My Senior Brother Is Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic

* Young Genius x Beautiful Layabout

1.

Yan Ning transmigrated into an old-school xianxia romance novel.

Almost everyone in the book was hopelessly lovesick, caught in one tragic romance after another, with a whole pile of doomed side characters along the way.

Most tragic of all was the former number-one genius of the cultivation world. Though his future had once seemed limitless, he eventually fell into demonic cultivation because of the heroine and became the story's ultimate villain.

It could hardly get any worse.

But none of that had anything to do with Yan Ning.

She was just a minor character who appeared a few times before being captured by demonic cultivators and turned into a cultivation cauldron. Beauty was her only asset.

After transmigrating, she decided to cultivate diligently and stay far away from all trouble, before the plot could even begin, so she could avoid the fate awaiting her in the book.

But for some reason, she always felt that the future demon-bound villain, her senior brother, looked at her strangely.

2.

At some point, Ling Qingjue began hearing a strange voice in his ear all the time:

Cultivating.

"Wow, Senior Brother is such a heaven-defying protagonist."

Teaching his junior brothers and sisters.

"It breaks my heart to think that such a wonderful Senior Brother will meet such a tragic end. Sob."

Rescuing people.

"Oh no, Senior Brother's about to go blind. How tragic."

Having all his cultivation destroyed.

"Don't panic, Senior Brother. This is a necessary part of being a tragic, powerful, beautiful villain!"

Breaking through again.

"Senior Brother's about to fall into demonic cultivation. What a shame. Better get ready to run."

Ling Qingjue: "..."

3.

That voice stayed with Ling Qingjue through countless days and nights, from his fall from youthful genius to useless cripple. In his darkest years, it lit a beacon to guide him forward.

But when he followed the sound, all he saw was a pair of innocent, lively eyes in the crowd.

Yan Ning: o.O

Later on.

"Come to think of it, Senior Brother's kind of pitiful. He's got all the makings of a heaven-defying male lead, so how did he end up with the second male lead's script? The heroine must be blind. She'd be better off picking me. Sigh."

Ling Qingjue: "All right."

Yan Ning: "?"

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* The world may change, but you remain the same

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Reader's notes:

1. The heroine is a layabout at heart. She loves gossip and snarking, isn't particularly clever, and may not be very strong either.

2. My own take on cultivation, with lots of personal worldbuilding. The author has the final say.

3. A sweet romance, with a single-couple ending.

Theme: Love requires trust.