An Archrival Could Never Become a Wife

Xie Lingkong is the very picture of a born winner. He comes from a good family, has natural talent, and works hard. He's been number one at everything since he was a child.

Then he meets Chu Xun,

a nobody from the slums.

He's more talented than Xie, works even harder, and takes every first-place title away from him.

Young Master Xie has never had to put up with this!

He tries with all his might to catch up, but ends up known as the perpetual runner-up.

Xie Lingkong is furious.

Xie Lingkong is heartbroken.

Xie Lingkong is helpless.

Xie Lingkong decides he'll never surpass Chu Xun in the military, so the former champion turns over a new leaf.

This young master is going into politics!

Years later, Young Master Xie is the warden of a prison on some obscure island. Among a newly arrived batch of prisoners is a tall man with blue hair and red eyes.

"?"

It's Chu Xun.

He no longer wears the hateful expression he had when dragging Xie out of a mecha cockpit, nor does he have the swagger he showed when he topped the list of rising stars time and again. Now Chu Xun is like a...

loser.

Xie Lingkong runs his tongue over a canine tooth, feeling a wicked impulse stir inside him. After all, who could resist having their former nemesis, the one who always outdid them, under their heel?

Young Master Xie certainly can't.

[Original blurb, screenshot dated 2024.7.29]

[Revised blurb, screenshot dated 2024.9.26]

This really is going to be an enemies-to-lovers story. Neither of them is a totally good person, and they'll stab each other in the back before they fall in love. Even after they get together, they'll still stab each other now and then. If that's not your thing, please move along. All's well that ends well.

Coming soon: Is Your System Even Legit?

In his previous life, Mei Qian spent thirteen years hiding and scraping by in the apocalypse, only to end up devoured by zombies.

So what if he died? His quality of life had been so bad that there was no point in living anyway.

But, unfortunately, he came back to life.

Fine, he's alive again. But now he's bound to a System with something wrong with it, called "I'm Gonna Grow Some Crops."

Why grow crops? Is this Plants vs. Zombies?

Mei Qian smiles. "Could it be that we're supposed to fight zombies?"

The System waves that away. Close enough, either way!

Everyone knows plants need watering.

The plants provided by the System are especially fussy and need to be watered with a particular kind of spirit spring.

Unfortunately, the System accidentally split into two personalities, and the other half, along with the spirit spring, ended up with Mei Qian's nemesis.

Mei Qian smiles the smile of a dead man and points at his nemesis, Bu Lian. "See how swollen his face is? Guess who hit him five minutes ago? Fresh as can be."

As the System falls silent, he points to his own black eye and the arm that was just put back in place. "See? He did that five minutes ago. Still warm."

The System hides its head in the sand, but Mei Qian wants to live!

So he carries over a stool, ignores the murderous look from his nemesis, and shamelessly sidles up to him.

"Bro, cry for me, will you?"

His nemesis slowly forms a "?"

The apocalypse arrives, society collapses in no time, and humanity's ugliness is laid bare.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, many people either lose their minds or go mad.

Bu Lian thinks his nemesis has gone crazy. Otherwise, no one would beg the guy they'd been beating up just minutes earlier to "cry for me."

Bu Lian shakes out his aching arm, raises his fist, and starts fighting him again. He can't help it: that guy's behavior is indistinguishable from a provocation.

There's a strange duo at the Dawn Survivor Base.

When other people fight, they use dazzling supernatural abilities. But these two...

One pulls out a little stool and cries.

The other scatters some seeds and grins.

The seeds sprout in a flash, and before you know it, the zombies are gone.

Everyone else slowly forms a "?"

With teamwork this perfect, you'd think they'd be the best of friends. But these two pick fights whenever they get the chance.

They charge in and out of hordes of zombies without a scratch;

then they drink together at the victory banquet and end up in the hospital side by side.

Everyone else: "..."

They're just bad influences on each other. Sure, they're a little too much, but they're still friends.

Until one day, someone catches them kissing, locked in each other's arms.

They can't bear to part.

Mei Qian insists, "What's wrong with brothers kissing? You don't kiss your bros? What, you really don't? Then your bros aren't bro enough."

Beside him, Bu Lian covers his burning red ears and pretends to agree coolly.

Everyone else: "..."

You do you.

Theme: Hold fast to your ideals and convictions.