She Has Me in Her Sights

My new story, Don't Argue with a Lunatic, is looking for advance readers. It's also set in the entertainment industry.

Blurb:

In the eyes of the public, movie emperor Su Ci has always been cold, sharp-tongued, and so refined and aloof that he's impossible to approach.

No matter who he's dealing with, he says whatever he wants, without holding back.

But Su Ci's professional skills are beyond reproach, so his anti-fans can only attack him for being socially inept and doomed to be alone.

Then one day, he posts on Weibo: Is anyone announcing a relationship today? If not, let me introduce you to the cabbage at my house.

The post immediately sets the trending topics on fire.

Everyone expects Su Ci's fans to explode, but the top comment is:

Wow, our brother finally knows how to talk like a human being. He can be so sweet after all. I'm crying tears of joy.

Later, his girlfriend Jiang Buchou's secret designer account is dug up, revealing that she's a fan of Su Ci and another actress as a couple. Fans worry that the girlfriend he's finally gotten will run off.

Su Ci posts again: I got her hooked on a new ship. What's wrong with that?

[Heroine's perspective] Jiang Buchou is a fan of Su Ci and Ling Sicheng as a couple.

She goes to their events, runs a fan site, and even designs wedding dresses for their future wedding.

After joining Su Ci's production team and observing them from every angle, Jiang Buchou decides: I've found a real-life couple to ship!

But fate always throws a bucket of cold water over you when you're full of hope.

She catches Goddess Ling kissing the director, while Su Ci thoughtfully closes the door for them.

The ship she was enjoying sinks before she knows it.

Looking at Su Ci, who has been given a pair of green horns, she gives him a sympathetic look. At least she isn't the one suffering the most.

[Bonus scene] After Su Ci and Jiang Buchou move in together, he keeps seeing her receive mysterious packages. She always sneaks them away the moment they arrive, and looks guilty whenever she sees him.

Finally, one day, a package is delivered to Su Ci. Curiosity gets the better of him, and he opens it.

The next moment, he drags Jiang Buchou out of the study. "Jiang Buchou, explain this. Why is there a pillow with my face and another woman's on it?"

Jiang Buchou feels wronged. The fan merchandise can't be made as fast as ships sink, and it's not her fault she's frustrated.

[Reader's Guide] The heroine is just like her name: carefree and a little rich girl.

The hero has a vivid imagination.

The hero had a girlfriend briefly in college. She wasn't his one true love, and there's nothing between them now.

The Spectacle of His Arrival

1.

Jiang Yan has been acting diligently for four years since her debut, but she has never managed to rise above the lower ranks of the industry.

Newcomer Xue Leyi is late to work, zones out during recordings, and loses focus in interviews. With a face that draws admirers wherever he goes, he has had more trending topics in one month than she has in all her previous years.

Jiang Yan: I look down on him. I'll make use of him.

Thanks to their variety-show personas, the sociable beauty fanatic and the antisocial beauty king, Jiang Yan finally becomes a regular on the trending lists.

From then on, advertising campaigns, magazine shoots, and other offers pour in, all with one condition: they have to appear together.

Jiang Yan feels like she's going further and further off track, but Xue Leyi is having the time of his life.

He has no logic to his actions and does whatever he likes, leaving Jiang Yan breaking out in a cold sweat and completely bewildered.

When she comes to her senses, Jiang Yan clenches her fists. No, she has to run.

2.

Rising star Jiang Yan denies rumors that she's dating someone, enraging her ship fans.

They'll take the bowl when there's food, then smash it and curse you. They have no conscience.

Jiang Yan shrugs. Xue Leyi is a lunatic. If she falls for him, she'll inevitably end up battered and bruised.

She drinks with a friend suffering from heartbreak. The friend passes out on the table, then asks through her tears, "Yanyan, if you knew there was lava at the bottom of a cliff, would you leap?"

Jiang Yan smiles and shakes her head. "What does it matter if it's lava or a field of flowers?"

If it's a cliff, just turn back at once.

3.

When she sees Xue Leyi again, he stands a short distance away. Thinking that they were friends and colleagues, she decides she should greet him openly.

But Xue Leyi carefully steps back. His hair is black and neatly styled, unlike before, and his eyes have softened, becoming gentle and docile.

Jiang Yan doesn't want to embarrass herself, so she turns to leave.

Xue Leyi stretches his arm out as far as he can, holding out a cup of warm taro milkshake from a distance.

"I noticed you weren't wearing much. I know you don't want to see me, but if you don't want to drink it, could you hold it to warm your hands?"

Jiang Yan: What kind of move is this?