On Reforming Your Arranged Marriage Partner

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[My next upcoming story is "The Stand-In Pursuer Says, 'Thanks, But I'm Done'", a showbiz romance with a pursuit-and-regret arc: a gentle, devoted stand-in pursuer x an insecure, gloomy, affection-starved patron. If you're interested, please add it to your favorites!]

[About the comments saying "the pursuer and pursued are up to interpretation": this refers to the secondary couple in the bonus chapters. The main couple's roles are fixed, everyone! (Falls to my knees in tears, please don't get the wrong idea.)]

An emotionally overthinking yet resilient, outwardly cold and inwardly warm college-age pursuer x an older, career-driven, strictly professional Imperial general pursued

Keris x Nuhela

A space opera about an imperial general and a noble military academy student.

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One night, college student Ke Qiao transmigrates into a high-tech space empire and becomes the noble Keris.

Keris had been hoping to lie flat, but then he finds out he's going to be betrothed to Nuhela, an Imperial general. Even worse, Nuhela is also his professor at the military academy!

New to this world and with no one to rely on, Keris can only marry Nuhela with tears in his eyes and sincerely pray that they'll get divorced soon.

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Most of the time, General Nuhela is quite kind to his students... except that he's especially strict with his teaching assistant, Keris. For instance, if Keris does anything less than perfectly, Nuhela will point it out right away, without mercy.

Under the sympathetic gazes of everyone around him, Keris stares at the professor at the lectern with a grim expression and says nothing.

That night, Nuhela, who usually wears an immaculate uniform, is sitting on a soft bed in nothing but a loosely draped bathrobe.

He looks helplessly at the young man nearby, who has turned his back on him with a sulky expression, and gently tries to coax him. "Keris, I was wrong... Stay here and sleep with me tonight, okay?"

Keris turns around and glares angrily at Nuhela. Then he catches sight of Nuhela's ample chest, just visible beneath the bathrobe, and the deliberately submissive way he's acting...

Keris is speechless. Keris's anger fades. Keris climbs back into bed beside Nuhela with a scowl.

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[Seventh Army Rules of Conduct]

1. Don't mess with General Nuhela.

2. Don't mess with Secretary Keris, either.

3. If you're unlucky enough to anger General Nuhela, we recommend going to Secretary Keris for help.

It was just another ordinary day when Keris came across a post like this on the Seventh Army's internal forum. Everyone in the comments was enthusiastically discussing whether the rules were practical. Keris forwarded the post to the other person involved, Nuhela, and was surprised to get a quick reply.

[Nuhela: Makes sense.]

[Nuhela: I really am henpecked.]

Keris: ? Who's the henpecked one?

Next upcoming story: "The Stand-In Pursuer Says, 'Thanks, But I'm Done'"

A gentle, devoted stand-in pursuer who fights his way into showbiz x an insecure, gloomy, affection-starved patron who's generous with his money

Li Yang x Xu Qingze

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Li Yang got into the entertainment industry thanks to a face that looked 70 to 80 percent like that of movie star You He. He debuted as a member of a boy band under an entertainment company owned by the Xu Group.

Back when Li Yang was still a nobody, his manager called him in. From then on, he became Xu Qingze's secret lover.

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Xu Qingze was colder than Li Yang had expected the first time they met. He only said, "You look like him, but you're not him."

Li Yang knew perfectly well that Xu Qingze had found him to be a stand-in. They didn't talk about love, just took what they each needed: Li Yang wanted money and fame, while Xu Qingze wanted someone by his side who could pretend to be You He.

He and Xu Qingze were compatible in bed and got along well enough in everyday life... Just as Li Yang thought things could continue like that for a long time, You He made a comeback.

Xu Qingze's love, which had lasted for years, finally had somewhere to go. He decided to be brave one more time and confess his feelings to You He. Knowing a counterfeit could never compare to the real thing, Li Yang took the initiative to leave.

As he said goodbye to the patron he'd been with for three years, Li Yang smiled as warmly as ever. "Xu Qingze, I hope you'll be happy and have everything go your way from now on."

But why wasn't Xu Qingze smiling, now that he'd gotten what he wanted?

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Li Yang's boy band disbanded. After finishing his remaining work, he posted a farewell letter on social media announcing his retirement from the industry, then went home alone with a suitcase and a computer.

He had no idea what a storm he'd set off by leaving. Xu Qingze cursed out everyone on Li Yang's team, then abandoned everything and went to find Li Yang like a madman.

On a stormy night, the urgent sound of knocking woke Li Yang from his sleep. He opened the door carefully, only for Xu Qingze, cold all over and soaked by the rain, to throw himself into his arms. Soft lips covered Li Yang's shocked protest...

When the kiss ended, Xu Qingze's trembling hand reached for the face he'd longed for day and night. Almost pleading, he said, "...I was wrong! Come back to me, Li Yang!"

"You're not him. You're the only one I love."

Content warnings:

1. Younger pursuer, 13-year age gap: 22 x 35. They can both live a long time, so the age difference doesn't make much of a difference.

2. Both are sexually inexperienced. The pursued is because he wasn't interested in sex before (gestures). Neither the pursuer nor the pursued had dated before marriage, whether in their original lives or after transmigrating.

3. They're not a typical equally matched couple. I can only guarantee the pursuer isn't weak in bed, not that everyone will enjoy this. People with extreme character preferences, please don't read. The writing is silly and the logic is nonexistent. My sincere apologies if you can't get through it; feel free to stop reading.

4. This is purely a space opera, with no insectoid races or similar settings. The pursuer and pursued accommodate each other in the early stages, then dote on each other later. The main plot is interwoven with their everyday life.

5. The small-print section is dialogue from the TV series Undercover. I thought it fit perfectly, so I used it.

Theme: Love can overcome all obstacles