Pretending to Have Amnesia in Front of My Nemesis

Once the darling of the heavens, Zhou Tingzhi fell into the mud overnight, and everyone took the chance to kick him while he was down. He fled from place to place before a twist of fate led him to the lower district, where he became a bartender.

He was good at mixing drinks. After everything he'd been through, he let go of his former pride, got along with the locals, and even adopted a stray cat to care for.

Before long, the people and events of his past had begun to fade into a blur.

Then his longtime rival, his enemy for ten years, came all the way to find him.

Zhou Tingzhi: ...

You actually came all the way to the lower district just to kick me while I'm down? I'm honored, Young Master Gu!

-

The story of how Zhou Tingzhi and Gu Qizhou came to be rivals could take three days and three nights to tell.

Gu Qizhou was a bona fide lunatic, and everyone in the upper district knew the two had been at odds for nearly ten years.

The day the Zhou family fell, Zhou Tingzhi disappeared without a trace.

To celebrate his rival's downfall, Gu Qizhou set off fireworks across the district for forty-nine days straight.

Zhou Tingzhi thought that if it were him, he might be even more ruthless than Gu Qizhou. Forty-nine days wouldn't be enough. He'd keep the fireworks going for a whole year, announcing it to everyone with drums and fanfare, while grinding Gu Qizhou under his heel.

But unfortunately...

Now he was the one reduced to a stray dog.

He was the one forced to flee.

-

At their reunion, Zhou Tingzhi looked down as he wiped a glass.

The shadow of a top-tier Alpha fell across the bar. Zhou Tingzhi suppressed his irritation, lazily lifting his eyes. "Who are you?"

Gu Qizhou: "Did you lose your memory?"

"..."

Those soap operas from the central district are a menace!

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhou Tingzhi hesitated, then nodded.

Just as he thought Gu Qizhou would be disappointed and give up, the handsome, imposing Alpha before him lit up with a feverish, almost crazed gleam. Fighting to keep himself in check, he said to the bewildered Zhou Tingzhi, word by word, "I'm your husband."

Zhou Tingzhi's expression, honed by years of acting, nearly cracked: ???

"Oh, your wife works too."

???

Your mother!

-

One day, Gu Qizhou pointed at a place. "This is where we fell in love. Do you remember?"

...If by falling in love you mean the time I knocked you to the ground and punched you thirteen times.

Zhou Tingzhi: "...I don't remember."

Gu Qizhou reined in his surging urge to destroy everything and looked utterly aggrieved. "...It's okay if you can't remember."

Zhou Tingzhi: Help! Help!

-

"Come to think of it, Gu Qizhou only ever went after the omegas you'd been with..."

Zhou Tingzhi: "...Could it be because we have similar taste?"

Reader's guide

1. A laid-back top who's seen it all and takes care of his health x a doglike bottom who seems rabid but is actually a loyal puppy

2. The top's acting skills are MAX

3. The bottom genuinely believes the top has amnesia. The bottom really is crazy, and he really is sick.

4. Alpha x Alpha romance, rival romance, enemies-to-lovers

5. One-on-one pairing, endgame couple locked in

Theme: This world is so dazzling because you exist