It's Hard Being a Substitute

[Chapter comments are open. Thank you for supporting the official release.] A cold and aloof top who is secretly a crybaby, an Alpha, x an insecure, timid, ordinary Beta bottom Xu Xihe is a miserable Beta. In an ABO society, he's destined to be a drudge, toiling away without distinction. To make matters worse, he has a withdrawn personality, poor grades, and no friends. By contrast, his younger brother, Xu Ziqi, is an A-rank omega entrusted with the family's future. Delicate and soft, cheerful, and an excellent student. He gets into the best school on Central Star and even sets his sights on Lu Xiaoyun, son of the Federation's Marshal and the very pinnacle of Alpha society. Naturally, all the family's resources and affection go to Xu Ziqi, and Xu Xihe is forced to play along. The two brothers look nearly identical. Xu Xihe must also repeat the fate of a "substitute," attending classes and taking physical tests in Xu Ziqi's place... At last, Xu Ziqi gets what he wants, and Xu Xihe's days as his substitute seem to be over. But on their wedding night, his new husband demands that he keep playing the substitute and fulfill his marital duties as a wife. Xu Xihe turns and leaves without a backward glance. Xu Ziqi strokes his pregnant belly and cries, "Brother, you don't want our whole family sent before a military tribunal, do you?" Xu Xihe turns around and, for the first time, refuses him in no uncertain terms. "Xu Ziqi, that's enough!" He's had it with being this pampered omega's substitute, over and over again! Lu Xiaoyun, hailed as a heaven-sent prodigy, thinks his life is more or less perfect. His matched omega seems delicate and soft on the surface, but is actually a crack shot. Aside from the fact that his omega gets shy and insists on turning off the lights at night, and has a withdrawn older brother, life seems pretty good. But after one heat, he is shocked to discover that he has slept beside his withdrawn brother-in-law. Xu Xihe, exhausted from being used, struggles to get up and leave as usual, but suddenly senses someone watching him. Lu Xiaoyun, his face as impassive as water, reaches out and presses hard on Xu Xihe's swollen belly, his expression cold. Xu Xihe's heart tightens. His lips tremble. "What are you going to do?" Lu Xiaoyun gives a quiet, mocking laugh. "My child." "You owe me compensation." PS: Includes a groveling-to-win-back-the-spouse arc!!! If that's not your thing, don't come in. Romance-focused, both leads are each other's first and only. The older brother always thinks he's his younger brother's substitute, so he's insecure and gives way. He may be frustrating to read early on. Coming soon: The Little Omega Is Righteous and Upright! Little omega Tao Mingming was born with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and a sweet, adorable demeanor. Everyone from eighty-year-old elders to one-year-old toddlers is utterly charmed by him. Though born into a wealthy family, he was raised to be upright, principled, and true to his roots. When he grows up, he is determined to become a police officer. At six, he returns to the city to start primary school. His parents are busy with work, so his three Alpha brothers have to look after him. On the night he gets back, he hears knocking and banging now and then from the top floor of the attic. He carefully climbs in through a window and sees his delicate, soft omega sister-in-law in the room, chained to the bed with shackles and crying in despair. The little omega's expression changes instantly. Holding a toy pistol and silver toy handcuffs, he raises his police badge, kicks the door open, and shouts, "Big Brother, stop this!" "Illegally imprisoning your sister-in-law is a serious crime!" Tao Mingyin, dark and gloomy, looks at the little omega and sneers coldly. "How are you going to stop me?" "With those plastic toys?" The little omega fights back with all his might, but is thrown out of the room. To stop his eldest brother from taking a big step toward prison, the little omega rallies the people. He gets all the children in the villa community to help his sister-in-law escape. What he never expected was that his other two brothers were just as bad. His domineering second brother alters the glands of his mild-mannered Beta subordinate. His unhinged third brother forces his Alpha nemesis to get pregnant. The little omega is heartbroken and cries, "I will never make peace with evil!" "I'll save my sisters-in-law!" As an adult, the little omega grows up to become a criminal-investigation officer and solves major cases time and again, becoming one of the country's ten outstanding young people. But lately, he's been thinking about how his childhood missions to rescue his sisters-in-law kept failing. He carefully reviews the events and finally realizes there was a traitor among the people. After work, he looks at his boyfriend, the handsome, clever CEO Alpha of the old Gu family, who's come to pick him up. He asks righteously, "Gu Wen, why did you do that back then?" "Have you forgotten our blood oath?" The scheming Alpha lowers his head, looking innocent. "Of course I remember." "But my elders said that when an Alpha is away from home, he should follow the Alpha mutual-aid principle." "Besides..." He pauses, staring hard at the gland on the pale nape of the criminal-investigation officer's neck. "I didn't have a wife back then." Criminal-investigation officer: "..." Please add to your reading list: Bound to the Dragon-Apocalypse Male Lead's Restart System Su Ming is blindfolded, playing ghost-hunt with the kindergarten kids one moment. The next, he's bound to a System and accompanying the elders of a family of celestial masters to hunt ghosts. Wait, this isn't the kind of ghost-hunting I signed up for! Still, with a System, I can do anything. Switching careers shouldn't be too hard, right? Su Ming confidently rolls up his sleeves and strides into the haunted house. The first time, he dies of fright when a red-clad female ghost appears in the mirror. The second time, a black-haired water ghost in the bathtub drowns him. The third time... He's learned his lesson. He opens his eyes and runs straight out of the haunted house, only for a bolt of purple lightning to crash down from the sky and char him to a crisp! Su Ming, bound to the restart System, grits his teeth in fury. "System, you %@#8%!" * Gu Ao was a peerless celestial master, proficient in talismans, alchemy, and crafting magical artifacts. But after someone schemed against him and ghost energy invaded his body, his talent was destroyed and his meridians severed, leaving him a sickly ordinary person. His fiancée breaks off their engagement, his family abandons him, and people scorn him at every turn. Yet Gu Ao, who has endured all of this, only laughs recklessly. He's reborn, after all, and already knows the fate of the Dragon-Apocalypse male lead. Once he takes out the ghost ring and confirms their blood relation, he can become a vengeful ghost and continue cultivating. The wheels of fate will turn. Not one person who deserves revenge will be spared, and the human world will become a living hell. He cuts his palm and is just about to drip blood onto the ring when he blinks and finds himself back half an hour earlier. Gu Ao: "..." Looking at his healed palm, he refuses to believe it. He cuts the tip of his middle finger and drips blood, only to blink and find himself back an hour earlier. In the end, Gu Ao cuts himself all over, but not a single drop of blood comes out. By the seventh time, Gu Ao finally accepts the truth. * After investigating every possible angle, Gu Ao finally learns the truth: he and Su Ming are bound to a restart System. Whenever Su Ming dies, Gu Ao restarts too. At first, he sneers at the timid, cowardly celestial master and watches from the sidelines. Later, he grabs Su Ming and stops him from rushing off to hunt ghosts, carries him to safety, covers him in layers of talismans, sets up a protective barrier, checks the life-saving jade pendant on him, and stocks up on cola, spicy strips, and mini burgers. Then, his face dark, he says, "Senior Brother, leave little things like ghost-hunting to me!" Theme: After the storm comes the rainbow.