You Seem Hard to Understand

[Draft progress: 20,000/50,000]

Shan Shuning was terribly unlucky. His father was in a drunk-driving accident and became a vegetable, and the person he hit and killed had a little tagalong at home.

That little tagalong naturally ended up living with him, too.

Just like his name suggests, Li Yanmo was so taciturn you couldn't get a peep out of him, and he had no social skills to boot.

Shan Shuning disliked his personality. Aside from meals and school, the two barely spoke.

Facing an unprecedented money crunch, Shan Shuning had no choice but to look online for part-time work. On a friend's advice, he found a job that paid well: modeling for an artist.

The artist's requests were strange. He often had Shan Shuning make videos posing suggestively. But the pay was good, so Shan Shuning did as he was told.

Until one day, Li Yanmo caught him.

The boy's eyes widened in alarm as he peered through the crack in the door. Shan Shuning bent over, his cheap hoodie rolled up to reveal his slim, pale waist. A camera stood in front of him, its lens glinting faintly.

It was as if his throat had closed up. He couldn't say a word.

Humiliated after being found out, Shan Shuning decided to leave and cool off.

Before he could even get out the door, Li Yanmo crashed into his arms, staring at him like a puppy that had been betrayed.

"Is this how you make money? By taking off your clothes for other people to look at?"

Shan Shuning glared at him. "What else?"

Li Yanmo stammered, tears filling his eyes. "I-I'll quit school... Please don't do that kind of thing anymore... Do you really need money that badly? I just got a scholarship from school, and I can get a job too. Please..."

-

Li Yanmo had always seen Shan Shuning as a shining light.

And that was exactly what he was. Shan Shuning helped him escape the shadow of his father's abuse, fed him, clothed him, and sent him to school.

Shan Shuning didn't like him, and Li Yanmo could see that. With no way to repay him and afraid of being abandoned again, all he could do was cook and clean at home to make things easier for him.

But why were more and more people gathering around Shan Shuning?

Alarm bells rang in Li Yanmo's heart. He had no idea that he had already claimed Shan Shuning as part of his own world.

He kept pretending to be a sweet, obedient lamb in front of Shan Shuning, while secretly baring his claws at those covetous interlopers.

One of them pushed open Shan Shuning's door, pointed at Li Yanmo, and berated him before turning to Shan Shuning. "You're still keeping him around! Do you even know what he's..."

Shan Shuning frowned. Li Yanmo's eyes turned red at just the right moment.

"I..." Before Li Yanmo could explain, Shan Shuning flipped the other person off. "You're the one who corrupted him." Then he slammed the door shut.

That night, Li Yanmo excitedly climbed into Shan Shuning's bed.

After spending so long with Shan Shuning, he knew exactly how to make him soften.

Shan Shuning's tearful sobs, mixed with curses, were swallowed by a kiss. Li Yanmo let Shan Shuning slap his face while rubbing against his flushed skin. "Ge... I like you so much. I'll give you all my money, everything I have. Okay?"

At first, Li Yanmo wanted to repay Shan Shuning by becoming his wife and offering himself to him.

Only later did he realize that the only way to have Shan Shuning completely was to become his husband.

A sweet, clueless pursuer in the beginning who turns into a scheming green-tea top later x a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, straight male bottom adored by everyone

[Important!]

1. This is the author's personal indulgence. See the author's note in Chapter 1 for detailed content warnings. Please mind any minor triggers yourself.

2. Calling him a wife is a joke in the blurb, not a weak top. The top makes a whole bunch of moves to steal his wife later. No gender-swapping, reversing roles, or reader-insert fantasies.

3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. All the supporting characters have one-sided feelings for the bottom, who only shares mutual feelings with the top.

4. This won't be very long. The writing is bad, and there's lots of melodrama. Neither lead is perfect, and they'll grow. If it's not to your taste, please be kind.

Theme: Even when you're mired in a swamp, keep striving to move forward