My Back Up Boyfriend is a Mafia Boss

My boyfriend was a comedian.

After we broke up, I blocked him on WhatsApp, and he had the audacity to message me on Zhihu, pretending to run a romance scam.

"Hey, dear friend, do you want to get rich overnight?"

I stared at the string of rose emojis that followed, my expression frozen for two seconds.

"Hey, who are you?" "Dear friend, my name is David, from New York..."

I let out a cold laugh. "Kolton, next time you try to scam someone, change your profile signature first."

The first time I met Kolton was at a live comedy show.

He was the performer, and I was in the audience.

Kolton was the last to come on stage, delivering a ten-minute set about never having been in a relationship.

The jokes were rapid-fire, and the crowd was in stitches, except for me, sitting there stiffly and formally.

The day before the show, I had just broken up with my boyfriend of several months.

He said I was too strong-willed and not feminine enough.

I retorted that he relied on me too much when things got tough, not manly at all.

We mutually decided to part ways, and my best friend, seeing I was upset, gave me a ticket to the show to cheer me up.

Perhaps my expressionless demeanor was too conspicuous, because before the show ended, Kolton suddenly started interacting with me on stage: "Ma'am, you look like a sponsor whose money just went down the drain, and everyone around is just here to boost my value."

I stared at his fluffy, boyish hair for two seconds. "Really? Then how much are you worth?

Let's see if I can afford it."

The atmosphere exploded, and the crowd began clapping, cheering, and whistling.

Kolton was momentarily stunned, his bravado faltering.

"I'm here for the jokes, not for sale."

I finally laughed. "A handsome guy doing stand-up? What a waste of your face."

After we got together, Kolton mentioned that day, telling me he fell for me at first sight.

"Everyone was laughing so happily, but you sat there, looking like you'd just lost a million-dollar deal."

"But after just a few words, you had me laughing so hard my face turned red."

I didn't believe him. "You fell for me at first sight, yet I had to be the one to pursue you and confess?"

Kolton hesitated for a long time before whispering in my ear, "I was afraid you'd say I was using my public persona to... gain fans."

He said the last two words so softly, his ears turning red before he finished.

I looked at him incredulously, then said meaningfully, "You're quite... shameless."

This was my fifth year hustling in Hoshauvania, breaking through in the workplace and getting promoted to management.

My salary doubled, and I could finally move out of my shared nine-square-meter room into a larger one-bedroom apartment.

Meanwhile, my boyfriend Kolton was a stand-up comedian struggling to make a name for himself.

After a year in the industry, he hadn't appeared on any variety shows, maintaining a schedule of two to three live performances a month, earning just enough to get by in Hoshauvania.

So, in the third month of our relationship, I asked him to move in with me.

Kolton insisted on splitting the rent, but I pulled him in for a kiss. "Forget it. You'd better put more effort into other areas."

A six-foot-tall man flailed on the couch. "That's too much!

Jemma, you look down on me. Do you know who I am?"

I impatiently tugged at his shirt. "I know, you're the man who wants to become light."

At 23, Kolton still firmly believed in the existence of Ultraman and hoped that one day an owl from Britain would deliver his Hogwarts acceptance letter.

All his social media profiles bore the same signature: "Always believe in the light!"

I admit, it was this unyielding innocence and sincerity that attracted me, allowing me to escape the harsh battles of life and find a moment of respite by his side.

Kolton was determined to make it big in stand-up comedy. When I asked if he'd considered changing careers, he'd look at me seriously and say, "If I can't make it in stand-up, I'll have to go back and inherit the family business and mansion."

He paused, then added, "I don't want that boring life of a rich person. I crave freedom."

His seriousness was the same as when he suddenly sat up in the middle of the night to tell me, "Ultraman must exist in this world."

I wordlessly picked out a cherry and popped it into his mouth. "Shut up and eat more fruit, less nonsense."

According to Kolton, I was his first love. Before me, he was focused on his career and hadn't considered dating.

He shyly said, "I never thought my first relationship would be with a fan. It's thrilling."

I burst out laughing. "Do I look like your fan?" "You came to see my show!"

"My friend gave me the ticket. It was a company perk."

I mercilessly teased, "I'm dating you simply because you're handsome."

Kolton suddenly turned away, moving to the foot of the bed.

I waited two minutes, and he still hadn't returned.

I called out, "Kolton." "Don't call me," he mumbled, "I'm still mad. Let me calm myself down before I come back."

So, I jumped out of bed, rummaged through the wardrobe, feeling Kolton's sidelong glances, and changed into a creamy silk nightgown right in front of him.

In a flash, he was in front of me, sweeping me into his arms, kissing my cheek, and accusing, "Ms. James, I need to prove something."

"Prove what?"

"Prove that besides being handsome, I'm also quite capable in other areas!"

During our relationship, I was often forced to stay up late.

The next morning, I'd be awakened by the smell of frying eggs, stumbling into the kitchen to find Kolton, wearing only an apron, turning to me shyly.

"Dear master, breakfast or me first?"

After we started dating, Kolton's material changed.

He shifted from singlehood jokes to relationship ones, and unexpectedly, a joke about "having a weak stomach but wanting to be taken care of" gained some online traction.

He was then invited to audition for the latest season of a show.

Initially, I thought it was the start of Kolton's career taking off.

Little did I know, it marked the end of our year-long relationship.

After the breakup, I moved in with my best friend, Bella.

One evening, while we were drinking on the balcony, Bella accidentally played the latest episode of a variety show, and Kolton's vibrant face appeared on the screen.

She froze, about to turn it off, but I softly said, "Let's watch."

The competition was halfway through, and Kolton had made it through the rounds, shining as a newcomer.

He stood on stage, telling jokes, still using "my girlfriend" as a reference, and finally stared into the camera.

"Compared to Ultraman, I now prefer to believe in Doraemon. At least he could pull out a door and take me to you right now."

The room was silent for two seconds before erupting in applause.

Bella turned to me, tears in her eyes, but I calmly cut her off.

"How do you know the 'you' he's talking about is me?"

Despite my words, I couldn't sleep that night.

I lay in the small guest bed at Bella's, tossing and turning, unable to rest, so I picked up my phone.

Kolton was already trending, with questions about him on the rise. I clicked in and saw someone spreading rumors that he was a rich kid who paid others to write his material.

I was about to clarify when a private message popped up.

I opened it to find a selfie of a foreigner. "Hey, dear friend, do you want to get rich overnight?"

A string of rose emojis followed.

I paused for two seconds, unable to resist typing, "Hey, who are you?"

"Dear friend, I've just arrived in China, and you're an intriguing girl."

My name is David, from New York...

This person's ID was simply David, and his Chinese was awkwardly broken, making it seem like a typical scam operation.