Fake Young Master, Real Wife

Completed | Marriage First, Love Later | Unflappable Straight Man x Feudal Wife-Doting Husband

Next book: After the Down-and-Out Fake Young Master Is Taken in by His Ex. Tsundere x Control Freak. Blurb below, please add it to your collection!

Lin Qinghuai had known since childhood that he was the Lin family's fake young master.

Everything he had worked for in the first twenty years of his life was meant to let him leave with dignity when the real young master came home.

But before the real young master returned, his parents brought him a marriage contract.

His arranged match was tall, handsome, and rich, the hotly tipped heir to the Ji Group.

Everything about him was perfect. The only problem was that Lin Qinghuai was as straight as they came.

The man's private life had a terrible reputation. He was interested in both men and women, yet decisive and ruthless in business. A snap of his fingers could get Lin Qinghuai blacklisted across the entire industry.

There was no way to avoid it, so Lin Qinghuai could only comfort himself:

It was just an arranged marriage. Holding hands was no big deal.

They were both men. A hug was no big deal, either.

A kiss didn't seem like... no big deal, nothing at all. In fact, it felt kind of good.

Lin Qinghuai was kissed into a daze. Just as he had finally accepted reality, the butler brought him some "bad" news: the Lin family's real young master had been found.

His parents made a grand show of bringing the real young master back to the family home. Before long, everyone in the city knew Lin Qinghuai had been kicked out.

The marriage arrangement was going to be switched to someone else, and the rumor spread like wildfire.

They had hugged, kissed, and enjoyed themselves.

They had done almost everything they should and shouldn't have done.

Lin Qinghuai felt like he was about to die.

That night, Lin Qinghuai left home and went to the river. Ji Jian-ci came rushing out of nowhere and pulled him into a tight embrace.

The usually composed man held him so tightly that he could barely breathe. His voice trembling, he said, "Don't die."

Lin Qinghuai: "...Huh?"

Ji Jian-ci had clawed his way through the wealthy elite and seen his share of scheming men and women.

When he heard that the young master of the Lin family, the one he was supposed to marry, had hidden his identity to take an internship, Ji Jian-ci thought, "Ha. The same old routine."

But it didn't take long for Ji Jian-ci to realize that the young master wasn't like someone who had been coddled all his life.

He was too thin. He felt feather-light in Ji Jian-ci's arms. He never ate on time, and it seemed no one cared whether he did.

He lived in a shabby old apartment in the city. He had never attended a single party, knew nothing about the Lin family's business, and hadn't gone abroad at a young age like other rich kids. His beautiful hands were calloused, and his eyes always seemed veiled by a haze that wouldn't lift.

Ji Jian-ci secretly looked into his background and discovered that he had been adopted.

Damn, his heart ached. It really fucking hurt.

So Ji Jian-ci found all kinds of ways to take him out for good food and fun, and to ask about his likes and dislikes.

Just as he had finally managed to cheer the boy up, the Lin family's real young master was found.

When Ji Jian-ci heard Lin Qinghuai had been kicked out, he said nothing.

He found Lin Qinghuai by the river. He didn't notice the giant fried squid in Lin Qinghuai's hand. He rushed over and pulled him into a tight embrace.

After holding him for who knows how long, Lin Qinghuai's voice sounded by his ear: "If you don't let go soon, I'm really going to starve to death."

-

After the real young master returned, everyone at the company learned Lin Qinghuai's identity. One day, a department head working overtime passed the break room and accidentally saw two overlapping figures reflected in the glass.

He looked closer. The one holding someone in his arms and kissing him was none other than Ji Jian-ci, famous for turning cold without a second thought.

And the one meekly being kissed was his own usually aloof direct report, Lin Qinghuai.

Reading Guide

1. A straight man gets turned gay; marriage first, love later. A quiet but tenaciously surviving straight-man bottom x a wife-doting, old-fashioned, scheming top. The top is always worrying about his darling, his baby, his wife! Apart from the top, not a single person thinks the bottom is a poor little thing, including the bottom himself!

2. The romance is pure sweetness, a fluffy little treat. All the main characters are good people. The top and bottom have a somewhat consensual non-consensual relationship. The bottom is like: "Even though we've helped each other out, we're still best buddies!"

3. The bottom has an ex-girlfriend he dated for a month, but she gets very, very little page time. He never loved her, and they only held hands. The top is a virgin. Extreme purity fans, please steer clear.

Next book: After the Down-and-Out Fake Young Master Is Taken in by His Ex. Blurb:

Wen Jin was the most pampered young master in a wealthy family. He was talented and handsome, and everyone adored him.

His family had spoiled him since childhood, making him willful and arrogant.

Then, at the age of twenty-four, the butler brought home another young man.

Only then did Wen Jin learn that he was the fake young master, switched at birth.

Kicked out of the Wen family, Wen Jin had nowhere to go. In the middle of a stormy night, his car got a flat tire.

Just as he thought he would be stuck in the rain all night, an umbrella opened over his head.

Beneath it stood his ex, whom he hadn't seen in years, now mature and cold.

Back then, Wen Jin had been willful and arrogant, taking advantage of Cheng Songyan's gentle, forgiving nature to do whatever he pleased. He never thought he would really break up with Cheng Songyan.

But they still broke up.

Now the man stood before him with a dark expression, looking down at him and saying coldly, "So this is what you've come to."

-

Cheng Songyan had transformed from a poor student into the president of a publicly traded company.

People said he was ruthless in business and never went easy on anyone. He hated arrogant rich kids most of all.

If anyone was more arrogant than Wen Jin, they had yet to be born.

Wen Jin thought Cheng Songyan would kick him while he was down. Instead, Cheng Songyan reached out, pulled the drenched Wen Jin into his arms, and took him home.

Wen Jin was proud and sensitive about saving face. Even when Cheng Songyan carried him and dumped him into the bathtub, he still refused to give in, until Cheng Songyan wordlessly started unfastening his pants.

After his bath, Cheng Songyan told him to come to the study.

A marriage agreement lay on the desk. The man stared at his collarbone and said, "Sign it, and I'll help you get everything back."

Wen Jin signed without hesitation.

Everyone said he had been spoiled and lacked the ability to take over the family business.

But only Cheng Songyan knew how ambitious he was.

-

Wen Jin signed readily and skimmed the contract, missing the "Duties of Both Parties" at the end:

1. Neither party may refuse any normal physical contact within the marriage.

2. Neither party may associate with anyone they have a flirtatious relationship with.

3. Neither party may stay out all night.

4. Neither party may sleep in a separate bed.

5. Neither party may drink with other men.

Wen Jin thought Cheng Songyan would still indulge him like he used to.

Only after they married did he realize that his former daddy-like boyfriend was gone for good, replaced by...

When Cheng Songyan smelled unfamiliar perfume on him, he stripped him bare, carried him into the bathtub, and bathed with him, nearly making him pass out.

When he saw Wen Jin talking to a former flirtation at a party, Cheng Songyan watched him silently all night, then finally dragged him away in front of everyone.

Soon everyone in business knew that President Cheng, who hated rich kids, had married the fake young master of the Wen family, an arrogant, overbearing brat. His possessiveness and controlling nature were terrifying.

But only Wen Jin knew that, despite his outward defiance, he secretly enjoyed it.

He wanted money, and lots and lots of love.

Theme: Create a better life through your own hard work.