After the Proud Dragon Protagonist Mistook Me for a Fellow Countryman

[A new comedy novel, Transmigrated as a Master, but We’re Having a Group Meeting, is now underway] [The novel is complete. The full text was revised extensively from the beginning multiple times during serialization, so pirated copies differ considerably. The complete, carefully edited version is available only on Jinjiang~] Zhou Xun thought his life would always be like this. His older brother was the prince’s moonlight, the tyrant’s cinnabar mole. And he was a shoddy imitation living in his brother’s shadow: a cheap gift rejected by the whole world, given to the prince as a substitute by his own brother, with even his chance to sit the imperial examinations taken away; a disposable character in a melodramatic harem novel, destined to die miserably so others could find love. Enough was enough. At a palace banquet, determined to take revenge, Zhou Xun tried to assassinate the tyrant so his entire family would be executed. He was thrown into the imperial prison. There, he closed his eyes and waited to die. But he never expected… The tyrant would wake up with the soul of a transmigrated, golden-fingered protagonist, and, after a few coincidental exchanges, mistake him for… His fellow countryman??? Emperor: “Why did you try to assassinate me?” Zhou Xun: “If you don’t erupt in silence, you’ll perish in silence.” Emperor, looking confused: “Do you know what happens when you assassinate the emperor?” Zhou Xun: “At worst, my entire family gets executed. I never hesitate to assume the worst of others.” Emperor: “Who taught you to say that?” Zhou Xun: “Fate. An unfair fate.” Emperor: “Could you… tell me how you came to feel this way?” Zhou Xun: “The joys and sorrows of humanity are not shared.” Thinking back on an unfair life spent perishing in silence, Zhou Xun reflected that the whole world had been against him, and no one understood his joys and sorrows. Having said his piece, he closed his eyes and waited to die… He waited, and waited, and waited… Until the emperor whispered something to him? “Odd and even numbers change, but the result stays the same…?” Zhou Xun: ?? “Stop pretending. We’re fellow countrymen… right?” Zhou Xun: ??? #What do you do when a transmigrator mistakes you for a fellow countryman? Asking for a friend. It’s kind of urgent.# * Emperor Rong Xuan of the Jing Dynasty was notorious for his cruelty. Countless people had been beaten to death for offending him. But ever since that day… “Your Majesty, the expedited delivery from Xinjiang has brought eight hundred li of ice locust salted???” “Send it to Sir Zhou!” “Your Majesty, Jiangnan has sent three liang of Zhou Cai’s favorite early-spring Qingming tea…” “Send it to Sir Zhou!” “Your Majesty, this is the family jade pendant your mother left for your future daughter-in-law…” “Have I not made myself clear? Send it, send it, send it! Send all the good things to Sir Zhou!” “And the beautiful dancing girl?” “Of course, send her too… Wait! Come back! Don’t send her!” “Your Majesty, this is Sir Zhou Xun’s ‘ex,’ the Fifth Prince, and your own moonlight, Zhou Cai…” “Banish every last one of them!!!” Everyone: A bewitching consort! She must be a bewitching consort! But the so-called “bewitching consort” was busy every day teaching the transmigrated emperor how to act like a tyrant without blowing his cover. “What does a tyrant do?” “Undertake massive construction projects.” They say the tyrant launched massive construction projects, leveled the roads in the capital, and built exquisite carriages for his bewitching consort to go sightseeing in, all to make him smile. And then… The capital was orderly, merchant caravans came and went, and the people lived in peace and contentment. “What else does a tyrant do?” “Impose exorbitant taxes.” They say the tyrant imposed exorbitant taxes and killed every corrupt official under Heaven, all to make rivers of blood flow and please his bewitching consort. And then… The official world was thoroughly cleansed, the realm was peaceful and prosperous, and the people cheered, “Long live the emperor!” “What else does a tyrant do?” “Waste the people’s labor and the state’s wealth.” They say the tyrant squandered the people’s labor and the state’s wealth by digging a canal and establishing a navy, all to transport and deliver lychees for his bewitching consort. And then… The Grand Canal was completed, the Jing Dynasty’s navy became the strongest in the world, envoys from every country came to the capital, and the people everywhere pledged their loyalty. After spending several years teaching the emperor to imitate a tyrant without exposing his