The System Wants Me to Be the Heroine of a Tragic Romance, but I'm a Man

Xie Ci is a six-foot-one, straight-as-an-arrow man. One moment he’s asleep, and the next he’s woken up inside the old-school angst novel The Beloved of Young Master Gu, as Su Qianqian, the stand-in heroine destined to have a kidney removed, cough up blood, and flee while pregnant. To make matters worse, he’s bound to the [Angst Heroine Training System], which forces him to follow the script and suffer for sympathy every day: act stubborn when beaten, look heartbroken when left in the rain, even cough up blood to tug at people’s heartstrings, and eventually flee in disgrace while pregnant. Looking at his long-haired, delicate reflection in the mirror, Xie Ci feels utterly helpless. He’s always stood firm against force, but never yielded to weakness. Yet the System’s punishments are severe, so he has no choice but to find another way out. He decides to turn every heartbreaking scene into a swoon-worthy romantic moment instead. When the vicious rival slaps him, he catches her hand, then throws himself into Young Master Gu’s arms and pouts sweetly. When the System makes him stand in the rain, he slips beneath Gu’s umbrella, wraps his arms around him to warm his hands, and smiles, saying, “If you’re going to punish me, then punish me by making us stay together for life.” When the System orders him to donate a kidney to save Young Master Gu’s first love, he blocks the man’s way and declares, “You can have my kidney, but Young Master Gu’s heart has to belong to me.” Young Master Gu, who was supposed to be cold and distant, is captivated by this Su Qianqian, who is both bold and sweet and refuses to follow the script. He protects him at every turn, showers him with affection, and declares his love in public, giving him all his tenderness. Just like that, Xie Ci turns a story that should have been physically and emotionally devastating into an overwhelmingly sweet romance where both fall for each other. There is no tragic stand-in Su Qianqian in the book anymore, only Xie Ci, whom Young Master Gu will cherish for life.