Whose Fish Is Who's?

Sorry, everyone. I haven't managed to balance my secondary and tertiary lives, so I can't finish this novel properly. I've applied to unlock it. The complete outline is in the final chapter, for anyone who still wants to take a look.

[Added 2024/09/15] After reorganizing the story-within-a-story from this novel, I plan to turn it into a standalone full-length novel and make up for the regret I feel about it. For details, see the novel Brother War in my column. To avoid spoilers, I've removed the story-within-a-story section from the outline for now ><

The popular top-tier star Chu You is blessed with both beauty and talent. Through his own efforts, he once brought a shelved group to fame. He's a legend in the industry and a born genius.

He should have had a glorious future, but everything came to a halt the year he reached the top.

When the first signs of a crisis appear, Chu You begins having frequent nightmares.

In them, after suffering blow after blow, including betrayal by his groupmates, his manager switching sides, juniors leeching off his success, and his agency suppressing him, he tumbles down from the heights and is crushed to pieces.

In the end, covered in wounds and carrying the glories of the past, he can only retreat behind the scenes, burdened with sighs and infamy.

The junior group that climbed to success on his back becomes an overnight sensation upon debut. They perform songs he wrote on the stage he had always dreamed of reaching.

After waking from the dream, Chu You faces the agency's death order to mentor newcomers and lets out a cold laugh.

They want him to nurture new talent? Fine.

But they'll never get to step on his head to reach the top.

He once reversed his fate in the midst of a thorny dead end. No matter how many times it happens, he can rise again like a phoenix.

If he's assigned to mentor newcomers, he'll become the idol and leader that rising stars aspire to be;

If he can't get a popular drama script, he'll still become a sensation playing the villain in a niche production;

The low-budget variety show he directs and stars in will become the nation's favorite program that year.

This time, he'll stand at a height beyond the summit.

A height no one can replicate or surpass.

Later, the rising top-tier star he personally trained kisses the back of his hand and places the crown upon his head.

-

When Lan Sheng was thirteen, a boy five years older than him moved in next door.

The boy was strikingly handsome, with a languid, captivating expression. He was warm and gentle to everyone, and before long he became the darling of the entire neighborhood.

On every night Lan Sheng couldn't go home because of the cold violence in his family, the boy took him in.

He sang for him, wrote songs for him, and taught him to face life with an optimistic, positive attitude.

Only later did Lan Sheng learn that the boy had been shelved by his agency at the time, already standing on the edge of despair.

But he still smiled and told him, "When I become famous, you have to come to my concert."

Lan Sheng nodded. He thought the other boy was only saying it casually, but a few years later, that person really did become more and more famous, eventually becoming someone Lan Sheng could only look up to.

The person he loved had become the sweetheart of millions. There was no longer any room for him in his eyes.

The first decision Lan Sheng made as an adult was to enter the entertainment industry and debut.

He would make that person a rose that only he could pluck.

Warm on the outside, cold within, top-tier star, devilish shou x cold on the outside, warm within, rising star gong

Theme: Once you learn to plan ahead, everything will gradually get better