The Cuckoo Takes Over the Magpie's Nest

[Full manuscript completed and ready to publish, probably after the New Year. Please add it to your collection~ ovo]

[Dual Personality] [Male Lead Gets Put Through the Wringer] [From the Start, It's a Crematorium]

Li Suyi always followed the rules as a child. The only outrageous thing she ever did was confess her one-sided love for Wen Chentai while tipsy and dazed.

Wen Chentai was cool and restrained, taciturn and aloof. He only ever kissed her briefly, and never crossed the line before marriage. Even on their anniversary, all she got was one cold sentence on her phone: "I'm not coming back tonight."

She often thought in despair: how was that any different from the way he treated the cold corpses on the autopsy table?

After three years of dating, Li Suyi, unable to feel even the slightest hint of love, finally worked up the courage to break up with him.

That night, her ex-boyfriend's other personality cornered her in a cramped stairwell.

With the same face, Cheng Yanlie gazed at her with a look she'd never seen before.

"The sofa? The bathroom? The kitchen? The underground parking garage? In front of the floor-to-ceiling window? Let's try doing all the things he won't."

He was like an insufferable wild dog, nipping at her earlobe, then burying his face against her neck to sniff her. His whole body trembled with excitement.

"He'll never find out."

...Really?

*

Wen Chentai knew that her change of heart was his comeuppance. He had no chance of winning unless he pretended to be another personality, imitated that personality's passionate love for her, learned its kissing habits, and became the kind of man she liked.

But he never imagined that just as he finally put a ring on her finger, another version of himself would seize control of his body.

Trapped in a lightless corner, he could only watch helplessly as they shared a bed, forced to share the other personality's perceptions of her.

Wen Chentai had no other choice.

He was afraid. Once Li Suyi learned the truth, she'd timidly clutch the hem of his clothes and, voice trembling, say something even crueler:

Tell him to disappear. Tell him to give Cheng Yanlie back to her.

The usurper even taunted him to his face:

"You stole this from me in the first place."

"When she called out my name while she was with you, you enjoyed it too, didn't you?"

- Reader's Guide -

*Male lead is a virgin. Due to the unusual subject matter, readers may want to treat this as a story without a female lead. [Highlight]

*The male lead has a dual personality, alexithymia / wild, roguish mad dog x honest, down-to-earth heroine. The other personality is practically the second male lead, with roughly a 4:6 share of the scenes. It's a rivalry between the male lead and "himself." I want to explore the heroine's struggle to figure out which one she likes, so this may not suit readers who are particular about romantic purity.

*The male lead will chase his wife after losing her. The male lead gets put through the wringer, gets put through the wringer, gets put through the wringer! [Highlight] The male lead has alexithymia and cannot recognize or express emotions. He actually loves the heroine desperately, but she really will leave and fall for someone else after accumulating enough disappointment. [Highlight]

*The male lead has very little social awareness. He loves her, but doesn't understand love and doesn't know how to love. In reality, he's a delicious male ghost with extremely intense emotions! In short, he's not normal, and his methods of achieving his goals are also extremely ruthless. Readers with strong moral sensibilities should proceed with caution!

(Original blurb written in November 2024)

Theme: Love is a skill. Beyond what we're born with, it also takes practice and learning.