Your Majesty, Please Lose Followers, Not Fish for Them

[The upcoming novel "Stop Pinning Little Red Flowers on Your Boss's Nipple" is open for follows. If you're interested, please add it to your collection! Blurb below.]

[Double-standard, bashful, devoted top x Sweet or spicy, flirtatious bottom]

To expand his territory, Emperor Hua Jiao decides to go undercover on Buka Star and investigate the situation firsthand. He uses freelance livestreaming as cover, planning to observe everything in secret. He never expects his lazy, halfhearted streams to suddenly become a hit. The emperor wants to keep a low profile, but every day he wonders how he can lose followers.

A rookie streamer, Hua Jiao is delighted that nobody watches his streams. By a twist of fate, he enters an online interstellar economics competition. He hangs on until the final round to solve the problems, then gets framed and loses all his followers. Smiling carefree, he prepares to leave, but after happily humming a tune, "Mermaid's Song" suddenly trends, bringing interstellar economics into the spotlight too.

[That voice is so sexy, I'm in love!]

Hua Jiao: "..." All that effort down the drain.

Trying to lose followers, Hua Jiao next shows his face on stream without saying a word. Surely nobody will pay attention to his voice now. But the next second, "A stunning beauty who brings salvation to all" shoots up the trending list. His follower count doesn't drop; it grows!

[What a gorgeous face, I'm in love!]

Hua Jiao: "..." I didn't think this through.

Trying once again to lose followers, he shows up at a formal gala wearing fuzzy pajamas while everyone else is dressed in evening gowns and suits. Somehow, he stands out even more!

[Such a one-of-a-kind beauty, so refreshingly genuine. I'm in love!]

After going to such lengths to lose followers, he becomes Buka Star's most popular streamer, even propelling the livestreaming industry to new heights across the interstellar realm and ushering in a new era of harmonious celebrity fandom.

When Hua Jiao realizes he can't lose followers and mourns the failure of his undercover mission, he returns home, issues a declaration, and dons his armor, ready to try diplomacy before force. Only then does he discover that Buka Star's president is his top donor, gazing at him with sparkling eyes and offering up the national seal in both hands.

Hua Jiao figures he can't just leave his troops idle, so he boards his spaceship and sets out to conquer the neighboring planets in one fell swoop. But the presidents of the various planets, who had been secretly watching his streams to find his weaknesses, all praise his way of governing. They've long since become devoted fans. Hua Jiao takes this opportunity to unite the interstellar realm and become a legendary emperor whose name will live on through history.

Later generations call this "subduing the enemy without fighting," and also "all nations paying tribute."

Notes:

1. The bottom is adored by everyone and has a merfolk identity. After all, it would be a shame if a character with this name weren't a merfolk.

2. The top is the devoted Chi Lu.

3. There will be melodrama, melodrama, melodrama.

"Stop Pinning Little Red Flowers on Your Boss's Nipple"

After Mu Ci dies unexpectedly, the System tells him that to be reborn, he must get fired from a publicly listed company. He thinks it'll be easy. He used to do his best at work and still worry every day that the company would lay people off!

But things don't seem as easy as he thought. The CEO is said to be decisive and intolerant of even the smallest mistake, so why does something feel off?

After Mu Ci deliberately arrives late, the CEO calls him into the office and spends ages fussing over him, asking if he's all right. Then he waves a hand and gives him a week of paid leave to relax and recover.

Mu Ci: "..." Never mind. Maybe the boss is just taking the roundabout route to firing him, showing him some concern first, then firing him for leading with his left foot when he comes back.

At work, Mu Ci deliberately slacks off and falls asleep at his desk while the CEO is making his rounds. The CEO simply scoops him up in a princess carry. "I should have paid more attention. Come sleep in my office?"

Mu Ci wants to say something, but with everyone watching and him in this position, anything he says would sound weird. So he just shuts his eyes and pretends to be dead.

When the CEO is discussing business with a partner, Mu Ci has another idea. "Get me a drink, would you? This liquor is too harsh." How could a big-shot boss tolerate being ordered around, especially in front of outsiders? Mu Ci smiles to himself after saying it. Fire me already!

To his surprise, the CEO pauses, then really does get up and leave. When he returns, he pats Mu Ci on the head. "I should have prepared earlier. I didn't think this through."

Before a banquet, Mu Ci pins a little red flower on the CEO in his office, still racking his brains for a way to get fired. But before he knows it, the pin on the back of the flower gets stuck. He looks over and quickly realizes what's blocking it. Terrified, he freezes.

This is bad, this is bad. He said he wanted to quit, but he still wanted to leave with some dignity. After this, who knows if he'll even make it out of the office alive today! The more he thinks about it, the more he wants to cry...

Then a hand suddenly closes around his. The little red flower is tossed aside, and warm, damp breath brushes his ear. "Xiao Ci, are you into this kind of thing?"

Reading Guide

1. Sweet romance, with the top doting on the bottom.

2. The bottom is adored by everyone, a clueless little scatterbrain, and there will be one-sided crushes.

3. Hope you enjoy reading!

Theme: There is more than one road to success.