My name is Gu Yelan, and I'm a recent graduate of the acting department at Quick Transmigration University.
I'm taking a thrilling final exam in a xianxia world: seamlessly switching personalities while playing the overpowered male protagonist's white moonlight, cinnabar mole, and thorn in his side all at once.
I did a pretty good job, really.
If I hadn't blown it. :)
[Role A: White Moonlight · Nobleman of the Mortal Realm]
That winter, the heavy snow froze people to the bone.
The young male protagonist huddled in a street corner, on the verge of death.
I walked up to him with an umbrella, bent down, and held out my hand. "Come home with me, all right?"
I taught him to read and watched over him as he grew, seeing him transform from a scrawny little kid into a refined young man.
On the night of his sixteenth birthday, he gripped my hand and said, "Big Brother, let's stay together forever."
I agreed with a smile, silently throwing up my hands inside: Silly kid, the first rule of a script-based story is that the white moonlight has to die. Your big brother here is about to leave the stage.
That night, a group of men in black stormed the manor. Their target was unmistakably him.
Amid flashing blades, I shielded him with my body. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Listening to his heart-wrenching cries, I died a beautiful and dutiful death.
[Role B: Cinnabar Mole · Sword Cultivator Master of an Immortal Sect]
Bearing a blood feud, the male protagonist joined an immortal sect.
And I, the strongest sword cultivator, naturally took him on as my disciple.
The clingy kid of old had become gloomy and cruel, seven parts coldhearted and three parts mad.
But it was all right. Under my careful guidance, dependence once again filled his eyes.
Unfortunately, our happy days as master and disciple didn't last long.
The forces that had once hunted him returned, and I, his master, bravely stepped forward.
...Then I died again.
Right in front of him, for the second time.
Looking at his face, streaked with blood and tears and on the verge of collapse, I silently gave my acting a perfect score.
[Role C: Thorn in His Side · Evil Demon Lord Villain]
Didn't see that coming, did you?
The mastermind who had sent people to hunt him from the beginning and caused a string of tragedies was me.
When he fought his way through the Demon Realm and stood before me with his sword in hand, I felt a rare pang of regret.
I was both his beloved mentor and friend, and the enemy he hated to the bone.
Poor male protagonist, I had him wrapped around my little finger... or so I thought!
So much for the satisfying revenge he'd promised. Why did he throw his sword away?!
Those bloodstained hands cupped my face, and his burning lips came down hard on mine. His words seemed forced through gritted teeth: "I... hate you so much."
I hate him so much too!
Not because he locked me up after turning evil, nor because he kept me busy day and night with all sorts of indescribable things...
It's because I failed my final role!
I'm never going to graduate!!!
Luckily, the school showed mercy and gave me a fourth chance.
[Role D: The Male Protagonist's Cultivation Partner.]
Bonus: An unlimited graduation vacation.
Without a second thought, I took the male protagonist's hand and said with deep feeling, "When the mountains have no ridges and heaven and earth become one, only then will I part from you..."
It wasn't until our marriage ceremony was complete and we were cultivating together every day as the script demanded that I belatedly realized something was wrong
Wait, the male protagonist's cultivation partner?
Was there even such a character in the original storyline?
Isn't this supposed to be a no-romance story about a male protagonist?!
Oh.
So I'm the one who's been played.
Can I still run for it?!
[Reading Guide]
1. Top's perspective, one-on-one, happy ending. A wisecracking top who lives for the laughs (Gu Yelan) X a wronged bottom driven to turn evil after being toyed with (Chen Xianyu).
2. The top is carefree and always clear-eyed like an office worker: he sticks to the script until graduation and only gets serious about love afterward, so he falls for the bottom and responds to his feelings late.
3. The bottom has another identity in the real world and had been scheming to get together with the top long before, but he's amnesiac in the little worlds. He really does watch his beloved die right in front of him twice, so there are some angsty moments, but overall it's still sweet.
Theme: Treasure the present
