The Sweet Moments You're Shipping Are Fake

[The first twenty chapters have all been revised. Some supporting characters' personalities and relationships have been adjusted, but the general content and direction remain unchanged.]

Tang Zhang is a popular star who has been in the industry for five years and secretly married for two. One day, he discovers that fan edits pairing him with someone have gone viral on a video site. Looking closer, he realizes the other person is his love rival?!

No way. The last bit of stubbornness an already-married person has is refusing to be paired with the guy who's always trying to steal his partner. Even a crack pairing is unacceptable!

So Tang Zhang, who has rarely had to face the harsh realities of society, comes up with a misguided plan: secretly promote a pairing between himself and his non-celebrity lover, using the official pairing to drive out the heretical one!

Ping Zhen was a little-known artist from a 2G-network corner of the internet. Lately, he's been trending often because his partner is a celebrity who is always coming up with "sudden ideas."

"Zhenzhen's having an art exhibition? I'll go with you."

"Zhenzhen's publishing an art book? I'll handle the promotion!"

"This variety show needs an excellent artist like you, Zhenzhen. Can't you really come with me?"

How could you refuse a big puppy gazing at you with round eyes and acting all cute?

Everything is going according to plan...

But his love rival, Du Xuan, is being absolutely awful and insists on going against him. He's ridden Tang Zhang's coattails onto the trending list several times and even gained another wave of fans who ship him with Tang Zhang's wife. He's completely out of control.

And after Tang Zhang deliberately tries and fails to avoid Du Xuan, the CP fans ship them even harder?

I've told you it's fake sugar! Don't you listen to what the actual stars say?

That popular CP is all fake sugar. They're obviously love rivals!

Bonus scene:

Ping Zhen, who knows nothing about the CPs people talk about online, watches Tang Zhang scrolling through a fan page: "I think you've been acting a little strange lately."

Tang Zhang, who was comparing the data for the two CP fan pages, hurriedly hides his phone. "Have I? Zhenzhen, you've been working so hard lately that you're imagining things. Why don't I take you somewhere to get some proper rest?"

"Are you..." Ping Zhen leans closer, staring into his eyes as he says each word, "addicted to your phone?"

Treasure your life, and ship CPs in moderation.

Mainly from the top's perspective, set in the entertainment industry

Silly, sweet, love-addicted, pretty-boy actor top x 2G-network, talented niche artist bottom

[Content Warnings] [Reader's Guide]

1. In the eyes of bystanders (the CP fans), the top (Tang Zhang) and his love rival (Du Xuan) seem somewhat flirtatious.

2. Even after the bottom (Ping Zhen) clearly rejects the love rival (emphasis added), the love rival keeps pursuing him, while the bottom maintains a normal social distance from him (emphasis added).

3. The top and bottom are each other's first love. The love rival used to have a crush on the bottom and, after his confession was rejected, openly pursued him instead.

4. None of the characters are based on real people. The author doesn't follow celebrities and doesn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry. This is my own made-up take on the industry, and anything unrealistic is my own setting.

5. This really isn't a "love rivals become lovers" trope.

6. The top uses clingy pet names and terms of endearment for the bottom, and thinks of him as his "wife," but knows full well that the bottom is a man. The bottom calls the top by his name.

7. More to be added if I think of anything.

Click the author's profile to read:

Completed no-CP male-lead novel: NPCs Are Fine Too

Ye Xing never expected that, despite barely playing games, he'd apply for a job at a game company after graduation. Even more surprising, he became a real-life NPC in a game.

His major had nothing to do with games, and the company offered no training or even prepared lines for him.

With no other choice, Ye Xing had to play multiple roles in the game.

The trouble was, his acting was painfully awkward and hard to improve.

I Found an Interesting NPC in a Game [Popular Post]

What he never expected was that his hard work playing every character would make the entire game a hit.

First NPC: An Omega who had his glands removed (member of an Omega rights organization and receptionist at an unlicensed medical clinic).

He was supposed to be a receptionist at a medical clinic, but was forced to become a "life mentor," counseling young Omegas about their relationships. Ye Xing was a fresh graduate, yet he had to talk a young Omega into not harming his body by having his glands removed because of pressure to get married. It was no easy task. Since they were already calling him "Teacher," he had no choice but to make a home visit.

Second NPC: A priest who adopts a young vampire (he finds a badly injured child and raises him, only to discover that the child has become the head of a vampire clan).

The priest secretly raises a young vampire in the church. The poor child is pursued by vampire hunters, wanted by the Holy Knights, and driven out of his clan's home over an inheritance dispute. Ye Xing has no choice but to train him to fly. If he can't win a fight, he should at least know how to escape. Ye Xing never imagined that the child would inherit a title and become the head of the vampire clan.

Third NPC: An old Chinese medicine doctor researching a cure for zombies (he comes to help after an experimental drug goes wrong, and a zombie outbreak must be dealt with as quickly as possible).

How could a brilliant young researcher have an assistant who does nothing but cause trouble? A drug being developed as a treatment has turned into the hardest virus to cure. Ye Xing straps on his medicine bag and travels from street to street. Even when the zombies arrive, he doesn't panic. Treating people comes first, and in his eyes, there's no illness that can't be cured.

More details to be discovered...

Includes forum-style sections (starting in Chapter 4)

Completed no-CP male-lead novel: Because I'm Socially Anxious, I'm Happy Even When Sealed

Qian Xiao is the only evil god in the world, so being sealed is nothing unusual to him.

If he's sealed, he may as well lie flat. He doesn't want to see those people outside anyway, and he's perfectly happy relaxing inside the formation.

Still, his followers' wishes need to be taken care of. Before long, he receives another extremely devout summons.

Sigh, fine. I'll become a shut-in again after I finish this job!

Theme: The truth isn't the hearsay most people repeat