Xu Shenqing is the ‘devoted second male lead’ in a novel.

He is handsome, excels in academics, and is great at cooking, playing ball, and playing the ‘nice guy’. Every morning, he rides his bike to buy his roommates steamed buns—three for two dollars—from the campus gate.

But simultaneously, he is responsible for acting as the ‘flavor enhancer’ between the Protagonist (Top) and the Protagonist (Bottom). He must hand over his umbrella when the Protagonist (Bottom) is caught in a rainstorm and offer warmth and concern when they are sad—only to be rejected as a matter of course in the end.

It is all very formulaic, but Xu Shenqing has no other choice. He plays a ‘passerby A’ in this bustling world of romance, only occasionally feeling weary.

Though playing the devoted second lead every day isn’t easy, it’s alright—he has a brother.

His best friend, Wei Jin, is handsome, rich, an all-around cool guy, and incredibly loyal.

When Xu Shenqing hands his umbrella to the Protagonist, Wei Jin holds an umbrella over him to block the rain and pats his shoulder while sharing half an ice cream.

When Xu Shenqing acts discouraged by rejection, Wei Jin sighs loudly, looking truly sorry for him, and takes him to the French restaurant by the school gate.

When Xu Shenqing is tossing and turning over a text message (actually, he just can’t sleep because he drank too much Luckin Coffee), Wei Jin stays up to drink with him in silence. The night breeze seems to make his best friend’s gaze look just as sorrowful.

More than once, Xu Shenqing has marveled that having Wei Jin as a brother is enough for one lifetime.

Until one day, Xu Shenqing finally reaches the end of his exhausting, repetitive second lead task. He pretends to be heartbroken over his ‘lost love’ and gets dead drunk.

He was just about to lose consciousness—the wine was so fragrant and the night breeze so cool—when he felt Wei Jin’s body temperature, which was terrifyingly hot. The grip on his shoulder was tight, and Wei Jin’s smile was an act of forced, unrestrained ease:

“Hey… could you consider me instead?”

Xu Shenqing couldn’t hold it in, he almost choked on his wine.

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