Ning Guiqu’s lie about Lu Yuan being the cannon fodder villain was exposed.

When Lu Yuan pressed him about who the real cannon fodder villain was, Ning Guiqu didn’t realize what Lu Yuan had discovered. He stubbornly insisted it was Lu Yuan. Then Lu Yuan showed him something.

Ning Guiqu trembled as he held the paper filled with text.

Lu Yuan reminded him leisurely, “The parts I marked in red are about you being the cannon fodder villain targeting Xu Zhi.”

Ning Guiqu: “……”

His heart turned cold, as if doused with a bucket of Antarctic water. The Lu Yuan from the other world had really thought of everything!

Ning Guiqu wanted to argue further, to say the other world’s Lu Yuan was slandering him.

But then this Lu Yuan spoke again, “I saw our chat history, including your videos targeting Xu Zhi.”

Ning Guiqu’s face turned pale. He sat across from Lu Yuan and placed the paper on the table. Feeling Lu Yuan’s intense gaze, he lowered his head in complete surrender and whimpered pitifully, “It was wrong of me to deceive you. But I didn’t mean to target Xu Zhi. Please don’t tell Song Huai. I don’t want to ruin their relationship.”

Lu Yuan thought to himself that he didn’t plan to tell anyway. If he did, wouldn’t that just make Ning Guiqu break the jar¹The Chinese idiom “破罐子破摔” (pò guàn zi pò shuāi) literally translates to “smashing a cracked pot into pieces.” The idiom describes someone who, upon encountering initial setbacks or making mistakes, deliberately makes things worse through self-destructive behavior rather than trying to improve their situation. It’s comparable to the concept of “throwing in the towel,” but with a stronger emphasis on active self-sabotage. When someone says “别破罐子破摔” (don’t smash the broken pot), they’re essentially urging the person not to compound their misfortunes through reckless abandon but rather to maintain dignity and seek improvement despite setbacks.?

Lu Yuan stared at Ning Guiqu’s bowed head and asked slowly, “What do you plan to do now?”

What could he do?

The lie he made up in the morning didn’t even last until lunch before being exposed! He didn’t have time to think about what to do!

While the little person in Ning Guiqu’s heart raged, he kept his head down and answered obediently, “I’m already married to you, and I’m a person with high moral standards. I won’t cheat. The other Lu Yuan thought the same, that’s why he wanted us to get married.”

Lu Yuan cut straight to the point, “If your moral standards were really that high, would you have targeted Xu Zhi? Would you have stabbed for love?”

Ning Guiqu: “……”

Ning Guiqu clenched his fists. How infuriating! If they weren’t married, would the current Lu Yuan have any chance to criticize him? Despite these thoughts, Ning Guiqu felt guilty about his wrongdoings and didn’t dare to oppose Lu Yuan. He raised his head and explained seriously, “I just lose my mind whenever I see them together. I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way.”

Lu Yuan suddenly met Ning Guiqu’s pitiful gaze and realized just how beautiful his former college roommate was. How had he never noticed during their university days?

Lu Yuan cleared his throat and slightly averted his gaze, continuing his stern questioning, “So you’re clear-headed now?”

Ning Guiqu nodded, “As long as I don’t interact with them, I’m clear-headed.”

Lu Yuan cruelly pointed out, “But you just tried to add Song Huai. When you found out he asked if you could have Xu Zhi as your groomsman, you deleted him in embarrassment and anger.”

Ning Guiqu’s face instantly turned red, feeling embarrassed and angry again. He shot Lu Yuan a fierce glare. Lu Yuan responded with a faint smile.

Ning Guiqu: “……”

Ning Guiqu slumped back in his chair. “Yes, I’m fully aware I’m doing bad things. So what do you want to do? Tell them? If you do, I’ll jump from here! Let your husband die on your wedding day!” He threatened viciously.

Lu Yuan: “……”

Lu Yuan finally revealed his true purpose, “I won’t tell them, but since you don’t want to target him either, there’s only one way to resolve this situation.”

Ning Guiqu frowned and asked, “What way?”

Lu Yuan: “Fall in love with me.”

Ning Guiqu ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I really don’t love you. If I were meant to love you, I would have fallen for you the first day of college.”

The words stabbed sharply at Lu Yuan’s heart.

Yet the Ning Guiqu from the other world had harbored a crush on Lu Yuan since high school. His Ning Guiqu’s heart belonged to someone else.

Lu Yuan maintained his composure, “Haven’t you heard of love after marriage?”

Ning Guiqu was even more direct. “We’re already married, but I still don’t love you.”

Lu Yuan closed his dark eyes.

He had to admit he had a favorable impression of Ning Guiqu. Hearing him repeatedly say he didn’t love him had sparked an urge to lock Ning Guiqu away.

After composing himself, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. Ning Guiqu was staring at him glumly. Lu Yuan stood up.

Ning Guiqu tensed, furtively watching Lu Yuan approach.

“What are you doing?” He growled.

Lu Yuan turned Ning Guiqu’s chair to face him. Ning Guiqu stubbornly remained seated, knowing he wouldn’t be as tall as Lu Yuan even if he stood.

