After Courting Death Again and Again, I Became Long Aotian’s White Moonlight

[From Cannon Fodder to Beloved by All]

[Dragon-Attitude Hero Raises a Child]

Xie Yanxi had just left his college entrance exam teachers' appreciation banquet when, the very next moment, he stepped into empty air and transmigrated into a "dragon-attitude hero" novel, becoming a minor cannon-fodder character with the same name as himself.

Xie Yanxi: !!! If only I'd known, I wouldn't have read a book with a cannon-fodder character who shares my name!

The cannon fodder was the protagonist Yuan Nanzhen's "cousin." The protagonist raised him himself, so you'd think that as the protagonist's sidekick, he'd at least get a happy ending.

But this cannon fodder was truly one of a kind:

First, this "cousin" wasn't actually his cousin. That's right, even this little cannon fodder had a switched-at-birth plotline.

Second, he was a terrible sidekick. Not only did he never help the protagonist, he caused trouble for him from childhood onward.

When the protagonist's real cousin returned, the protagonist personally ran this cannon fodder through with a sword.

Xie Yanxi: A chill ran down my neck.jpg

Fortunately, when he transmigrated into the book, a voice told him that if he followed the plot and finished his cannon-fodder role, he could return to the modern world.

Xie Yanxi: Do I even have a choice?

But there was a silver lining: the cannon fodder didn't have much to do. According to the original story, he was basically a background character. All he had to do was wait patiently for seven years, until the protagonist's real cousin returned, and then he could make his graceful exit!

But when he opened his eyes, what he saw was the protagonist as a little boy and...

himself, apparently just born.

??? I transmigrated into the book at the wrong time!!!

The cannon fodder's actual part in the story doesn't start until the protagonist turns eighteen!

Why is the protagonist only ten now?!

I don't want to start from zero!

But no matter how much he wailed, all he got was a spoonful of goat's milk from the protagonist.

Xie Yanxi: I'd rather starve to death, die out there, jump off this, I'm not eating a single thing from you... Mmph. (Fed a mouthful of goat's milk.)

He smacked his lips. "Well, that really is delicious."

Fine. What's so hard about being a spoiled little tyrant for a few extra years? He could handle it! (Takes another sip of goat's milk.)

And so

In the Eastern Palace, the protagonist was the boss, and Xie Yanxi was his second-in-command. The entire palace was never peaceful for a moment.

At the Imperial College, he was the best at throwing his weight around, beating up the protagonist's younger brother and kicking the empress dowager's nephew.

Even throughout the capital, everyone knew him as its little tyrant.

But for some reason, even though he was such a menace,

there were suddenly so many admirers of his in the Eastern Palace, at the Imperial College, and throughout the capital!

The Eastern Palace

The Grand Tutor, usually imposing and as aloof as a flower atop a high mountain, merely smiled when Xie Yanxi drew cat whiskers on his face. "Xixi is willing to be close to me. That makes me different from everyone else."

The Imperial College

The little prince and young lord he'd once beaten until they were crying for their parents started fawning over him. "Xixi, you hit me so well! Does your hand hurt?"

The Capital

The son of a once-renowned general even brought him the most beautiful peach blossom from a cliff outside the city. "Xixi, will you accept it?"

Xie Yanxi: ? He slowly typed out a question mark. Why was the story going off track?

But it was fine. Once the protagonist's real cousin returned, everything would go back to normal... right?

At last, Xie Yanxi got to meet the protagonist's real cousin, and prepared himself to face the protagonist's sword.

But...

How had he closed his eyes and opened them to find himself in the protagonist's bed?

Xie Yanxi trembled. "Why am I still here?"

Yuan Nanzhen's expression was unlike his usual one. At the question, his gaze darkened. "Where else would you want to go, Xixi?"

Xie Yanxi still hadn't noticed that anything was off about Yuan Nanzhen. "Didn't you say that once your real cousin came back, you'd treat me completely differently?"

Yuan Nanzhen smiled faintly, wrapped an arm around Xie Yanxi's waist, and held him close. "Yes, differently. Xixi, you're not my younger brother. You're my empress."

Xie Yanxi: ??? Is there no one who can do anything about this story completely falling apart?!

*

During the dull hours waiting backstage, Xie Yanxi sometimes really was bored.

One day, he remembered the original novel's "tragic ending," where the protagonist grew old alone, and decided to moonlight as a matchmaker to pass the time.

But for some reason, the more he tried to match the protagonist with other people, the more the protagonist avoided them...

Xie Yanxi, well-read bookworm: (scratches his head) Could it be that the protagonist ends up alone because of some melodramatic "first love" plot?

But... who exactly is this first love?

This question "bothered" Xie Yanxi for years

until one day, on a whim, he struggled to poke his head out of Yuan Nanzhen's arms and pouted. "Do you even have a first love in your heart?"

Yuan Nanzhen paused, then held Xie Yanxi even tighter, his eyes filled with affection.

"Xixi, the moonlight has cherished me for years. Now it's in my arms."

Reader's Guide:

1. A dragon-attitude hero raises a child, and the child is adored by everyone. The protagonist is absolutely beloved by all. There will be lots of childhood scenes, so don't read if that's not your thing.

2. The leads are each other's first love. One-on-one romance, both are virgins, older top, ten-year age gap.

3. This is not a serious political intrigue novel. Everything serves the romance.

4. An alternate world, but politics, culture, and so on are mostly modeled on the Song and Ming dynasties. Please don't nitpick.

Blurb written on 2023/10/5, screenshot saved.

Theme: Companionship is the longest-lasting confession of love