The springs of the old three-seater sofa groaned as Lin Cheng shifted his weight. The air in the cramped, dimly lit apartment tasted of dust and medicine. At twenty-three, Lin Cheng's world was the size of this room. While other men his age were chasing dreams, he was counting the beats of a heart that had been failing him since the day he was born.
An orphan with nothing but the fading memory of a car crash and a stack of hospital bills, Lin Cheng lived on the edge of a countdown.
Bzz-bzz.
His phone vibrated. A link from his only friend at the orphanage appeared. "Don't get bored, Cheng. Read this to pass the time. It's wild."
Lin Cheng sighed, his pale fingers hovering over the screen. "Another one of his nonsense pranks?" he muttered, his voice raspy. He almost swiped it away, but the loneliness was heavier than his skepticism. He clicked.
[The Scholar's Fall: A Tale of the Fallen Alpha]
It was an Omegaverse BL novel. Lin Cheng hissed as he read. The protagonist shared his name—Lin Cheng, the first son of the prestigious Minister Lin. This "Lin Cheng" was a waste of skin. He had a loving father, wealth, and a brilliant future as an imperial scholar. But instead of studying for the Imperial Exams to become the King's Advisor, he spent his nights gambling and his days in wine houses.
Then came the "Incident."
A rival had drugged the book's Lin Cheng and a delicate, hardworking Omega named Lu Hang. They were found half-naked in a compromising position. The scandal exploded. The Minister was furious, the Imperial Exam was barred to him, and as punishment, he was forced to marry the "lowly" Lu Hang.
Lin Cheng watched as the book-version of himself treated Lu Hang like trash. Lu Hang, who worked at his grandma's shop by day and a tavern by night just to buy medicine for his sick grandmother, was now being beaten and humiliated by a husband who blamed him for his ruined life.
"You idiot," Lin Cheng coughed, his chest tightening. "You have a family. You have a healthy body. You have a beautiful wife who would do anything for you... and you throw it away?"
He felt a surge of bitter envy. "If I had that life... if I had his heart... I would never let them cry."
Suddenly, a white-hot spike of pain pierced his chest. His phone slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor. The world tilted. Lin Cheng tried to reach for his medicine, but his strength vanished. He collapsed off the sofa, his vision fading into a dark, cold abyss.
The last thing he heard was the steady, silence-shattering stop of his own heart.