Lu Yuan bent down, placing his hands on both armrests of Ning Guiqu’s chair, effectively trapping him. Ning Guiqu was instantly enveloped by Lu Yuan’s presence. His breath stopped as his eyes darted around, refusing to meet Lu Yuan’s gaze.

Lu Yuan spoke in a low voice, “That’s because we haven’t done what married couples should do. Starting today, we’ll sleep in the same bed under the same blanket, share good morning and good night kisses. Once you start to like me a little, we can have children.”

Ning Guiqu felt his mind short-circuit. What was Lu Yuan saying??

When Ning Guiqu looked up, Lu Yuan had already released the chair and was leaning against the desk.

Ning Guiqu took small breaths, taking a while to recover before saying dazedly, “We probably can’t have children. Unless you have a special constitution that allows you to get pregnant?”

Lu Yuan: “……”

Lu Yuan resisted the urge to mock Ning Guiqu’s comment and said seriously, “The child isn’t important. What’s important is the process of making one.”

Ning Guiqu felt like he was about to combust!

What was Lu Yuan saying?! Were they even that close?! To say such vulgar things!

Lu Yuan continued calmly, “Of course, since we don’t know when you’ll fall for me, we’ll put the baby-making plans on hold for now. But to prevent your tragedy from recurring, I’ll keep a strict watch over you. If you show any concerning tendencies, we’ll start making babies early. Even if our hearts aren’t united yet, we can bind our bodies together first.”

Ning Guiqu: “……”

The blush had spread down to Ning Guiqu’s neck. He looked up at the composed Lu Yuan beside him and mumbled, “Lu Yuan, don’t you even blush saying things like this?”

Lu Yuan’s hands were actually trembling slightly, but he could control himself by not dwelling on what he was saying – because blushing meant no wife.

Lu Yuan: “No.”

As he spoke, Lu Yuan glanced at Ning Guiqu’s face, which was as red as a monkey’s butt. He bent down again, and Ning Guiqu shrank back in his chair, suddenly feeling a warm sensation on his cheek that vanished in an instant.

Ning Guiqu: !!

Ning Guiqu immediately covered his face with his hands.

The perpetrator of this scandalous act pointed to his own cheek, “Your turn. Ning Guiqu, you need to fall for me quickly now. You don’t want to go to jail, right?”

Ning Guiqu’s eyes widened.

He didn’t want to! But! But! How did things progress to the point where he needed to kiss Lu Yuan?

Lu Yuan’s eyes darkened, “You really want to go to jail?”

Ning Guiqu hurriedly leaned forward and pecked Lu Yuan’s cheek.

Lu Yuan immediately stepped away, turning his back.

Ning Guiqu’s head was still spinning, but in his dazed state, he noticed Lu Yuan’s ears had turned red.

Lu Yuan spoke in a muffled voice with his back turned, “After lunch, we’ll move your things from your place.”

Ning Guiqu instinctively asked, “Why?”

Lu Yuan: “If you prefer, I can move to your place instead.”

Ning Guiqu finally understood. This was about officially living together – love after marriage. But—

Ning Guiqu wasn’t stupid. After the heat in his face subsided, he looked at Lu Yuan, who was still facing the window. “Is it just about me loving you? If you don’t love me, and I fall for you, won’t I end up miserable when you eventually fall for someone else?”

It would just be replacing Song Huai with Lu Yuan.

Soon, Lu Yuan’s distinctive deep voice responded, “I already like you now.”

Ning Guiqu: !!!!

Ning Guiqu: !!!!!!!!

He… he likes him?

When did this happen?!

Right, right, Lu Yuan had been to the other world.

Ning Guiqu asked cautiously, “You’re not just in love with the version of me from the other world, are you?”

“No. When I went to that world and learned I had a spouse, I started thinking about you, wondering what you were like, what kind of personality you had. After seeing you today, I realized you were meant to be mine. If you need me to explain what ‘like’ means, it’s that my heart races whenever I see you.”

The inexperienced Ning Guiqu’s heart pounded wildly, his head so dizzy that even Lu Yuan’s silhouette in the distance became blurry.

In that case, in that case! If he fell in love with Lu Yuan, it would be mutual love, and he wouldn’t repeat the tragedy. Falling for Lu Yuan was now urgent!

Author’s Note:

Lu Yuan wasn’t usually this direct, but right now only being straightforward would win him a spouse – being tsundere wouldn’t work.

This concludes “Marriage First, Love Later”. Thank you for reading~

TL Notes

• 1
  The Chinese idiom “破罐子破摔” (pò guàn zi pò shuāi) literally translates to “smashing a cracked pot into pieces.” The idiom describes someone who, upon encountering initial setbacks or making mistakes, deliberately makes things worse through self-destructive behavior rather than trying to improve their situation. It’s comparable to the concept of “throwing in the towel,” but with a stronger emphasis on active self-sabotage. When someone says “别破罐子破摔” (don’t smash the broken pot), they’re essentially urging the person not to compound their misfortunes through reckless abandon but rather to maintain dignity and seek improvement despite setbacks.