A Guide to Becoming the Official Replacement Lover

Note: This story was completely revised and polished on May 18. If you've already read it, I recommend starting over from the beginning. Chapters 64 and 65 haven't been revised yet, but I expect to update them by the 30th. Love you all, mwah

Substitute romance / unrequited love / younger seme / status difference / classic groveling-to-win-back-the-lover

Arrogant and aloof / unaware of his own love / genius pianist x insecure and devoted / gentle outside, strong inside / mildly hearing-impaired assistant

Shen Que has a hearing impairment and a gentle disposition. He was bullied throughout high school, and it wasn't until college that he met the first person to show him kindness: the piano prodigy Tao Wanzhou.

Tao Wanzhou comes from a wealthy family and is outstanding in both looks and bearing. Naturally cold-hearted, proud, and arrogant, he chooses on a whim who to treat well and who to treat badly.

Shen Que never knew that the kindness Tao Wanzhou showed him five years ago was just a passing fancy. But Shen Que fell in love with him and spent five years secretly pining for him, even dreaming about him.

Later, when the man of his dreams returned home in disgrace after being hurt by his ex, Shen Que rushed to his side.

At a gathering of the wealthy, he agrees to pretend to be Tao Wanzhou's new boyfriend to discourage other suitors.

But Tao Wanzhou turns the act into reality.

That night, drunk and overcome with desire, the man reveals feelings he had never put into words all those years ago: "You're my first love, the first person I've ever fallen for."

Shen Que is both delighted and moved.

The man he'd secretly loved for years slowly presses him beneath him, tenderness rippling in his eyes. "Once we're done, it'll be real from now on."

Shen Que's heart pounds, and he can't contain his joy.

After they get together, Shen Que knows there's a vast difference in their status, so he caters to the capricious young master in every way.

But whenever he tries to do chores, Tao Wanzhou stops him, takes his hand, and kisses each of his fingers. "A pair of hands this beautiful shouldn't be wasted on housework. Why don't we..."

For Tao Wanzhou's birthday, he turns down his friends' invitation to a party, pulls Shen Que into his arms, and gazes into his eyes with anticipation. "I want to spend my birthday with only you by my side."

Tao Wanzhou is expected to enter an arranged marriage. When Shen Que finds out, he cries until his eyes are red. The man holds him tight, refusing to let him go, and tells him with certainty, "I belong to you alone. I won't marry them."

Shen Que gives this relationship all his heart. He watches the proud, aloof man gradually shed his sharp edges and soften like spring water.

He thinks the heart the other man has offered him is just as singular and passionate as his own.

Until he hears Tao Wanzhou admit to his family behind his back: "Shen Que reminds me of that person."

So that's what he meant when he called Shen Que his first love that night.

Everything he'd received before suddenly tastes different. Disheartened, Shen Que quietly leaves.

What he doesn't know is that when Tao Wanzhou sees someone new by his side, he completely loses control, stopping at nothing to thwart them and get Shen Que back.

On a snowy night at the end of the year, Tao Wanzhou lies his way into Shen Que's new home. After that, he can never bring himself to leave.

Shen Que angrily calls him a bastard.

The man smiles as brazenly as ever, no longer pretending, and gently strokes his face. "You only just realized I'm bad?"

But then he deflates like a punctured balloon, deep eyes brimming with regret. His low voice is almost broken as he says, "Queque, you really are my first love. I just mistook someone else for you before. This time, let me be the one to pursue you... okay?"

A few things to know:

1. [Important!] There is an ex, but the ex is not the person the seme idealizes! The shou is the seme's idealized love, and the shou was made to be his own substitute! (I personally think the first person you fall for should count as your first love. The seme dated someone else first, but the shou was the first person he fell for.)

2. The seme is a devoted lover disguised as a scumbag (the reason he calls himself a scumbag will be explained midway through the story). At first he loves without realizing it and is stubborn about admitting it; later, he has to grovel to win the shou back.

3. The shou acquired a mild hearing impairment due to an accident. He is not completely deaf or mute, and can communicate normally.

4. A bittersweet romance. The shou's insecurities make him cautious and eager to please. Before the misunderstanding is cleared up, the seme thinks the shou is approaching him for fame and money, so he puts on an air of superiority. There is some angst, but no major heartbreak.

5. Younger seme, three-year age gap, one-on-one, both are each other's first, happy ending.

[Content warning]

1. This story may not be suitable for readers with very strong moral standards. If it makes you uncomfortable, please close it immediately.

2. The seme is a character who grows over time. If you only like perfect characters, please don't open this story. Thank you.

Coming soon

His Sugar Daddy Keeps Trying to Get Fresh, seme-focused

Rekindled romance / status difference / difference in skin tone / bickering couple / scumbag (not really) seme and shameless shou

Aloof, abstinent heartthrob at first / a shameless "Teddy" who can't get enough later / top male model seme x foul-mouthed little rascal / soft and cute, but wants to top / sugar daddy shou

Lu Sifan is a renowned fashion icon, acclaimed as the one and only top model in the industry.

He's 193 centimeters tall, powerfully built, with a sun-kissed complexion and a palpable aura of masculinity.

But he has no interest in sex.

After a runway show, Lu Sifan is invited to his sugar daddy's party. Once he's dead drunk, he's carried to the man's bed.

The man's intentions are clear: he just wants to pick up where they left off in the middle of their lovemaking seven years ago.

The brat keeps groping him, leering and making suggestive noises. "Heh, I'll make sure you can't get out of bed tomorrow!"

Even pretending to be asleep, Lu Sifan can't help laughing.

Tired of pretending, Lu Sifan rolls over and pins him down. "You want to top me? In your dreams!"

They spend the night making love.

Lu Sifan leans against the headboard, gazing at Xu Ruqing's tearful face, feeling more satisfied by the second.

He pulls him into his arms and lights a cigarette. "Sorry, I can hold my liquor. So, who's the one who can't get out of bed now?"

From then on, Lu Sifan himself shatters his image as fashion's poster boy for abstinence.

Everyone in the industry knows that every time he models for his sugar daddy, the sugar daddy ends up sore in the rear.

*

Xu Ruqing used to hate Lu Sifan.

The only grandson of the chairman of a leading fashion-industry conglomerate, Xu Ruqing is the undisputed king of X Academy of Fine Arts, a sugar daddy who can make any nobody rich and famous.

He is used to picking his "consorts" at X Academy of Fine Arts.

Until he picks Lu Sifan, who not only gives him the cold shoulder but openly declares that he hates gay people.

His crush becomes his nemesis, and Lu Sifan becomes public enemy number one at X Academy of Fine Arts.

He'll make Lu Sifan understand what happens when you refuse to get into your sugar daddy's bed.

Then one day, Xu Ruqing is dragged into a grove by his enemies and beaten up. Lu Sifan happens to pass by and rescues him.

Xu Ruqing clings to Lu Sifan like a lifeline, smearing his benefactor's shirt with a nosebleed. "I knew my superhero would come flying in on a rainbow cloud to save me!"

Lu Sifan: ...

Later, Lu Sifan is finally won over by Xu Ruqing's money.

Unfortunately, their secret relationship is discovered by Old Master Xu when they lose control of themselves one day.

Xu Ruqing is put under house arrest, and Lu Sifan is forced to leave home. They don't see each other again for seven years.

When they meet again seven years later, Xu Ruqing's heart races. He points at the dark-skinned model making a grand finale appearance on the runway and tells the assistant behind him:

"Bring him to my party, and then (this and that)..."

Theme: Believe that you deserve good things