Breaking Character [Showbiz]

[The next book is "Oh No! They Found Out I'm a Hater," about a bickering couple. The blurb is at the very end. If you're interested, feel free to bookmark it!]

In and Out of Character

1.

Just from their names, Shu Yicheng and Sheng Qingyu seem at odds, natural enemies who can't get along.

They've worked together many times, but as soon as they're off set, they act like they barely know each other.

The first drama they starred in has held reunions every year for ages. But every time, the two of them sit far apart, as if they don't recognize each other.

Their CP fans cry and beg to see the two of them in the same frame just once, hoping to soothe their aching hearts.

Instead, when reporters shove microphones in their faces, they get the same chilly response:

"You've worked together several times. What is your relationship with the other person, in your eyes?"

Shu Yicheng has beautiful eyes, but her answer is merciless. "Um... colleagues, I suppose. Teacher Sheng is a great work partner."

The other one goes even further. His beautiful phoenix eyes show no emotion as he pushes the microphone away. "Next question."

Their identical refusal to cooperate salts the wounds of their CP fans all over again.

It hurts, it hurts so much. I was alone in my past life, and now I'm a fan of "Yiqing Forever"!

2.

"Fated by the Role" is currently the most talked-about variety show online.

It introduces a concept that feels ahead of its time:

Of three couples who got together after working on a production, one will announce their relationship after the show ends. As the episodes air, fans can guess which couple is real and which is just a smokescreen.

Before filming even begins, fans of every pairing have already taken over the show's hashtags and fan pages.

Solo fans cry and beg their idols to focus on their careers, while CP fans grin and shout, "Turn it up!"

Until the third couple is announced:

Shu Yicheng and Sheng Qingyu.

Yiqing fans lose their minds first: [Thanks for asking. The other two couples are a fifty-fifty toss-up, but we're taking these two off the board. If they're really together, I'll wash my hair while standing on my head.]

Just as their own fans have given up hope, the story takes a strange turn.

[Do you two even know what your body language is saying?]

[Your hands are way too close, hey!]

[Wait, weren't you two supposed to be strangers? How can you tell what Teacher Shu wants from one gesture, Brother Sheng? Your image is crumbling!]

[You haven't been pretending not to know each other for almost ten years, have you?]

3.

Shu Yicheng always thought she was the only one who couldn't get out of character.

Then she realized he couldn't either.

#Restraint, humility, compromise, and devotion can make all things grow and bring dead wood back to life.#

[I ship how close they are. I ship their unwavering sincerity. I ship them being in love. I ship them spending the rest of their lives together. I ship the look in their eyes every time a production wraps. Sheng Qingyu, are you in love with the character, or with the pure, untainted soul beneath it? Never mind, I'm off to wash my hair standing on my head., From a fan of Yiqing, suffering and loving every minute of it.]

Clear-headed beauty x arrogant troublemaker

*This story is not based on real people. Please don't associate it with anyone in real life.*

If you like it, please bookmark it, my dears!

Next book: "Oh No! They Found Out I'm a Hater"

A story about a bickering couple!

1. Jiang Shiwu first learned that hate lasts longer than love because of Zhou Xubai.

In her eyes, Zhou Xubai was good for nothing except his face and his nice voice. Everything about him rubbed her the wrong way.

Years ago, he burst onto the audition-show scene and stole the debut spot from Jiang Shiwu's one pick. On that glittering debut night, the entertainment industry gained another cog in the machine, and Zhou Xubai gained a hater who would "never abandon him."

Later, Zhou Xubai's official accounts all turned black, and every project he'd been rumored to join replaced him in the blink of an eye. Before Jiang Shiwu could celebrate with the whole world, she ran into him right outside her home.

It was thirty-five degrees out, and he was dressed all in black, a baseball cap hiding most of his face and a mask covering the rest.

Only his lean, muscular forearms showed their pallor, as though they'd never seen the sun.

Jiang Shiwu was telling her friend about it when she suddenly turned to look at her "new neighbor." His tall, slender figure, dragging a suitcase, looked like a stray dog.

She admitted it. She was delighted.

But when her conscience returned, she felt a little sorry for him.

2. The day Zhou Xubai left the capital and arrived in this small northern city was the hottest day in forty years.

He was bundled up from head to toe, but ran into a young woman outside his newly rented home.

Her eyes were bright, fixed on him without a blink.

She just had a sharp tongue.

But she was probably his fan.

This fan was incredible. She could turn up anywhere around him, as if she had no gaps to slip through.

She stood outside the auto repair shop where he worked, milk tea in hand; they ran into each other at a barbecue stall two blocks from home; and one morning, she even came rushing into his arms on her way to work.

What a masterful stalker.

Later, he went into her home. While she was cutting fruit, he casually flipped open the notebook she'd left nearby.

On the last page was a line of elegant handwriting:

[There are three things I hate in life:

First, that ugly, useless Zhou Xubai got to make his glorious debut!

Second, that the moon hangs high in the sky.

Third, that I can't pull the moon into my arms.]

Her "first" hate had been pressed so deeply into the paper that it seemed she wanted to carve the word into Zhou Xubai himself.

3. Zhou Xubai thought his next-door neighbor was a fan. Turns out she was a hater.

Jiang Shiwu thought Zhou Xubai had become a down-and-out stray dog. Instead, he pinned her to the bed and bared his fangs.

He covered her beautiful eyes and whispered in her ear, "Hate is just another kind of love, right, baby? Be good and say you love me."

Reader's guide:

1. The heroine isn't the vicious type of hater. She's fluffy and likes making things up.

2. The hero doesn't leave the industry.

3. Also known as "The Milk Tea Girl and the Mechanic"

Theme: Love is armor