I Thought Acting Cool and Distant Would Keep People from Bullying Me

One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins, lots of pairings! Sweet with a touch of angst, told in different arcs. Feel free to skip around and read the side stories!

One is Xiao Baiyue, the “Greatest Guqin Player Under Heaven.” He has spent years secluded on Lijing Mountain, faithfully following his master’s teachings. In front of others, he always puts on a cool, aloof front, but in truth he is innocent, kindhearted, and inexperienced with the world.

The other is Bai Zhili, a coffin shop owner of humble origins who, by a twist of fate, caught the emperor’s favor and rose to prominence overnight.

Three years ago, Xiao Baiyue first came down from the mountain and met Bai Zhili. But for reasons of his own, he left without a word and returned to Lijing Mountain.

Three years later, Bai Zhili travels from city to city as an imperial envoy, only to run into Xiao Baiyue, the man who had left without a word all those years ago.

Bai Zhili thinks Xiao Baiyue is the bane of his existence. He had already left back then, yet Bai Zhili spent the next three years thinking about him constantly.

Xiao Baiyue thinks that ever since he met Bai Zhili, his master’s warning has stopped working: “When you’re around strangers, always act cool and distant. That way, people won’t bully you so easily.”

And then Chu Youzhi, the leader of the mysterious martial-world organization Thirteenth Tower, suddenly appears and sets his sights on Xiao Baiyue, who always acts cold and aloof but is actually still green and inexperienced...