transmigrator identity, Zhou Xun decided to resign and return home. Now that he had avenged himself and passed the imperial exams, fulfilling his lingering wish, there was no reason to stay by the emperor’s side anymore. “Zhou Xun.” “Hmm?” He turned around. “What should a tyrant do at a time like this?” “Do what…?” “Hold on to you.” The man wrapped his arms around Zhou Xun from behind. “And not let you go.” * Later, Zhou Xun thought that the world hadn’t been all that kind to him, but it hadn’t been all that cruel either. The world had often put him in mortal danger, yet it always left him a way out. That narrow path had let him struggle through the first eighteen years of his life and eventually meet the man who would change everything. What he never knew was this: A soul had once traveled through time and space, fighting with all its strength to open one path to survival after another for his past self across countless timelines. Yet it never told him what it had done. That soul wanted him to smile from the bottom of his heart. It wanted him to know that the world loved him, and so did he. A sunny, silly gong who travels through countless timelines to save the person he loves in the past × a cool, gentle, devoted, brilliant shou Brainstorming outline archived May 2019. Check out my completed novel, After I Was Haunted by a Reborn, Obsessive Male Ghost In his sophomore year in the design department, Chi Lanyi thought he’d found the perfect older boyfriend. Gao Rong was assertive and dependable, rational and devoted. He provided Chi Lanyi with the best fashion connections and dealt with every classmate who was jealous of him. In public, he calmly stood up for Chi Lanyi’s reputation as a genius in the fashion world. In bed, he tenderly kissed away every vulnerable tear. Chi Lanyi thought no one could be luckier than him. He was grateful to Gao Rong and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. Until he discovered that Gao Rong wasn’t the man he’d imagined. Gao Rong had been keeping him under surveillance all along. * Gao Rong was reborn after living through the shadows of betrayal. In his previous life, Chi Lanyi used his genius, his neurotic streak, and his fatal beauty to make Gao Rong fall hopelessly in love with him, and destroy the life Gao Rong should have had, a life that had been on a perfectly normal path. Gao Rong should have become a great entrepreneur or a successful politician, not what he was now: after building Chi Lanyi’s legend as a fashion genius, he was divorced and thrown out by the person he had loved all his life. Reborn, Gao Rong looked at Chi Lanyi and thought that in their previous life, he had spoiled him. This time, he would make Chi Lanyi incapable of looking after himself without him. He would use a gentle trap to make the genius his alone. He drove away the professor who had framed Chi Lanyi, locked him in the greenhouse of an incubator project, and negotiated the most favorable contracts for him. But he also sent away Chi Lanyi’s friend, who had once kissed his cheek. He would make Chi Lanyi a canary in his glass cage, admired by everyone and perfect, but able to flutter only in his palm. He would keep Chi Lanyi immersed in warm water, drowning him without his noticing until he belonged to Gao Rong alone. He wanted Chi Lanyi to love him madly, stay by his side, and never want to escape. * Gao Rong had always thought he was doing a good job. He arranged for Chi Lanyi’s cruel parents to go bankrupt, cutting off his last escape route. But he never expected Chi Lanyi, whom he’d settled on a velvet cushion to sleep, to be standing behind him, his face deathly pale as he listened to the phone call. Gao Rong thought Chi Lanyi was lost in a sweet dream. When morning came, he would give him a tender good-morning kiss and continue enjoying another happy, sensual day with his little prey. Gao Rong didn’t know that, hidden behind the curtains, Chi Lanyi could think of only one thing amid his endless terror. He wanted to run. A reborn, obsessive male ghost gong, just as possessive as he is protective × a proud, brilliant, depressed designer shou Both are reborn. The gong is reborn first, and the shou regains his memories later. Content warnings: 1. Contains coercive romance. 2. They both love each other intensely, to the point that they’re both the clingy, all-consuming type. If you prefer light, fluffy romance, this probably isn’t for you. 3. They are each other’s only romantic and sexual partner at every stage, but there is a period of sexual abstinence. Theme: Make the country strong through technology. A new storm has appeared: how can we stop moving forward?