Winning Over the Top Scholar Who Mistook Me for His Lost Love

A top scholar who starts out frivolous and unserious, then becomes a scheming, obsessive lover who adores the bottom (Pei Guanwen) × a gloomy, pitiful prince who is steadfast at first, then grows cold and becomes something of a heartthrob (Yin Boyu)

[Novel blurb]

Yin Boyu was a ghost in the Cold Palace, the least favored prince deep within the palace walls.

Pei Guanwen was the most charming and graceful top scholar, the legitimate son of the powerful chancellor and the Empress's nephew.

Behind red palace walls and beneath dark green tiles, Yin Boyu caught a distant glimpse of Pei Guanwen's smile and etched it into his heart. An imperial decree bound Yin Boyu to him.

Pei Guanwen taught Yin Boyu to hold a brush and write, and took him out of the palace to see the opera.

That day, Yin Boyu understood what the books meant: all the fireworks in the sky could not compare to Pei Guanwen turning back with a smile.

From that day on, he let the feelings he should never have had grow unchecked.

Until Yin Boyu heard Pei Guanwen, drunk, murmuring someone else's name. That's when he learned that he was nothing more than a stand-in for Pei Guanwen's beloved, Yang Fuqing.

To enjoy even a little of Pei Guanwen's tenderness, Yin Boyu was willing to be a substitute.

He thought he could settle into this life, but then Pei Guanwen suddenly stopped seeking him out.

Swallowing his pride, Yin Boyu went to find him. Beneath the colored-glass lanterns, he was met with the aloofness Pei Guanwen hid behind his smile:

"I only met you because His Majesty ordered it. Now that there's no reason for us to meet, this should end."

Beneath the cold winter rain, Yin Boyu lowered his head and laughed bitterly.

After that, Yin Boyu clung to him, refusing to let go. All he got in return was deeper hurt: Pei Guanwen deliberately flaunted his affection for his beloved, just to watch Yin Boyu suffer with jealousy...

Yin Boyu's heart was torn to shreds. That day, he smiled as he prepared a banquet in his residence, inviting only Pei Guanwen...

Pei Guanwen, son of a powerful minister and heir to a distinguished family, had spent half his life arrogant and spoiled.

He never imagined that one day he would wake up in the residence of the second prince, Yin Boyu. Trapped at Yin Boyu's side, he was told condescendingly that from now on, he would be his kept man.

Pei Guanwen was shocked, humiliated, and uneasy. Then came the manipulation, control, and endless degradation.

Pei Guanwen should have hated Yin Boyu. Even if he had once felt some sympathy for him, now he should feel nothing but pure loathing.

But when Yin Boyu treated him like a plaything to "get revenge," Pei Guanwen discovered that Yin Boyu's touch and attention filled him with a thrill unlike anything he had ever felt.

Why? Pei Guanwen asked himself. The answer was obvious. Without realizing it, he had already fallen in love with Yin Boyu.

Pei Guanwen would lie awake all night worrying when Yin Boyu was injured. He would grow anxious when Yin Boyu gradually stopped coming to the rear courtyard to see him. And when Yang Fuqing, the beloved he had once cherished, tried to get close to Yin Boyu, Pei Guanwen would attack him...

Yet just as Pei Guanwen finally understood his own heart, Yin Boyu decided it was time to leave their past behind.

Pei Guanwen pinned Yin Boyu against the courtyard wall and demanded to know how he felt. Yin Boyu merely replied, calmly, "You don't have to worry anymore. You won't be locked up for much longer..."

Yin Boyu was implicated and imprisoned for treason. Just as he was about to follow the plan he'd made in advance, fake his death, and leave the palace, that place of turmoil, Pei Guanwen appeared.

In the damp, gloomy imperial prison, Pei Guanwen crouched before him and pulled Yin Boyu into his arms. His eyes shone with obsession, a faint blush on his face as he smiled and whispered into Yin Boyu's ear:

"You want to leave me? I won't allow it. If you can love only one person in this life, that person can only be me."

He licked Yin Boyu's neck and lips, then murmured sweetly, "At last, you can never leave me again. Your eyes, your nose... every part of you belongs to me alone. Don't even think about escaping..."

Includes: melodramatic romantic conflict / nonconsensual love and its reversal / after the bottom gives up on unrequited love, the top becomes a creepily devoted, scheming pursuer / angst at first, then satisfying payback / the top competes with his beloved for the bottom / the top and his beloved fight each other / later, almost everyone falls for the bottom, but the bottom only wants to leave / the top cries because the bottom doesn't love him

1. Happy ending.

2. The political intrigue is limited and simple, there to support the romance.

3. After being hurt, the bottom forces the top to love him. The bottom has always loved the top, though at times his feelings are mixed with hatred. Later, he loses interest in the throne but remains a leading contender in the succession struggle.

[Pre-release] The Movie Star Wants an Arrogant Idol to Insult Him

A look back at those years when I secretly dated a senior celebrity and was forced into the submissive role. Being too beautiful attracts a certain kind of deviant, and then the top showed up.

[A mature, calculating masochistic movie star who likes an arrogant younger man (Jiang Bai) × an idol who seems arrogant and sharp-tongued but is actually innocent and gentle (Ling Wei)]

One day, Jiang Bai saw a promotional video of Ling Wei being filmed insulting someone. His angelically beautiful face was full of arrogance.

He thought: With a face like an angel's and lips so luscious, how could he say such cruel, vicious things?

Jiang Bai: I really want him to insult me. (smiles)

Another day, after maintaining his public image throughout a show, Ling Wei got home exhausted. He was inwardly repenting for his rude behavior when he received an invitation from an industry big shot:

Jiang Bai: Hello. Would you be interested in meeting sometime? (smiles)

Ling Wei (his hand trembled; thrilled and delighted, he finally replied after a flood of thanks): Oh, I'll give you a chance.

By chance, Ling Wei ended up dating a senior in the industry. He had only meant to give it a try, but the more time they spent together, the more he fell for him. He couldn't get enough.

Everything about the senior seemed wonderful to him: gentle, strong, considerate, and completely accepting of him...

Just as Ling Wei thought he could let down his guard and reveal his true self to his lover, he heard the senior speak to a friend in the same gentle voice he used to whisper in Ling Wei's ear:

"Him? I like him quite a bit right now. Especially when he frowns those delicate brows, his eyes reddening as he angrily curses at me. Every time I see it, I want to... devour him right away. But lately, he seems to be in a good mood and has been much gentler with me... It's a little disappointing."

Ling Wei, biting his lovely lips, his eyes red, felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him.

*

Late at night, in the bedroom beside enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

Through the glass, they had a perfect view of Ling Wei's huge advertisement outside. The man in it wore an arrogant, untouchable expression.

Jiang Bai held Ling Wei by his slender waist and smiled tenderly. "Baby, aren't you going to insult me today?"

Ling Wei clutched Jiang Bai's sleeve. His handsome brows furrowed, his face flushed, his eyes wet. "Ah... you, you're awful..."

Jiang Bai felt desire rise within him. He leaned closer to Ling Wei, breathed in his scent, and gazed at him with a dazed expression. Agreeing with Ling Wei, he said, "Yes, I am..."

Pre-release: A Straight Man Falls for Me, and I'm Straight Too: a gay man and a straight man fall in love after an arranged marriage

Theme: Everyone can be loved