The Rich Have a Thousand-Layered Playbook

Ning Shu was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. After growing up as an only child, he smoothly inherited the family business. He walks with a swagger, carries himself like a gentleman, and never leaves home without his eight bodyguards. A wave of his hand can seal a deal worth tens of billions. He is the picture of success, the dream bachelor of countless young women.

But late at night, a secret keeps Ning Shu tossing and turning.

It is neither a huge deal nor a trivial one, but it does somewhat damage his image as a man.

There is something wrong with his body. To put it bluntly, he is... (ahem) not very capable in that department.

Naturally, Ning Shu keeps this humiliating matter under wraps. Not even his parents, or the family dog, know.

For a domineering CEO, Ning Shu is surprisingly laid-back: if he can't do it, then he can't do it. Life is full of other wonderful things. It's just sex, so he can do without it.

He makes it sound easy, but deep down, he can't help feeling aggrieved. Come on, I haven't done anything to deserve this. Why did this have to happen to me?

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Under cover of night, he dressed like a bank robber and snuck off to the hospital.

Ning Shu: I'll find out what the hell is going on.

After a series of complicated, meticulous examinations, Ning Shu held his diagnosis in trembling fingers and stared at the white-haired, wrinkled old doctor, whose words were hard to make out, utterly bewildered.

"Wait, there's nothing wrong? Are you sure there's nothing wrong? How can there be nothing wrong? If nothing's wrong, then why does it... why doesn't it do anything?"

The old doctor looked even more in need of a hospital than Ning Shu did. He spoke kindly, but firmly ushered him out.

Standing before the firmly shut examination-room door, Ning Shu rubbed his nose, looked at the diagnosis in his hand, and muttered, "Quack!"

After that, Ning Shu completely lost heart and couldn't be bothered to try anything else.

Back at the office, President Ning sat in his spacious, hundred-square-meter suite on the fortieth floor, gazing down at the traffic below. Holding a steaming cup of goji berry tea, he blew across the mouth of his thermos, took a small sip, and sighed. "Ah... I guess heaven is jealous of my talent. It's fate."

Ning Shu thought he would spend the rest of his life without desire or needs.

Then, after a truly thorough, comprehensive, head-to-toe physical, Ning Shu finally understood what heaven was testing him with.

It wasn't that he couldn't get a reaction. He could. It was just that the reaction happened... in the hands of a proctologist!

Ning Shu was utterly shattered. He didn't know whether to be embarrassed about meeting the doctor's eyes or upset that his body had betrayed him.

When, exactly, had he developed this problem with men?

Having never learned anything about men being with men, Ning Shu fell into deep self-doubt.

In the spirit of rigorous scientific research, Ning Shu decided he had to conduct a hands-on experiment to find out whether he really had a problem in that department.

But then he had to figure out who to experiment with.

A gigolo from a nightclub? No, no. He looked unsanitary, and there were too many people from his social circle around those places. His identity might be exposed.

A young celebrity? No, no. The entertainment industry was a shady place. Who knew what kind of weirdos he might run into? If someone found out and got leverage over him, they could threaten him and refuse to leave him alone.

Ning Shu thought it over from every angle but couldn't find anyone suitable. Then one day, his alma mater invited him to give a speech.

Returning to campus, Ning Shu was dazzled by the energetic, hormone-fueled male students. He glanced at the thermos that was practically glued to his hand and sighed, "It's good to be young."

A lightbulb went off in Ning Shu's head. Right! People on the outside weren't safe, but he could find a male college student to help him experiment.

Who could be safer than a college student with no power or influence? And, best of all, college students were inexperienced, so he didn't have to worry about being blackmailed.

After carefully choosing, Ning Shu found a sweet, sunny, cheerful college student.

Most importantly, the student had an air of innocent, endearing cluelessness. All Ning Shu had to do was stamp his internship papers and offer him a job, and he could keep the secret under control.

Besides, the guy didn't look all that straight, which eased Ning Shu's guilt somewhat.

What straight guy spends every day thinking about knitting a pink floral cozy for his thermos?

One day, Ning Shu's secret was suddenly exposed, and everyone was mocking their sordid relationship. Then, at the center of the storm, the sole heir to an old-money family overseas tagged Ning Shu and wrote: "This is my wife. You country bumpkins have never even heard of couple's kinks?"

The person in the picture was none other than his own innocent, endearingly clueless college student.

His little canary leaned lazily against one of only ten limited-edition sports cars in the world, grinning with carefree abandon. Behind him were great bunches of blooming roses and a castle that had clearly stood for ages.

Onlookers: Okay, okay. We thought this was a case of forced love, but instead we're getting hit with a mountain of PDA. Is this how rich people have fun? Are we all part of your play, then?

Ning Shu, no less shocked than the onlookers, rubbed his eyes. He looked at the sports car he had only ever seen in magazines, then at the castle he had only ever seen on TV...

This was the supposedly inexperienced little canary he could lure in with an internship agreement?

Oh no. He'd gotten involved with someone dangerous.

Was it too late to find another college student?

Theme: Pursue true love