[Reborn] Stop Pretending to Be Sweet to Me

Young Master Qi Gu of the XX Group spent nine years being a total scoundrel, then proudly struggled through three years in the crematorium, finally marrying He Ran at the age of thirty.

But life is unpredictable. Just two years into their marriage, He Ran passed away from an illness.

Devastated by the loss of his beloved, Qi Gu spent his days drinking himself into a stupor and sank into despair. In the end, he died suddenly in front of He Ran's grave.

Before closing his eyes, he thought: If I could do it all over again, I would never be such a bastard.

When he opened his eyes, Qi Gu had returned to their high school days.

The good news: He still had time to make up for his past mistakes.

The bad news: At that very moment, he was grabbing his wife's collar, ready to throw a punch.

His underlings cheered around them, while the person in front of him trembled, eyes red as if he were about to burst into tears.

So, in front of everyone, Qi Gu pulled him into his arms and muttered, “Brothers, the fortune teller said I'd have a romantic encounter today. This must be the person he meant.”

He Ran, fists clenched: “...”

The underlings: “Huh? Oh!”

Qi Gu knew that his past self had been a bastard who loved courting death. Because he couldn't stand He Ran's goody-two-shoes act, he had picked on him at every turn.

So he began changing his ways. He fussed over He Ran, stood up for him in front of everyone, and was the first to rush in and protect him whenever anyone dared to bully him.

As he watched He Ran rely on him more and more, Qi Gu felt he was just about to succeed.

Then one day, he accidentally caught He Ran, who always acted weak and pitiful in front of him, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and one foot planted on the thug who had come to provoke him a few days earlier.

With a fierce look, He Ran threatened the school bully from the neighboring school:

“You f***ing keep your people in line. Don't let them touch Qi Gu again.”

“If anyone f***ing has a problem with Qi Gu, come find me after school.”

“And mind your own damn business. I like the way Qi Gu treats me. It's a hell of a thrill, so what?”

Qi Gu, shattered on the spot: I'm sorry. If I could be reborn again, I'd know I got it wrong.

Then He Ran turned around and spotted him. He immediately rushed into Qi Gu's arms, face pale, and said, “Brother Qi, these people are awful. They forced me to do something so scary.”

The school bully from the neighboring school: Fine, fine. Am I just some pathetic loser to you?

Qi Gu: Fine, fine. Go ahead and be reborn, then. Every time you do, you don't say a word.

The gangsters, horrified: Which one of these f***ers is scarier?

Warnings:

1. The protagonist is the top in a one-on-one pairing. He is not a weak top.

2. Before being reborn, the top goes through a crematorium arc; after being reborn, it's pure love. Important: In their previous life, the top really was a bastard to the bottom, a typical spoiled rich kid. If you can't accept that, feel free to leave.

3. Both leads have flaws. Neither is a perfect character.

4. The author is under a lot of work pressure, a whole lot, and is very emotionally unstable. No writing advice or character-bashing, please. I may go off the rails at any moment.

5. The point of view follows the plot. Please don't slap labels on me; readers with extreme top- or bottom-partisan preferences, this story isn't for you.

6. This blurb was written on December 16, 2023, and has been screenshotted.

7. I can't think of anything else for now. I'll add more if I do.

Theme: Saving each other and helping each other succeed