyone like his coach, while the coach was always questioning and belittling him?
So Ruan Qi began a tug-of-war with his coach, playing offense and defense.
A princess is supposed to be loved by everyone. That includes the coach.
Little scene:
Ruan Qi got dumped. He stumbled back to the dorm from a bar, drunk, and immediately spotted his coach sitting on the sofa, waiting for him with a cold expression.
The coach looked furious and opened his mouth to scold him.
He had been dumped, inexplicably suspended, and now he was going to get yelled at too.
Feeling terribly wronged, Ruan Qi couldn't stop the tears from falling.
Through his tears, he saw the coach go rigid.
The scolding died on the coach's tongue before a single word came out.
Ruan Qi cried as he snapped, "Weren't you going to yell at me again? Go on!"
"Why are you crying?"
Ruan Qi sniffled, his eyes red. "If you're going to yell, hurry up. I don't need you looking after me."
The insults he expected never came. The coach, usually cold and used to getting his way, pulled out a tissue and wiped Ruan Qi's tears. Ruan Qi heard him speak in a tone used to soothe a child:
"Are you a little princess? How old are you, still crying like that?"
"If your eyes get puffy, how are you going to play tomorrow?"
○ The sport is undecided, probably baseball (?)
○ The blurb is provisional and may change when the story starts (I'm considering either a second-chance romance or a new love interest)
○ The top is a real jerk early on, an extreme one. He changes girlfriends constantly and is very good at manipulating people. He remains self-centered later on too (if that's a deal-breaker, read with caution)
○ The top cries and acts cute a lot, but only to get what he wants or use his looks to fool people. He's not weak at all, but a very, very scheming black lotus
It's probably a story about a golden child who falls from his pedestal and finds his knight, and how the knight shelters him from the storm and helps him succeed.
So the princess and knight are a perfect match!
One-on-one, evenly matched, happy ending
Core theme: It's okay to find yourself in a tough spot. Someone will shelter you from the storm
