He's Actually Not a Bad Person

[Pure-hearted, unhinged top x straightforward beauty bottom]

From the very first day he met Pei Du, Shi Xuqiu disliked him.

Rich young master, bad-tempered, always looking for trouble... Every trait hit one of Shi Xuqiu's sore spots perfectly.

During the year he was in the same class as Pei Du, Shi Xuqiu was like a mouse who had spotted a cat whenever he saw him, both annoyed and afraid.

Then Shi Xuqiu died unexpectedly, and his spirit was trapped where he had fallen. He watched Pei Du grow more and more unhinged as he investigated the cause of his death and took revenge for him, until he gave up his own life too.

Shi Xuqiu finally understood.

The entanglement he had once been desperate to avoid was a young man's blazing, wholehearted love.

Later, Shi Xuqiu was reborn.

He walked up to the cold-faced Pei Du and, amid a chorus of gasps, calmly asked, “Classmate, can I sit here?”

Pei Du raised his eyes, his expression gloomy and shadowed. “...Yesterday you wanted to move out, and today you want to move back in. What's wrong with you?”

Shi Xuqiu: “...”

Oh, no. Why did it have to be at this exact moment?

-

Recently, a rumor had been going around Ping City No. 3 High School: The top student who received financial aid had become the new transfer student's lovesick puppy.

They went everywhere together, inseparable and closer than best friends.

“No way. Isn't he usually so aloof, like he doesn't want to talk to anyone?”

“Ha, it's all an act! He used to look down on people with bad grades who got into fights, but now he knows the guy's rich, so he's sticking his ass out for him... Gah!”

The speaker was kicked down onto his knees. A hand with long, clearly defined knuckles clamped around his neck, forcing him to look up as he struggled to breathe. “B-Brother Du...”

Pei Du's eyes were icy, the corners of his mouth lifting into a chilling smile.

“If you can't use your tongue properly, should I cut it out for you? Hm?”

“Mmgh!”

“Pei Du, what are you doing?” the boy cried out in surprise.

Pei Du let go, turning his wrist to tuck away the utility knife. His expression betrayed the guilt and irritation of someone caught in the act.

He stood up, about to make an excuse, but Shi Xuqiu spoke first, comforting the boy who was wailing in pain. “He was just trying to scare you... He's actually not a bad person.”

Pei Du: “...”

The boy: “...”

-

Shi Xuqiu thought that as long as he stayed by Pei Du's side and lived well, Pei Du's life would get back on track, and he would become the carefree, confident boy he used to be.

But the person before him stroked the artery at the side of his neck and, in the most intimate pose, whispered the most sinister words into his ear.

“I want to lock you up so badly.”

“Then you'll never leave me again.”

Theme: By standing together, we can overcome hardship.