Raised by My Aloof Childhood Friend

【Upcoming novel: “I Have a System Now, So I’m Done Pretending to Be a Nice Guy.” The blurb is at the very bottom. Please visit my author page and add it to your collection~】 Percival first met Yan Shu when they were eight, on Christmas Day. The black-haired, dark-eyed Eastern doll sat alone beneath the Christmas tree, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them, perfectly still. Later, at school, some children taunted Yan Shu, calling him a bastard his parents didn’t want. Yan Shu neither argued nor fought back. He had never said a single word at all. He simply sat quietly in his seat. That day, Percival couldn’t take it anymore. He chased off the children mocking Yan Shu, then said to him, “I think you could stand up to them a little. What do you think, Yan?” Yan Shu blinked his pitch-black eyes and stared at him in confusion. It was a long while before he managed to stammer out, in heavily accented English, “I... don’t understand...” - Percival Andre came from an illustrious family and was the most famous young master at school. One day, an Eastern boy began appearing at Percival’s side. He would take off his scarf and wrap it around the boy, kneel to put on his shoes, hold an umbrella over him, and blow on piping-hot food until it cooled enough to feed him. Then one day, while arguing with Percival, Yan Shu shoved him and bit down on his hand. Everyone around them was stunned. Someone had actually dared to lay a hand on Young Master Percy. But Percival only gently took hold of Yan Shu’s hand. “You didn’t bite hard enough, Yan.” He wiped the tears from the corner of Yan Shu’s eye. “You have to make it hurt, so I’ll remember not to argue with you again.” “Don’t cry.” - When Yan Shu was sent abroad, he had no idea what had happened at home. Somehow, he had been dumped in a strange country, in unfamiliar surroundings, among people who all spoke a language he didn’t know. At least Percy was there with him. Snow fell outside the window, and everything was so quiet. Yan Shu nestled against Percy and felt the warmth of his body. His favorite thing about Percy was his eyes, pale blue like stars in the sky. “Percy, will we ever be apart?” Percival held his little doll close, remembering that Christmas long ago. He had made a wish, and God had sent him his Christmas present. “No, Yan. I’m yours.” “Forever.” Later, Yan Shu’s parents brought him back to the country. Everyone assumed he must have had a hard time abroad, so they prepared the Yan family’s most lavish welcome-home dinner for his first meal back. It was meant as compensation, but also as a warning. They wanted him to understand his place and obey. But when Yan Shu saw what was on the table, he frowned. “The milk I asked for should be 58 degrees. Even a slight difference affects the taste.” “I can’t eat seafood prepared this way. I hope you’ll have something else made.” “This red wine is rather poor quality. I’ve never had wine this cheap.” “Where are your table manners?” Everyone was stunned. Yan Shu’s so-called parents looked especially pale. They all thought he was being unreasonable and ungrateful. That day, the Yan Group was hosting a distinguished guest: a top-tier old-money tycoon from overseas. People said that a single deal he arranged could bring in hundreds of millions. Everyone at the Yan family was too intimidated to breathe in his presence. Everyone except Yan Shu, the one who was supposedly “ungrateful.” He ran straight toward the blue-eyed, blond-haired tycoon, threw himself into his arms, and looked up with shining eyes. “Honey, you’re here!” The Yan family: “???” A pampered little sunshine bottom x a cold, powerful top Reading guide: 1. Childhood sweethearts who grow up together. The story begins when they’re children, and their romance only develops after they turn eighteen. 2. Blurb dated January 14, 2026. 3. A slow-paced slice-of-life story. 【Upcoming novel: “I Have a System Now, So I’m Done Pretending to Be a Nice Guy.” Please visit my author page and add it to your collection~~】 Blurb: After a car accident, Gu Yishui discovered that he had been bound to a System. System: “From now on, you’re the villain. You have to obstruct the protagonist, Lu Cheng: push him off a high-rise, put his life in danger, take his wealth, and seize his business empire and beautiful fiancée.” Gu Yishui looked at the bank card that had just received his 3,000-yuan paycheck. Rent and his Huabei and Baitiao payments had been automatically deducted, leaving him with a balance of just 260 yuan. Then he looked at Lu Cheng, the protagonist, whose net worth was in the hundreds of billions, even trillions, and who ranked on the Forbes list. Gu Yishui: “The villain? Me?” - Gu Yishui began carrying out villain missions under the System’s instructions. During a typhoon, the System told him to sneak into the protagonist’s company, but his boss called him back to work a shift. The System got him an itinerary and told him to follow Lu Cheng around until he found the right opportunity to strike, but his leave request was denied. The System got him an invitation to a high-society banquet, but Gu Yishui... was called back to work for a random alcohol test. The System broke down. “...Can’t you just quit that lousy job?!” Gu Yishui’s eyes lit up. “If I quit, will you support me?” The System: “...” Later, Gu Yishui finally met Lu Cheng in person. The System urged him frantically to attack Lu Cheng and carry out his villain mission. But the tall, stern-looking man in front of him didn’t even raise his eyes. Lu Cheng: “Check your System interface.” Gu Yishui: “Which interface? My bank account?” Lu Cheng sneered. “The System interface.” Gu Yishui: “?” Gu Yishui stared in shock. “!!!!!!!” He turned to Lu Cheng, appalled. “Y-you... you installed Honor of Kings on my System interface???” - Lu Cheng was thoroughly sick of it. He knew he lived in a novel. He was the target of the novel’s missions, and the people around him were all transmigrators or mission-takers carrying Systems, trying every possible way to win him over. So when that day’s cowardly, hopelessly tacky villain-System host came trembling up to him and stammered, “L-Lu Cheng, I’m g-going to take everything from you,” Lu Cheng couldn’t even be bothered to deal with him. Without raising his eyes, he installed Honor of Kings on the guy’s System interface. Lu Cheng: “:)” Get lost. See my golden finger? Stay the hell away from me. And yet That day, just after he finished dealing with a System host who had tried to steal trade secrets, the window behind him was kicked open, and the night wind swept in. That timid villain-System host had climbed up to the thirty-sixth-floor office with his bare hands, then crouched on the windowsill with a cheerful grin. Gu Yishui: “Hey! How did you do that? My System didn’t notice you at all.” Gu Yishui: “I don’t play Honor of Kings. Can I switch to another game? Have you heard of Genshin Impact?” Gu Yishui: “In exchange, I can help you uninstall his System.” Gu Yishui raised his astonishingly bright eyes. “Or would you rather hear me call you hubby?” Lu Cheng: “…?” Shouldn’t you explain how you climbed up thirty-six floors first? A cold protagonist who’s constantly fighting against Systems x a bottom who’s ridiculously strong but pretends to be an ordinary office worker Theme: Work hard, keep striving, don’t fear setbacks, and press on toward the light. Those who work hard will achieve their dreams!