I Don't Need This Husband Anymore [Reborn]

With his family on the brink of bankruptcy, Jiang Yao is forced into an arranged marriage with the Lu family's rebellious young master, Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng had always gone against the rules, yet he was the most doted-on member of his family. It was only after marrying him that Jiang Yao learned that, behind his carefree and pleasure-seeking facade and apparent disinterest in power, Lu Cheng had been quietly biding his time. He watched the family tear itself apart in the fight for the inheritance, then struck at exactly the right moment and seized the highest position. In Jiang Yao's eyes, Lu Cheng was a sly, cunning wolf. So even after three years of marriage, and despite having shared the most intimate moments, Jiang Yao remained cold and distant, keeping Lu Cheng at arm's length for fear of being manipulated. Jiang Yao thought their marriage was a mutually beneficial arrangement, as false as the personas they both put on. He figured he would take life as it came, never considering either divorcing Lu Cheng or spending the rest of his life with him. Then one day, Jiang Yao suddenly received a call saying Lu Cheng had been ambushed and gravely injured, with his life hanging by a thread. Only then did Jiang Yao realize that deep down, he was afraid of being separated from Lu Cheng. Jiang Yao rushed to the hospital where Lu Cheng was being treated, but he was too late. He never even got to see Lu Cheng one last time... At dusk on the Winter Solstice, a cold wind swept through the corridor. Jiang Yao fell to his knees, helpless and sobbing. He remembered Lu Cheng once saying, "Jiang Yao, you're polite and courteous to everyone else. Why do you look at me like I'm your enemy? You look so beautiful when you smile." Jiang Yao regretted never having smiled at Lu Cheng, not even once. - At the funeral, relatives and friends gossiped, saying Jiang Yao was incredibly lucky to have married into a wealthy family only for his husband to die right after. Jiang Yao listened numbly to their spiteful remarks, his disgust with the world reaching its peak. If he could, he would trade everything he had now to bring Lu Cheng back... Only after Lu Cheng was gone did Jiang Yao belatedly realize that his prejudice had made him overlook so much of Lu Cheng's kindness. Lu Cheng remembered his birthday and their wedding anniversary, and no matter how busy he was, he always came home to celebrate. Back then, Jiang Yao had thought Lu Cheng did it only to impress his grandfather and win the old man's trust. Later, Jiang Yao opened Lu Cheng's computer and found a hidden folder full of photos of himself. Lu Cheng had labeled the folder "Angel." - Jiang Yao never thought he could be reborn and return to the past. This year, he was twenty-one and a third-year university student. His family was nowhere near the brink of bankruptcy. And Lu Cheng was still the same spoiled, carefree young master, spending his days enjoying life, with no one wary of him. Jiang Yao thought that perhaps this time they could start over, get to know each other, and make up for the regrets of their past life. After all, they were truly compatible in bed. But no matter how forward he was, in Lu Cheng's eyes, he was just after his body. He kept enticing Lu Cheng while holding him at arm's length, never letting him have what he wanted too easily. Maybe he didn't need this husband after all :) Upcoming novel: How Did I Have a Kid with My Archrival? Jiang Yuan won a hundred yuan on a scratch-off lottery ticket, and the next day, that lucky streak carried him seven years into the future. When he opened his eyes, he was at the recording site of a parenting variety show. A little boy with chubby cheeks blinked up at him and called him "Daddy." Before he could process the fact that he was a straight man who had given birth to a child, Jiang Yuan was told that the child's other father was Lu Yibai, his sworn enemy from high school. Jiang Yuan hated Lu Yibai's pretentious, deep-thinking act and called him a fake snob. Lu Yibai disliked Jiang Yuan's arrogance and conceit just as much. In reality, each considered the other his most respected rival. The more they disliked each other, the more they competed in secret. Online, people said that Jiang Yuan, whose brief moment of fame had long passed, was taking his kid on a variety show to make a comeback. Jiang Yuan had no idea which rumors were true. Right now, his biggest concern was: how on earth do you take care of a child?? Who could have imagined that the school bully who once ruled the campus would end up mixing formula for a baby overnight? In the days before the livestream, Jiang Yuan tried hard to adjust and act like a loving father. It didn't last long. His patience ran out, and his true colors showed. "You don't want to eat food this delicious? Then give it to me." "If you don't go to sleep, the Big Bad Wolf will come get you." "You're crying? You think I can't cry too? Waaah..." The internet erupted in criticism, condemning Jiang Yuan as unfit to be a father. The child's other father, who had been rumored to exist, couldn't stand by any longer and finally showed up. Jiang Yuan was lazily leaning back in a recliner, with the child sitting on the floor. When he turned and saw Lu Yibai approaching with a head of flamboyant red hair, his eyes widened in shock. What was going on? Where had the cool, abstinent, low-key, reserved top student gone? Why had Lu Yibai turned into the person Jiang Yuan used to be? Jiang Yuan: I must be having a nightmare (pinches his philtrum) Theme: Love the world and you once again