[Suspect]
Deng Zhou, a beautiful, delicate young man from the commoner's district, marries a wealthy duke more than a decade his senior. On their wedding day, the aristocratic duke dies under mysterious circumstances. As his new spouse and the sole legal heir to his vast fortune, Deng Zhou is also the prime suspect in the murder.
The presiding judge of the tribunal is known throughout the world for his merciless, iron-fisted justice, yet after investigating, he keeps finding excuses for Deng Zhou.
The eldest prince, whose faction has suffered a major blow, is furious. He berates them for letting the man's beauty cloud their judgment. The duke's death has left him with a massive headache, and whoever the killer is, he will make them pay a price far worse than death.
Yet during the interrogation, when he sees Deng Zhou's tearful face, the young prince can't help being drawn to him. He immediately believes that Deng Zhou is an innocent victim.
[Climbing the Ladder]
The young master was punished with a trip to a remote backwater, but he returned with a beautiful country boy, insisting on marrying him no matter what. He didn't care at all about his former fiance.
Everyone said the young master had never really been out in the world and was too innocent, so a calculating gold-digger had latched onto him. But when they actually saw Deng Zhou, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything harsh... The truth seemed a little different from what they'd imagined.
A beautiful pearl, nurtured by the mountains and rivers of his hometown, had been brazenly snatched away by the young master.
His proud former fiance came to vent his anger, but when he saw Deng Zhou asleep on a swing bed, he couldn't take his eyes off him.
[Unaware]
In the game The Celestial Authority, Deng Ruzhou, the "guild master's wife" of the biggest guild, is notorious for mooching. He never turns down precious game items and makes no effort to hide his shamelessness.
After a year of this, the guild master finally comes to his senses with the help of his friends. When he learns that the other person is a man, he decisively cuts ties. He doesn't try to reclaim the gifts he's given, but people in the guild still stand up for him, using the game's megaphone to warn everyone about the notorious mooch Deng Ruzhou.
Deng Zhou starts a livestream and destroys the items. His voice is very soft. "I'm sorry. I didn't know... I didn't know it was wrong to accept them."
The guild members keep pressing him with questions, and the gossip group chats are watching for the drama. But when they see Deng Zhou lower his eyes and a tear roll down his cheek, they fall completely silent. Only regret and heartache churn beneath the quiet.
[Revenge]
The protagonist who transmigrates into a book is a thoroughly underhanded villain, the kind of protagonist popular in today's anti-hero urban supernatural stories.
He's selfish, snobbish, and cold-hearted, and has no genuine feelings for anyone. He only uses people.
After transmigrating into the book, Deng Zhou is the first obstacle he sets out to take revenge on, a fiance who's just as vulgar and money-hungry as he is.
But when he finds Deng Zhou and prepares to begin his revenge, Deng Zhou looks at him with those confused, frightened eyes, as if he's already forgotten who he is. The protagonist is furious and decides to send him to heaven first, then plunge him into hell and make him feel the deepest despair.
A year later, after finishing a fifteen-yuan boxed lunch, the protagonist, wearing a no-name shirt, asks his subordinate why the Alba white truffles Deng Zhou likes still haven't arrived. His wife has been refusing to eat properly again lately.
*
Deng Zhou knows he's the most innocent of all.
He's born deserving of love.
A beauty bottom pretending to be an innocent, harmless little green tea x a tea expert who falls for that act anyway
[Advance notice written on May 14, 2024, with a few small revisions. If you like it, please add it to your favorites!]
Theme: Learn to love yourself, and life can move forward.
