After the Contrarian Turned Over a New Leaf

1. Grand Tutor Xie Shenxuan was the most gifted man in the capital, yet his sharp tongue had earned him countless enemies at court. After recovering from a serious illness, he suddenly began seeing words above people's heads that brimmed with murderous intent toward him. Even the emperor had “I really want to chop his head off” floating above him. To stay alive, Xie Shenxuan had no choice but to rein himself in and become the emperor's most obedient official. He even agreed to teach the academy's worst class, filled with a pack of unruly students. Among them were a Hu who couldn't speak proper court Mandarin, a young general who couldn't write, a peacock who set the academy's fashion trends with his makeup, a theology scholar who followed every religion and wanted only to renounce the world, and a hidden master who excelled at both literature and painting. Nobody wanted to study. The whole class's combined grades weren't even half as good as Xie Shenxuan's had been when he attended the academy. Xie Shenxuan: ... Xie Shenxuan wanted to resign. 2. Zhu Ye, commander of the Shadow Guard, had been ordered by His Majesty to keep watch over the officials. He was supposed to write down the names of everyone the emperor disliked in his little notebook. Now assigned to teach martial arts at the academy, he kept his eyes on Xie Shenxuan every day, filling the entire notebook with Xie Shenxuan's “crimes.” Then Xie Shenxuan happened to catch sight of the notebook. He opened it and found his name on every single page. Xie Shenxuan angered the emperor. Xie Shenxuan offended His Majesty. Xie Shenxuan Zhu Ye had filled the whole notebook with Xie Shenxuan's offenses, but after every crime that supposedly enraged His Majesty, there was always a line in tiny writing. “Rather cute.” “Quite interesting.” “He's not wrong.” “...Tomorrow, ask him to go flower-viewing.” [A few things to know before reading] 1. This is entirely fictional. The imperial examinations, academy, and official system in the story are all made up by me. They may take inspiration from reality, but they're different and have no connection to it. This is pure, ridiculous comedy. There's nothing here but laughs, so don't worry about the details. 2. The pairing is Zhu Ye x Xie Shenxuan: seemingly cold commander as the pursuer x beautiful recipient who really needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. The romance is pure, brainless sweetness. 3. If the comments don't match the story, it's because I rewrote it. [Since you've made it this far, why not check out my next upcoming story?] "My Disciple Might Be Sick" 1. Jiang Jianhan was a sword cultivator favored by fate. He was slow to understand matters of the heart and clueless about social graces. Though blessed with a stunning face, he always wore an expression so intimidating that people gave him a wide berth. The sect had suffered Jiang Jianhan's antics for long enough. Hoping to give him someone else to torment, the sect leader and elders pleaded with him until he finally took on a little disciple whose personality was the opposite of his own. The new disciple was extraordinarily talented. He smiled whenever he saw Jiang Jianhan, his eyes shone whenever he looked at him, and his sweet, affectionate calls of “Master” warmed the heart. Yet Jiang Jianhan just couldn't bring himself to be happy. Jiang Jianhan thought his disciple might have something wrong with his head. Days after becoming his disciple, the boy still hadn't visited him. Instead, he was selling pills everywhere. They went out together, but the boy disappeared and left pills for sale all over the place. The boy won the tournament, then went right back to selling pills. Even when cultivators seeking enlightenment ventured deep into the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm, risking death at every turn, they could still run into his disciple wandering past with a basket of herbs, enthusiastically selling pills. Jiang Jianhan: ? Was his disciple not right in the head? 2. After being reborn, Qin Zhengye knew that to save his master, who was destined to die, he had to gather three Soul-Returning Pills. So he worked hard to make pills and sell them, buying up huge quantities of medicinal ingredients and searching for the rare herbs he needed. His business grew bigger and bigger, bringing him ever closer to saving his master's life and turning the tide Jiang Jianhan, finally unable to watch any longer: “How about I find you a pill-refining master?” Qin Zhengye: ? No, no, no. Had his master misunderstood something? He loved his master. How could his master not see that? [A few things to know before reading] 1. A warm, cheerful, money-making, pill-obsessed puppy of a disciple as the pursuer x a seemingly cold master who stages entire dramas in his head, a sword cultivator with overwhelming strength. 2. The master is slow to catch on for certain reasons. The disciple has been reborn. His cultivation starts out low because he has been holding back and hasn't trained; he has hidden strength. 3. A sweet, silly comedy. Every plot point and story detail exists only to serve the comedy and the romance. Theme: People should learn to praise one another and keep their eyes open for other people's good qualities