The Tragic Tale of the Flower-Seeking Scholar

1.

When Liu Qingshang was seventeen, he placed third in the imperial examinations. At the Apricot Blossom Banquet, the four princes of the realm were seated there. He fell in love at first sight with the third prince, whose bearing was unlike anyone else's. The more time he spent with him, the more completely smitten he became.

But he kept all the gossip he'd heard in mind:

The eldest prince said the third prince despised men who loved men. The second prince said the third prince hated pretty boys with red lips and white teeth. The fourth prince said the third prince looked down on useless scholars.

Unfortunately, Liu Qingshang checked every box.

2.

He quietly tested the waters with the man he loved. "Your Highness, if a handsome scholar developed feelings for you, how would you treat him?"

The third prince glanced at him. "I'd punish him."

Liu Qingshang asked nervously, "How would you punish him?"

The third prince glanced at him again. "What do you think?"

Liu Qingshang: That look says he's going to kill me! I'm doomed!

And so he grew melancholy, spending every spare moment brooding in a corner.

3.

Finally, one day, everyone had had enough.

The eldest prince rapped him on the head. "What's the point of making yourself miserable every day?"

The second prince patted his shoulder. "Why do you look so pitiful every day?"

The fourth prince took both his hands. "Why make yourself so heartbroken every day?"

At last, the third prince pinched his cheek, unable to take it anymore. "Why are you so miserable every day?"

Liu Qingshang hesitated, about to answer, when the prince kissed him.

4.

Later, his colleagues noticed that Liu Qingshang needed a cushion to sit and a massage for his lower back whenever he walked.

The third-place scholar looked even more miserable than before.

A miserable little third-place scholar who is doted on by everyone without realizing it x a fake-cold, fake-proper, secretly passionate, down-to-earth CEO-type top

Theme: Building a future together with the person you love