Regression Period [Younger Man]

[Column pre-release: Poverty Syndrome [Younger Man], a benefactor (female lead) and a poor student (Yes, I changed the pre-release story back again. This one really gives me more ideas.) See the pre-release blurb at the bottom.]

[New serial: Nonhuman, How to Raise a Little Monster into a Big Monster]

Blurb

The story begins with a spur-of-the-moment act of revenge.

*

The day after her mother died, Chu Zhao was taken in by the former employer of her mother, Mrs. Yue.

The Yue family had a young master who was younger than her. He was beautiful, quiet, and aloof, uninterested in everything around him. The only exception was following Chu Zhao around and calling her "Big Sister."

And so Chu Zhao and Yue Duo grew up together. For years, Chu Zhao seemed perfectly willing to be Yue Duo's around-the-clock caretaker, taking care of everything for him.

Until one day, after drinking, Chu Zhao acted on an impulse and decided to take revenge.

Revenge on Mrs. Yue's years of control, revenge on a life she had no say in.

She kissed him, taking advantage of his complete trust in her to drag him, still innocent and uncomprehending, into the sensual world of love and desire.

From then on, everything spiraled out of control.

*

Before that, he didn't understand love. He only knew that as long as his big sister was by his side, everything was fine.

Afterward, he fell completely into pure pleasure and possessiveness, becoming addicted to "pleasure" and hooked on his big sister.

*

Chu Zhao was deeply guilty and ashamed. She soothed Yue Duo with endless concessions and indulgence, paying for her wrongdoing.

At last, she decided to leave the Yue family.

Later, she became Mr. Song's fiancee.

When she returned to the Yue house to pack, Yue Duo knelt and begged her through tears not to leave. He even wanted them to die together.

"Do you think I would care if you died?" she said.

*

The day before the wedding, Chu Zhao received Yue Duo's obituary.

On her wedding day, Chu Zhao received the belongings Yue Duo had sent her.

*

Some time after the wedding.

"You look awful. Have you not been sleeping well?"

Chu Zhao lowered her eyes and stirred her hot milk. "It's strange. Lately, whenever I fall asleep at night, I keep feeling like something is watching me from beside the bed."

*

Reading guide:

1. The male lead is genuinely mentally ill. He has atypical high-functioning autism and an unusual personality. He will improve later with medication, counseling, and other treatment. Please don't over-identify with the characters in real life.

2. Written for my personal tastes: a tale of love and hate, with many melodramatic elements. Strong warning.

3. The story takes place after the characters are adults. The female lead is three years older than the male lead, and they are not registered in the same household.

4. Some place and brand names in the story are fictional.

5. The male lead isn't dead.

Pre-release blurb

In the first year of their marriage, Jiang Ruoyun's husband committed a massive financial crime and jumped to his death to escape punishment.

Jiang Ruoyun was forced to shoulder an enormous debt. Unless something unexpected happened, she would spend the rest of her life paying it off for him.

One snowy night, heavily pregnant, Jiang Ruoyun sat in the snow, with nowhere to go.

A limping man walked toward her and draped a warm coat over her shoulders. She looked up and saw a face that had lost its youthful innocence but was still beautiful.

The man smiled at her, his eyes curving just as they had many years ago. "Big Sister, I'll take you home."

*

Song Zhizhang was tall, strong, and handsome. He was also the only person in their village to get into college.

Unfortunately, the mountains had no need for college graduates.

Deep in the mountains, there were many unspeakable traditions, such as offering a "beauty" to the mountain god. The so-called mountain god was an old geezer.

Educated and proud, Song Zhizhang refused to let himself suffer such humiliation.

One night, he escaped from the mountains.

The big city dazzled with lights and glittering jewelry. It was his first time there, and he had only thirty yuan on him.

He knew nothing and could do nothing, and was tricked into working as a drinking companion at a bar.

His first client was Jiang Ruoyun, a woman whose every movement brimmed with charm.

He clumsily poured her a drink.

She asked him, "Do you know how to read?"

He nodded, nervously gripping the hem of his clothes.

Jiang Ruoyun smiled. "Good. Read to me."

And so he read her In the Loss of Freedom all night.

The next day, Jiang Ruoyun told him there was a dog hole in the alley behind the bar. She handed him a business card. "If you manage to get out, call the number on this card."

Song Zhizhang summoned his courage and crawled out through that humiliating hole. He wandered the streets for a long time before a kind stranger took him to a shelter. A staff member asked him about his family.

Song Zhizhang pulled the sweat-soaked business card from his clothes and handed it to the staff member.

*

Jiang Ruoyun helped the police dismantle the hideout of Shangchuan City's largest criminal organization, earning major merit.

After completing her assignment, she returned to the university and continued working as an ordinary professor.

A former colleague got in touch with her, saying that a young man named "Song Zhizhang" was looking for her.

Jiang Ruoyun met him, took him out to eat, bought him clothes, and walked him back to his hotel.

At the hotel, Song Zhizhang knelt and clung to her leg. "I won't take your things for nothing."

Jiang Ruoyun looked at his stubborn, handsome face and almost laughed. "What do you want to do?"

Having picked things up by osmosis at the bar, Song Zhizhang thought city people all liked that sort of thing. "I... I'm healthy, and I'm clean."

Jiang Ruoyun frowned and earnestly told him to focus on his studies.

After that, she only paid for his schooling and didn't meet him again.

*

Song Zhizhang missed her and often sneaked onto her university campus.

Just seeing her from afar, standing at the lectern, made him feel that was enough for a lifetime.

People are greedy. He began going to see her more and more often. When Jiang Ruoyun found out, she wasn't angry. She just smiled and patted his arm. "Study hard, okay?"

Song Zhizhang gazed at Jiang Ruoyun, his face red, and told the first lie of his life. "Big Sister, high school subjects are too hard. Could you teach me?"

*

One day, after leaving campus, Song Zhizhang was cornered and his left leg was injured. The culprit was one of Jiang Ruoyun's suitors, a man of considerable influence. "A poor kid like you will never be good enough for her, no matter how hard you try. Stay away from her, and don't let me see you again."

Later, Jiang Ruoyun got married. He heard she was very happy.

Song Zhizhang missed her so much that his kneecap hurt whenever he thought of her.

It didn't matter. He had never been a man who shrank from doing whatever it took.

Theme: Have the courage to chase the light in your heart.