Choosing to Be a Mascot Between a Workaholic and a Deadweight

【A shout-out to my friend's novel, 《The Young Master of a Wealthy Family Is Carrying His Big Brother's Baby》 by Tian Yi】 【Beloved, irresistible young master × fiercely competitive crown prince】 Tao Zui looks at his short arms and legs and feels like crying. “Damn you, heavens! I dreamed of transmigrating back to kindergarten, lying flat while crushing everyone as a child prodigy, but not kindergarten in ancient times!” ...Don't even ask whether his double degree in math and finance, overseas education, or Wall Street experience will be any use. He's now a despairing illiterate! Tao Zui is a low-energy person. In the glorious twenty-first century, he worked himself to the bone and finally achieved a little success. In the blink of an eye, he lost everything. He figures he might as well be a useless little waste of space. After growing up happily, Tao Zui can't hold back his strong sense of responsibility and wants to make his parents proud. But his parents kindly reassure him: “Our son only needs to enjoy a peaceful life. If the sky falls, your little brother will hold it up.” Everyone looks at the little brother, who isn't even as tall as a doorstep. He pats his chest like a little man and says in a childish voice, “That's right, Big Brother. I'll hold it up!” Tao Zui: ... At the entrance to the imperial study, Tao Zui returns from vacation without finishing his homework, and is too guilty to go inside. “The teachers at the Imperial College can't bear to hit me, but the tutor in the imperial study doesn't care which high-ranking official my father is.” The crown prince holds back a laugh and drags his young study companion inside. Tao Zui watches the princes line up obediently to get their palms smacked. When it's his turn, he tremblingly holds out his hand. The old man strokes his long beard and glares at him. “Don't let it happen again.” Tao Zui: ? “By the way, does the mascot still not know he's the mascot?” 【A little note before you read】(Good heavens, this is hilarious. The blurb screenshot dates from before 2025.09.15.) 1. Sweet and satisfying, doted on by everyone, becomes irresistible later on, and the protagonist is liked by all. 2. There's a scene where the love interest mistakes the protagonist for his cousin, but they aren't related. 3. I'm terrible at logic, so please don't scrutinize the details. Here's a preview of my next historical novel. Please add it to your reading list, pretty please! It's a story about a shameless emperor pursuing a high-minded, thin-skinned minister! Wenren Jin rubs his temples, worrying that perhaps he's imagining things. Ever since the palace examinations that day, he's sensed that the emperor seems to treat him differently from everyone else. Does the emperor want to promote him? It doesn't seem so. The current emperor is domineering and appoints people without regard to convention. If he really wanted to promote Wenren Jin, why take such a roundabout approach? Only later does Wenren Jin suddenly realize: why would that tyrant treat a subject with such ambiguous, tentative care? He clearly wants to find himself a wife! An emperor's rewards to his ministers are a way of managing them, but why is there an extra gift, secretly hidden in a compartment, that no one else receives? They have an honest, upright relationship as sovereign and subject. What is His Majesty up to?! Wenren Jin turns down his advances again and again. He comes from an honorable family of high birth and has studied the classics since childhood. Though he studied to serve the sovereign, he did not study so he could offer himself to the sovereign! The emperor says he understands and finally stops. But then... Wenren Jin's face turns crimson. He looks at the indecent erotic stories forcibly delivered to his residence as if he'd been humiliated. The main characters in the stories aren't just him. The other one is His Majesty! In the stories, Wenren Jin pushes the emperor away in a way that seems reluctant but inviting, while the emperor gazes at him tenderly and indulges his attempts to escape. They cuddle close, whispering in each other's ears, until the heroic man finally persuades the beauty to say yes... Wenren Jin is so furious he can't even eat. This is utterly shameless! What will become of the royal family's reputation? He should submit a memorial to impeach the author of those stories But what if the person behind this outrageous act is His Majesty himself? What if the suggestive scenes in those stories all come true the next day? Long Aotian ruled the modern world. Then he transmigrated into a book and became an emperor, thinking he'd reached the pinnacle of life. He never expected that in the harsh ancient world he'd have to face treacherous officials from the previous dynasty and intrigues in the harem. Instead of conquering the realm, he has to hold on to it and guard against the original male protagonist's rebellion. Still, the original male protagonist's love interest is just so perfect that it's worth doing anything for him! He coaxes Wenren Jin along, and watches as Wenren Jin gradually becomes more and more indulgent toward him, even letting him steal a kiss now and then. Tsk, a beauty in his arms and all the power in the realm. Oh, and remember to send the original male lead far, far away. A little note before you read: 1. One-on-one romance, both pure, both strong. 2. The love interest is a Long Aotian who transmigrated into a book. This shameless guy takes all the original male lead's storylines and pins them on himself. 3. Domineering, shameless emperor with high attack and defense × thin-skinned, reserved, high-minded minister. 4. The stories are a story within a story within a story. 5. Please don't scrutinize the details. Theme: May we all work hard and have good luck!