12 One: I

Xue Mingyu was born on a bright day. The sun was out and the clouds weren't in sight. His birth was smooth and his mother's recovery was fast. His parents took this as a sign and gave him the name, 'Mingyu'. He was his parents' firstborn and the bright jade of the Xue family, all sights were on him.

He was raised to be obedient and sensible. And he followed through nicely, surprising his relatives with his intelligence and talents at such a young age

At the age of four, his parents gave birth to a pair of twins, both a baby boy and a baby girl. The girl's smile was bright and cute. They rightfully gave the girl her name 'Xiuying'. She was And the boy was named 'Shaoqing'. He was filled with young youthful energy. Both of them were beautiful and added a different feeling of happiness to the family of five.

The three siblings got along nicely and the parents were satisfied with the amount of offspring. But yet again, when Mingyu was seven and Xiuying and Shaoqing were three, the two parents announced that they were once again pregnant.

And that was when Xue Bolin was born. Befitting of his name, the day was quiet and the small drizzle was calming. And again, two years after they had another child, 'Mingzhu' and then for the last time a year later with their last child, 'Zhiqiang'.

As an influenceable family, the standards were set high when it came to the education and abilities of their kin. Xue Mingyu, the firstborn, was naturally skilled and had gained many talents over the years. But because of this, the standards for the younger children were raised to be the same as his.

The first daughter, Xue Xiuying, was both beautiful and smart. She was quick to catch onto the finer details and was talented at using her conversation skills to her advantage. She was seen as the princess of the family and the loving, mature, older sister.

The second son, and the twin brother of Xiuying, Shaoqing, was an energetic and wild young man. He did what he wanted and when he wanted. He went to parties all night and came back home late. But besides that, he was a very smart and capable boy. Once he grew into an adult, he stood by Xue Mingyu's side as a loyal worker and became a large viable piece of the company.

The third son, Xue Bolin, was a boy who grew to look up to his older siblings, who seemed to live in a world of their own. After always being told to be like his older brother Mingyu he had grown into a strange relationship with him. He loved his older brother and looked up to him for his talent in business and for the insights he was able to see. But at the same time, being compared to others for so long can make someone bitter against that person. And Bolin was just like that. He wanted his dear brother to notice him, but he also wanted to surpass him. He wanted the same attention that Mingyu was given by his parents to be given to him as well.

The second daughter, Mingzhu, had a similar situation. Xue Mingzhu was constantly overshadowed by her older sister Xiuying. She was not as good as Xiuying when it came to almost all aspects. Although Mingzhu was beautiful, she was not up to par with her sister, who had everyone enchanted with her. She was not talented at the arts, nor was she academic as smart. She was shy and had trouble communicating with others, which made her a downer at family gatherings. And just like Bolin, she too, grew bitter at the older siblings.

Zhiqiang was a different case. At the age of three, during his yearly birthday banquet to celebrate his birth, a drunken stranger showed up saying that he was the father of the boy.

After that day it was revealed that the mother was in an affair and committed adultery. The younger son and daughter were not the offspring of the father for the other four children. Enraged by the woman's long-lasting side relationship, the father kicked the three out of the household to live with the stranger. But because of the mother's begging and the mercifulness of the father, he allowed the youngest son to stay and live a happy rich life, unlike his mother and sister.

Unlike what his mother wanted for him, Xue Zhiqiang did not live a peaceful life. He lived in the Xue household for his whole life. But only for the first three years of his life was he treated like an actual son of the Xue's. He was constantly mistreated and ignored as a child. Growing up he wasn't any better at social situations than his other sister Mingzhu. He was shy and had no good parental figures in his life.

Xue Zhiqiang knew the truth about his mother and father while growing up. But because he was living in the Xue household, the only family that he saw as his own was the Xue family.

They did not treat him right, and he knew that. But as a child who grew on nothing, that love that he was able to see on the sidelines became something special to him. He still thought of the Xue household as his home and the older four childrens' father as his father.

He was attention-starved and naive. He fell for the same lies over and over again. But because he thought of them as family, he didn't see any reason to change.

Xue Bolin took advantage of this innocence. He verbally abused the boy and manipulated him into doing whatever he wanted. His own bitterness towards his family became his valid excuse to put down others. The feeling of having the younger boy work hard to please him made him feel special. It gave him a feeling of attendance that he wasn't able to attain from his parents. It was sickening, but once it was thought more deeply into, he became more of an ignorant child who doesn't know any better.

