Qi Ran had been jealous of his cousin Cheng Xia for as long as he could remember.
As a child, he envied Cheng Xia for having rich parents who loved him, for getting excellent grades and being well-liked. As an adult, he envied him for never having to compromise just to get by, for having his parents arrange everything for him, and for having such kind friends.
Then a boyfriend appeared at Cheng Xia's side, so perfect that Qi Ran couldn't find a single flaw in him. The bitter jealousy and resentment nearly drove him mad.
He even started wishing they'd break up soon. He hoped Cheng Xia would cheat, or that he'd reveal some flaw that would make his boyfriend hate him.
All the while, he put on a cheerful, friendly act, privately agonizing with jealousy and sadness, unable to stop himself from keeping tabs on their every move.
Finally, one day, he discovered that Cheng Xia really had cheated.
He collected the evidence and, after much deliberation, secretly sent it to Cheng Xia's boyfriend.
After that, the two broke up, and Cheng Xia started seeing someone else.
Qi Ran noticed that Cheng Xia had changed. He wasn't as sweet or as likable anymore, and his ex-boyfriend still seemed to be trying to win him back.
Shen Xuan, Cheng Xia's ex-boyfriend, was a handsome, successful man with a refined and gentle manner.
He was warm and courteous to strangers, and treated his lover as tenderly as if he were carefully tending a flower.
That kind of love was something Qi Ran could never hope to have in his entire life.
He began cautiously drawing closer, trying every way he could think of to become part of Shen Xuan's life. Then Shen Xuan confessed his feelings, and the two of them really got together.
Qi Ran was so happy he thought he might go mad.
"You'll regret this, Qi Ran." Cheng Xia caught the two of them together and suddenly warned him, "He's nothing like you think. You're going to regret it..."
"I won't. I'm not like you. I'm stupid and selfish. No one but him could ever truly love me." Qi Ran said, "I'll never leave him."
In the end, Cheng Xia only shook his head with a sneer. "I'll be waiting for the day you regret it."
At first, Qi Ran thought Cheng Xia regretted cheating and breaking up with Shen Xuan. It wasn't until later that he realized that wasn't it...
Cheng Xia had been right. That man really wasn't what Qi Ran had imagined... He wasn't just a little different. He was worlds apart from the person Qi Ran thought he knew.
Qi Ran had thought he was selfish enough, despicable enough, and bad enough.
Only later did he discover that Shen Xuan, who seemed so perfect he had not a single flaw, was the truly terrifying one.
He was a beast wearing the skin of a gentle and kind man.
"Please, let me go. I really don't want to be with you anymore!"
Qi Ran wept and begged, even desperately trying to escape.
But it was no use. In the cage Shen Xuan had so carefully built, Qi Ran couldn't get away, not even one step.
"You were the one who came closer to me, step by step, because you wanted to be with me."
That man still wore his charming smile, but now his handsome, gentle face looked like a demon to Qi Ran, making him tremble all over. "It's too late to run now, darling."
A truly naive, pitiful shou who is very good at pretending to be an innocent little flower VS a refined, gentle gong who is very good at pretending to be a good person, but is actually cruel
Theme: Be a good person
