CEO, How Could You Fall for Your Stand-In!

[The main story is complete. For various reasons, I haven't had time to write the bonus chapters yet, but I'll add them later!] Top: Xie Sui, who acts like a gentleman but is rotten to the core × Bottom: Lu Mingwei, a powerful man reborn and intent on enjoying life [One-on-one, happy ending] Ever since hiring a new assistant, Xie Sui had noticed that the company's employees looked at him strangely. At work, he was always hearing them whisper: "How could President Xie hire someone who looks like President Lu as his assistant?" "The substitute looks so much like President Lu, in both looks and personality. Could this be some kind of romance scam?" "I guess we were wrong about President Xie. It's only been a few years since President Lu died, and he's already moved on!" Xie Sui ignored all the gossip and simply continued to take exceptional care of his substitute assistant. He not only had the substitute move into his home, but personally looked after his meals and daily needs. He was so lovestruck that he even wanted to give all his assets and shares to the substitute. When the employees of Mingsheng heard the news, they let out a piercing shriek: President Xie, how could you fall in love with a substitute? Mingsheng was President Lu's life's work. Now you want to use it to curry favor with a substitute? How can you face President Lu? But Xie Sui stubbornly insisted, "Quiet. I can tell for myself whether he's a substitute." Employees: ... Oh no, Mingsheng really is going to be ruined this time! . In his past life, Lu Mingwei worked diligently for Mingsheng, only to die of illness at the age of twenty-eight. When he opened his eyes again, he had arrived eight years in the future and been reborn as a penniless man. To pay off the original host's debts, Lu Mingwei was forced to conceal his identity and return to Mingsheng, where he became an assistant to his former student, Xie Sui, now Mingsheng's CEO. On his first day at work, he heard his colleagues eagerly gossiping about the epic romance between Xie Sui and himself in his past life. Lu Mingwei, the person in question: ? Lu Mingwei gritted his teeth and continued working as Xie Sui's assistant, but things soon took a strange turn. At a business dinner, worried about Xie Sui's stomach, he stepped in to take a drink for him, only for Xie Sui to snatch the glass away and shield him. At work, when other executives criticized his proposal, Xie Sui argued with them all to defend Lu Mingwei's plan. In their daily lives, Xie Sui complained that his rented apartment was too shabby and invited him to move into the master bedroom of his own home. It wasn't long before word of the two of them always coming and going together spread throughout Mingsheng. The colleagues' pure-love romance had now become melodramatic fiction about a kept man who couldn't restrain himself after his beloved died, falling for a seductively wicked substitute. The rumors grew more and more convincing, until even Lu Mingwei began to wonder: Could Xie Sui really have fallen for me, his substitute? The more Lu Mingwei thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He packed his bags in the middle of the night, ready to run, but the moment he opened the door, Xie Sui caught him red-handed. Xie Sui stood in the doorway like a stray dog. "Teacher, isn't this our home? Where are you going?" Lu Mingwei was stunned. "You recognized me?" Xie Sui said, "Every day since we reunited, you've been unconsciously showing me through your actions that you're still you. So if you're leaving this time, can I come with you?" Seeing Xie Sui's pitiful expression, Lu Mingwei's heart softened. He stayed, continued being Xie Sui's assistant, continued living with him, continued letting Xie Sui take care of him... and continued letting Xie Sui coax him into the master bedroom bed. Only after falling onto the bed did Lu Mingwei finally realize something was off. He smacked Xie Sui's face. "You pretended to be pitiful just to trick me? I thought you saw me as your teacher, but you see me as your wife?" Xie Sui kissed his palm. "Teacher, aren't you enjoying it too?" Here's a preview of an upcoming fantasy danmei novel. Readers who are interested are welcome to add it to their collections! I Tricked an NPC into Falling for Me, and Now He's at My Door Liang Shige (top) × Xi Jia (bottom) (Title and blurb still in progress) . Xi Jia was a devoted fan of the farming game Endless Land. One morning, he woke up to discover that he could travel freely between the game and the real world. At the thought of living in the game's huge mansion and petting all the fluffy animals he'd raised, Xi Jia was beside himself with excitement. He couldn't wait to enter the game world, but discovered that this version of Endless Land was a little strange. "Ding! The System has detected that mutated creatures have invaded Endless Land. Please protect your home!" ...What mutated creatures? Wasn't this a farming game? Xi Jia had no weapons and had just entered the game when he was surrounded and attacked by a group of extremely powerful mutated creatures. At the critical moment, Xi Jia fell into a man's arms. The man took every attack for him, then gazed at him tenderly. "Sweetheart, why aren't you home yet at this hour?" Xi Jia: ... He'd almost forgotten that he'd just married a male NPC in the game! . Liang Shige was an extremely popular NPC in Endless Land. Not only was his character model perfect, but he was also a master farmer. Xi Jia coveted Liang Shige's labor, giving him gifts every day to raise his affection level. Last month, he finally became the first player in the world to marry Liang Shige. After they married, Liang Shige could not only guard the house, but also always looked at Xi Jia with loving eyes. Xi Jia, a straight man, felt guilty for tricking Liang Shige into falling for him, but couldn't bring himself to confess. So he wrote code himself to give Liang Shige a power boost, while also forcing himself to pretend they were a loving couple. It was only hand-holding and little kisses. He could put up with it! Until one late night, Liang Shige pinned Xi Jia down on the bed and said he wanted to get more intimate. This time, Xi Jia couldn't keep pretending. Terrified, he logged out on the spot and didn't dare enter the game world for several days. A few days later, Xi Jia came home from work and discovered that Liang Shige had crawled straight out of his computer screen. Xi Jia was distraught. "Why did you come looking for me?" Liang Shige's gaze grew dangerous. "Sweetheart, I couldn't wait for you to come home, so I had to come get you myself." . After accidentally awakening, Liang Shige discovered that he was merely an NPC in a game world. But Liang Shige believed that he and his world were real. To fight off the mutated creatures, he needed to find someone in the real world to help him. It didn't take long for Liang Shige to set his sights on the "player," Xi Jia. He knew Xi Jia was a programmer. Since this was a game world, perhaps a programmer could help them fight off their enemies. So Liang Shige used marriage to bind Xi Jia to him, and Xi Jia did not disappoint. The cheat code he created proved very effective against the mutated creatures. But whenever Liang Shige saw Xi Jia blush while holding his hand or felt his heartbeat quicken when they kissed, he couldn't help feeling that he had betrayed Xi Jia's sincere feelings. He tried to make it up to him by pushing their relationship forward, but Xi Jia panicked, logged out, and disappeared. Only afterward did Liang Shige realize: Was it possible that Xi Jia didn't like him at all, and had only wanted to freeload on his labor? Liang Shige: ... Fine. If Xi Jia didn't like him, then so be it. He was only acting too... Acting, my foot! Liang Shige snapped the spatula he'd used to cook for Xi Jia. "You don't like me? Too late!" Because it seemed he had truly fallen for Xi Jia :) Theme: Face life's challenges with courage.