He was… the villain in the novel, the second male lead!
The main female character was the second male lead's childhood crush, but she had fallen in love with the wealthy main male lead. Since the second male lead lost the love of his life, it had triggered his dark side. He kept interfering between the male lead and the female lead, creating all sorts of tragic situations. In the end, the author had killed off the second male lead by having him commit suicide.
When Su Jiu had read the novel, she had been furious.
The author hated the second male lead so much that she had tormented him for the sake of it!
He was an illegitimate child who had been shunned; he had to live with his mother. He led a tough life and suffered a lot. His mother was also sickly and could not take good care of him, so he had to shoulder all the burdens from a young age.