The Regret Story’s Male Lead Refuses To Play Along

Synopsis: 

[A righteous, slightly bookish genius disciple gong × an apparently unhinged, possessive ghostly shizun shou]

Qin Youzhou was the most outstanding medical cultivator in all of Yinxiao Sect.

Blessed with an almost immortal beauty, he was gentle, diligent, and endlessly hardworking.

From grafting ginseng and caring for pregnant spirit beasts to healing arts, spellcraft, and swordsmanship, there was nothing he didn’t excel at.

He had lived a steady, down-to-earth life.

In all his years, only two things had ever happened that could be called outrageous.

The first was binding himself to a system on his hundredth birthday, only to learn that he was living inside a novel.

The second…

Was when the master who had raised him—the one who had always been like both a teacher and a father to him—

Kissed him while drunk.

…And even slipped him some tongue!!!

The system informed him that he was the devoted but unfortunate top in a melodramatic “regret-after-the-fact” novel.

In the future, he would pour his heart and soul into his scumbag junior martial brother—

Only to have that very scumbag literally tear out his heart, slaughter his entire sect, and destroy everything he loved.

Yet after Qin Youzhou died, the scumbag regretted everything.

He was reborn to a time before they had ever met and swore he would treat Qin Youzhou well this time.

But this so-called “treating him well”…

Really just meant accepting Qin Youzhou as his devoted simp.

Qin Youzhou: ?

He might be a bookworm.

But he wasn’t an idiot.

Seeing that the scumbag still had three months before officially entering the sect as a disciple, Qin Youzhou decided to act overnight.

His goal was simple:

Get rid of him before he could ever become his junior martial brother.

“Xiao Zhou… where are you going?”

A ghostly voice drifted from behind him.

Qin Youzhou froze.

Slowly, stiffly, he turned his head—

Only to meet the pair of dark, murky phoenix eyes glowing with an eerie emerald light.

His master, Ying Weiye, was a physician who preferred the arts of gu poison over healing.

He acted however he pleased, his methods strange and unpredictable.

Throughout the righteous cultivation world, he was infamous as a scourge among the orthodox sects.

In the original novel, he was an insignificant cannon-fodder villain—

The evil master who stood in the way of the protagonists’ romance.

And yet…

It was this madman who, a century ago, had picked up an infant on the verge of freezing to death in a snowy night.

He gave him the name Youzhou.

He cherished him like a priceless treasure.

He raised him with painstaking care until adulthood.

So Qin Youzhou was absolutely certain of one thing.

He could never betray the master who was like both a father and an elder brother to him.

He would honor and care for him for the rest of his life.

But as the story’s original plot gradually unfolded…

The scumbag junior martial brother did indeed drift farther and farther away from Qin Youzhou.

Yet Ying Weiye’s gaze upon him…

Was no longer as pure as before.

Within those eyes lurked an indescribable desire—

And beneath the madness, painstaking restraint.

This…

Wasn’t right.

When Ying Weiye kissed him, every instinct in Qin Youzhou’s mind screamed at him to resist.

Yet he never pushed him away.

Only when a delicate silver thread stretched between their lips as they parted did he lower his eyes, avoiding Ying Weiye’s gaze.

“…Shizun… you’re drunk.”

Ying Weiye stared at him without blinking.

“I’m not.”

A cool hand gently brushed over Qin Youzhou’s peach blossom eyes, then caressed his cheek before coming to rest against his Adam’s apple.

“I gave you your name.”

“I wrote the person you became…”

The corners of his lips curled upward into a smile—

One so beautiful it looked almost sick.

“Youzhou…”

“Tell me.”

“Why would I allow someone else to take you away from me?”

What Qin Youzhou didn’t know…

Was that he and his master had known each other for far longer than he imagined.

Ying Weiye had painstakingly shaped him with his own heart’s blood.

Then, after Qin Youzhou was stolen away by another and forcibly entangled in a miserable romance—

Ying Weiye searched for him without hesitation.

He rescued him.

When he first created Qin Youzhou, all he had wished for was a child who was sensible, intelligent, and blessed with an abundance of kindness and responsibility.

But later…

His only wish was that the person he loved could live freely—

Without restraint.

From the Gong’s Perspective

#What should I do if Shizun wants to date me?#

#Then… I guess we’ll date. Shizun must have his reasons.#

From the Shou’s Perspective

#The organic little cabbage I raised is about to get stolen by a stupid pig.#

#Forget it. I’d better harvest my cabbage first.#

Before You Read

1. 1v1, mutual love, both are each other’s first love. This is not an everyone-loves-the-protagonist story. It’s a younger-disciple × master romance. The gong is slightly taller than the shou. Both protagonists have personality flaws, and the shou’s flaws are particularly severe. Readers who can’t accept that should proceed with caution.
2. Those who strongly favor one side over the other should read with caution. The gong and shou are deeply devoted to one another and are both willing to give everything for each other.
3. Comments demanding that the shou become the gong, feminizing either protagonist, projecting onto either protagonist, or breaking up the pairing will be deleted. All other comments will remain untouched. Thank you for your understanding.

….

One-Line Summary: Kicks the scumbag junior martial brother to the curb—and ends up happily ever after with his master instead.

Theme: Foster a healthy and positive understanding of love.