After the Villain Lost His Cultivation

[Complete! If you're rereading, please try not to spoil things in the comments on earlier chapters. Love you all~]

Xi Jianglan is the number-one spoiled wastrel in the Thirteen Provinces, a pampered, extravagant troublemaker who has offended every powerful person around. But thanks to his family's protection, he still gets to throw his weight around.

Until one day, the entire Xi family is slaughtered.

Xi Jianglan is the only survivor. He loses all his cultivation and becomes a sickly man who coughs up blood every few steps.

Now that Xi Jianglan has fallen from grace, his enemies seize their chance to kick him while he's down and race to get revenge.

With a stream of wild lies and a few well-acted spells of madness, Xi Jianglan manages to hide his identity and survive.

Until one day, a powerful man he can't remember offending presses a blade to his throat. Thinking fast, Xi Jianglan starts spouting nonsense.

“Sheng Jiao is madly in love with me! He's brilliant and mighty, and the strongest cultivator in the Thirteen Provinces! Hurt me, and you'll regret it.”

Sheng Jiao: “...”

Sheng Jiao lowers his sword, his expression unreadable. “Is that so?”

A beautiful, sickly uke who spins one outrageous lie after another X a cold, untouchable seme. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

Blurb written February 19, 2022.

Note:

1. The uke lies constantly. Nine and a half out of every ten things he says are false.

2. Everything is made up, so please don't nitpick the details.

3. Before VIP serialization, updates are around midnight. Afterward, updates are around 9 p.m. If it's past 11 p.m., I'll try to post a double update later.

4. Say no to pornography, gambling, and drugs. Download the national anti-fraud app.

5. Let's keep the discussion friendly and reasonable.

My next novel will be *Don't Learn to Be Bad [Showbiz]*. Add it to your collection if you're interested~

Blurb:

Yu Shixue has a stunning face that wins countless fans. In public, he's a cold and aloof beauty on a high peak; in private, he has severe social anxiety, struggles with social interaction, and is adorably clueless.

His manager is furious. “There's another scandal going around, and people are calling you stuck-up and difficult! Look at the social butterflies in showbiz. Can't you learn from them?!”

Yu Shixue is ashamed. He secretly studies all kinds of “social butterflies” in the entertainment industry, hoping to learn from them, overcome his social anxiety for good, and become a social butterfly himself.

Rong Xu is a newly crowned Best Actor, hailed as the ultimate social butterfly in the entertainment industry.

Even with a total stranger he's just met, Rong Xu can act like an old friend, greeting them warmly. “What a coincidence, you're here at this restaurant too! Let's have a meal together.”

Yu Shixue's Socializing Notes, 8-1: “Smile, say hello first, find common ground to build rapport.”

Late at night, Yu Shixue runs into Rong Xu in the hotel hallway where the cast is staying. Half asleep and panicking, his mind goes blank. “W-what a coincidence... Let's sleep together.”

Rong Xu: “?”

Yu Shixue: “...”

His manager: “???” I told you to learn how to socialize, not how to be bad!

Rong Xu, a two-time Best Actor, has recently discovered two very interesting things.

1. Yu Shixue, the aloof beauty everyone in the industry thinks is unattainable, seems to have social anxiety and be adorably clueless.

2. This adorably clueless man has a crush on him.

“He follows me onto variety shows, tags along to film interviews, and even engineers chance meetings at parties. Isn't he pursuing me?” Rong Xu boasts lazily to a friend. “That aloof beauty is secretly in love with me. I guess being so popular really is a burden. How do I turn him down politely?”

Rong Xu's friend, a devoted fan of Yu Shixue: “...”

His fists clench.

Not long afterward, a trending topic takes over the internet: #YuShixue's secret account, 'Like a Substitute for the One I Love,' has followed seven celebrities over two years, switching favorites every three months on average. He drops them without a second thought.#

#He's been obsessively following Best Actor Rong Xu lately, but the three-month mark is here, and he seems to be losing interest.#

Rong Xu: “...”

A socially anxious, clueless uke X a social butterfly, shamelessly flirtatious on the surface and even more so underneath, narcissistic playboy seme. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

Theme: Perseverance can carve through stone.