Just a Supporting Male Character's Life

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(A day-to-day crematorium drama)

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Chen Zuo used to think Lin Dan simply had no idea how to be a good older brother. Then Lin Qingxu was born, and Lin Dan lifted him out of his cradle. What a heartwarming scene, bathed in a holy glow! That was when Chen Zuo realized he had been wrong.

From that day on, he began his student years, claiming he didn't care while acting out for attention...

If Lin Dan hadn't smashed his dream of brotherly harmony with one ruler, maybe they would be a happy family now.

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Lin Dan's birthday wish lately has been for Chen Zuo to graduate from college, chase his inexplicable dream, cut ties with him, and never speak to him again.

But his wish didn't come true. Before Chen Zuo had even started his senior year, his parents arranged for him to intern at Lin Dan's company.

Chen Zuo could have coasted along like before, but for some reason he went crazy and insisted on proving his worth.

People really shouldn't be too industrious, or they'll never know what kind of mess they can make.

The culprit behind turning the company into a zoo said, “If I land this project, we’ll make up for good.”

Chen Zuo really did land the project, but they still argued until they were red in the face. Sometimes Chen Zuo wondered if Lin Dan's hippocampus hadn't developed properly, causing his brain to shrink along with it. Lin Dan, meanwhile, wanted to crack open Chen Zuo's head and see what kind of paste was inside.

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Chen Zuo asked Lin Dan why he hated him so much.

Lin Dan replied, “I don't know. I hated you from the moment I first saw you.”

Chen Zuo realized that the root of their conflict was simply that he had arrived at the wrong time. Lin Dan had hated him at first sight, and that feeling had lasted for the next twenty-two years.

No amount of effort could change someone else's prejudice. Chen Zuo suddenly felt relieved. He went back to college and, just as Lin Dan wanted, blocked him, preparing never to speak to him again.

Who knew what switch had flipped in Lin Dan's head? He even tracked down Chen Zuo's NetEase Cloud account just to get in touch.

“I’m sorry for what happened before.”

“Mom, Dad, and Qing miss you. They want you to come home.”

“So do I.”

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Here's a peek at my upcoming book, <The First Succession>

Song Ci hated his parents, and he hated that house.

His mother grilled him about his grades at the dinner table every day, while his father was like a silent wall.

All he wanted was to get into a college far away. The farther, the better.

In his second year of high school, his father died, and the house was transferred to some stranger.

His mother called the man a “homewrecker.”

Then his mother died, too.

Song Ci became an orphan with nowhere to go.

In the end, he had no choice but to knock on the door of the home he knew so well.

A man in a loose T-shirt, looking laid-back and careless, opened the door. “Ma’am, how many times do I have to tell you? I really have nothing to do with your husband...”

At a glance, Song Ci knew Zhang Xuan was exactly the kind of person he hated most.

But he had nowhere else to turn, so he wedged his luggage in the doorway.

“I have no home anymore. This is my home. I’m coming back.”

“Hey, kid, that’s not how you pull a scam.”

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A few years earlier, Song Ci's father had lost his investment, taken Zhang Xuan's investment money, and run off. Zhang Xuan hadn't expected him to have enough conscience before he died to mortgage the house back to him.

But... why had this house come with an extra inheritance?

The kid was a handful and clearly looked down on him.

Song Ci couldn't be bothered talking to him and was always sharp with him. They'd been living under the same roof for less than a week when Song Ci tried to run away.

Fine, fine... Since you have to go to school every day, I'll graciously forgive you. I'm the grown-up here, Zhang Xuan!

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Song Ci thought Zhang Xuan was materialistic, troublesome, and shameless.

He even wondered if Zhang Xuan had taken him in just to get the little money his parents left behind.

He'd wanted to escape his parents, and now he wanted to escape this man. All he could do was study as hard as he could. He had to get into a college far away.

But Zhang Xuan drifted through his life with a carefree air, and from then on, nobody talked about studying at the dinner table anymore.

He rode around on his beat-up tricycle. Whenever he passed Song Ci's school, he'd tell the teacher he had “something important” to do, then bring Song Ci milk tea, apples, and water.

After living with a “homewrecker,” Song Ci should have left without a backward glance after the college entrance exams.

But this gloomy man, Zhang Xuan, left a mark on his life in the boldest of strokes.

In the utterly meaningless first half of his life, one thing had appeared that he wanted more than anything to take with him.

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“Zhang Xuan, come to Beijing with me.”

Theme: Growing through the trials of love