Once Bolin had grown up, he left the household and Xue Zhiqiang who lived with him. He had become an adult and the ways of the world had matured him. The thoughtless arrogance and orders for Xue Zhiqiang turned into behavior similar to the rest of the family. Cold and superior. They never said anything out of line but instead treated him the same someone would to a passing stranger. Except that the looks that they gave him put him off. Cold, but not out of hatred, but out of annoyance. They all were wondering why there was a need for him to be there. And why he was able to live in their room for free. They all thought he had it easy.

The other three children never talked to the boy, their father had advised them not to. But as children, the thought on what's wrong and what's right isn't there. This leniency created the problem that they had today.

The story started when Xue Zhiqiang turned sixteen. The closed-eyed boy was still young and naive. He followed Xue Bolin like a lost dog and listened to his beck and call. It was a pathetic sight to see, but at the same time, no one cared enough to stop it.

Xue Bolin was eighteen at the time and was soon turning nineteen, the age where he would move out. He wasn't as excited and willing to fool around with Xue Zhiqiang as he used to but instead suited for the occasional order to entertain him. He called it, 'shooing off the dog'.

At his age, many others were able to recognize his talents and he shined brighter than he had years ago. He had many more followers and people who were more than willing to replace Xue Zhiqiang. He had more people willing to serve him to take advantage of his young arrogance.

These people were capable. But they were not as loyal. Despite that, Xue Bolin was eager to replace the fool of a boy and was more inclined towards the people who would benefit him in gaining more power for himself.

Xue Bolin was a very important person to Xue Zhiqiang. Xue Bolin knew this and still abandoned him. To Zhiqiang, Xue Bolin was his brother. The closest brother that he would ever be able to have any sibling relationship with. The years had worn down his mind and the only thing holding it together was Xue Bolin. He hadn't known how weak his mind was, he wouldn't know how it would feel to have a stable mind in the first place. So when Xue Bolin left Xue Zhiqiang behind, that sting on his mind snapped.

Some would say it's a relief while others would say it's a pity. The way that the child was ruined in the mind wasn't admired, nor was it meant to be romanticized. Broken was broken. Others say that it was a shame that the boy lost his mind, while others said that it was a relief that the boy got away. Others said that it was a shame that Xue Bolin lost a loyal follower, while others said that it was a relief that the man had lost a pawn.

Xue Zhiqiang was a pitiful boy. At the age of seventeen, he swore to make his family suffer for his losses. He studied hard and worked even harder. His efforts shone after time and he was recognized as an acceptable young man.

But his young life plagued his mind. The time where he was weak and impotent, useless and naive. These thoughts drove his mind into an obsession with revenge. It's said that those who live for revenge exchange it for their morality. This case was a perfect example.

But even besides that, Xue Zhiqiang was the protagonist of this story. He face slapped and ruined reputations. He grew his own business with his own hands. And he grew to be loved by multiple women.

But the odds and ends didn't add up. The ending was too perfect and the protagonist didn't deserve it. The sudden change in personalities. The problemed family trope. The overused nonsensical revenge plot. The harem was added to please the audience. None of it made sense. None of it was plausible.

Xue Zhiqiang didn't grow, nor did he develop a character. He was never able to move on from the past and grow as a person. Instead, he thrived on the sick sense of ruining another man and his family who he used to hold close. Xue Bolin and his siblings didn't learn the wrongs of their ways nor were they forgiven. Instead, they were plotted against and thrown into prison for fighting back. They cried and begged for mercy only for the merciless protagonist to leave them there to rot. The mother came back afterword of her son's success, only to be treated the same as the protagonist treated anyone else. He was unsparing and refused to forgive his mother for abandoning him.

The story was cliche and was a genre people passed on for years. Yet the only reason it was still used was because of the satisfaction in watching the protagonist skim through evildoers like he would with swatting flies.

But Boss Lu thought differently. Boss Lu, also known as Protagonist #934, was the protagonist of this story. Back when he was a naive boy just like Xue Zhiqiang. Back when he was no different. When he was a mindless protagonist who never knew of his real purpose. He lived according to how it was set up beforehand. Those memories were fuzzy to Boss Lu. The time had taken its toll and had taken the clearness of his memories. But he still knew of these times, he still knew of this story along with many others.

And now that he was given the chance to change it, no way would Boss Lu let it go.

That story from back then was about how the naive boy from before overthrows the people who suppressed him throughout his whole life. Where he grew from a lonely boy into a man with many followers. But Boss Lu wanted a different story. He selfishly wanted to make one of his own. One where the ending was satisfying to him, one where the storyline followed his needs. One where Boss Lu was no longer a protagonist. But instead a human. A human with freedoms and rights. Where they can choose their own path and ending. He was data that longed to be human.

And because he wants it to, he'll make this story different.