The Protagonist of the Regret Novel Is Reborn

After making revisions, I've changed some details. The top isn't as goofy, the bottom isn't as aloof, and I've added more warmth. If you're one of the readers who bookmarked the earlier version and don't like the changes, feel free to remove it. Thanks for understanding.

The first time Qin Chengzhou saw Chen Xing was in a filthy old alley.

His mother said, “This is the fiancé I arranged for you while he was still in my belly.”

Qin Chengzhou rescued him from a gang of thugs, then looked him over while sucking on a hard candy. An omega, short, skinny, dark-skinned, and thinly dressed. He didn't like him, and he already liked someone else.

Qin Chengzhou wanted to break off the engagement, but Chen Xing refused. He clung to Qin Chengzhou like a piece of sticky candy. Stupid, cowardly, greedy, vain, jealous, and malicious.

Qin Chengzhou was sick of him. The boy's disgust showed in every pore, and he thought Chen Xing would cling to him for the rest of his life.

But at a party, when everyone teased him about Chen Xing, he said carelessly, “Who'd want someone like Chen Xing? I hope he never shows up in front of me again.”

Chen Xing stood there staring at him in a daze, just as Qin Chengzhou had wished. He transferred schools, then messaged the next day to say he agreed to break off the engagement.

His friends congratulated him, and Qin Chengzhou congratulated himself too.

In the days that followed, he listed everything he disliked about Chen Xing. After more than a month, he remembered how Chen Xing knew he was competitive and easily hurt, so he always carried bandages. He remembered the umbrella Chen Xing had slipped into his desk on a rainy day, and the notes Chen Xing had brought to his house when he was sick...

He realized he had been wrong.

The person he truly loved was Chen Xing.

The person he thought he loved was just someone he had followed the crowd in liking, back when he didn't understand what love meant and was caught up in comparing himself with others.

.

Chen Xing's stupidity, cowardice, greed, vanity, jealousy, and malice came from his family, his poverty, and other people's cruelty, including Qin Chengzhou's own.

Qin Chengzhou didn't dare face him.

He secretly helped Chen Xing and watched in silence as he finished the college entrance exams and went to university... Then all contact was lost.

Much later, Qin Chengzhou got news of Chen Xing. He had died, murdered by his father. The killer was only convicted of manslaughter and didn't have to pay with his life.

Qin Chengzhou sat awake all night, arranged what needed to be done, and took out the monster.

Before he died, Qin Chengzhou saw Chen Xing sitting on the steps, telling him he loved him.

.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the past.

At the time, Chen Xing was preparing the paperwork to transfer schools.

.

Chen Xing had finally understood that someone like Qin Chengzhou, a man born into privilege, could never love him.

Qin Chengzhou was a swan, and he was a toad. They were different species, even if they were engaged.

But he was deeply drawn to Qin Chengzhou. He kept the candy Qin Chengzhou had given him after rescuing him in a box. It had melted, just like the relationship between them. He decided to stop chasing that light. Qin Chengzhou shouldn't have a stain like him in his life. He lied to his stepfather and mother, saying he'd already secured Qin Chengzhou as a rich son-in-law, but now they had to keep their distance so Qin Chengzhou would be left wanting and suggest a transfer himself.

They agreed.

Chen Xing was preparing the documents he needed to transfer schools when someone snatched them away.

In the height of summer, Qin Chengzhou rushed in, drenched in sweat. His eyes were red as he stared intently at Chen Xing.

Theme: Cherish the present