A Boy Band Trainee's Cultivation Manual

Blurb: Xu Zhaorong is reborn and discovers that he was originally a cannon-fodder character in a novel. He is a contestant on a 101-style boy-group survival show, a sacrificial royal scion brought in to study alongside the crown prince. His stunning looks make him a breakout star early on, earning him a huge following of fans who love his face. But he can't sing or dance, has a boring personality, and gets maliciously edited. In the end, he is sacrificed to clear the way for the prince. In other words, he's the prince's footstool. Xu Zhaorong, a graduate of the Boy Group Academy: You think I'm going to put up with that? During filming, one of his teammates deliberately blocks his camera shot. Xu Zhaorong “accidentally” squeezes past him, looking surprised. “Oh, sorry! I didn't realize you were standing in front of me. I honestly didn't see you at all.” The audience: Is he making fun of the guy for being short? Hahaha! While filming a skincare ad together, a teammate snidely calls him a bumpkin who can't even recognize luxury skincare brands. Xu Zhaorong, with an innocent look: “I had no idea there were so many kinds of skincare. You know so much, bro. Unlike me, I only wash my face with water.” The audience: Naturally beautiful people really don't need to overdo the skincare. Ugly guys are another matter. A contestant deliberately sidles up to him to create BL fanservice, pretending to be a fragile little uke who has been ignored and hurt. Xu Zhaorong: “You're pretty good at this. Have you memorized The Boy Group Fanservice Handbook? I'm not against doing fanservice with you, but I want to be the flower.” The audience: Wow, that's bold. Can he really say that? He's so mean, but I love him so much! Xu Zhaorong: If you're going to chase a thrill, you might as well go all the way. (Wink~) And so, through his own efforts, Xu Zhaorong founded a whole school of thought known as “Rong Studies.” His cutting remarks repeatedly trended and broke out of the fandom bubble, adding to the show's popularity. His looks and personality won him wave after wave of fans. He drove his antis mad with rage and his fans wild with adoration. Superstar Center is a truly remarkable survival show. It was the most popular season of the 101-style shows in the country, and it recruited a cast of contestants practically born to stir up bloody drama: The youngest member, Ji Senzhe, is an all-rounder and a Chinese-German mixed-race heartthrob with a chilly personality and a perpetually sour-faced baby-face. His fans affectionately call him the Little Crown Prince. Antis' verdict: “German devil, obvious royal treatment. You know what happens to anyone who gets close to him. Teammates, stay away or he'll suck you dry. Can those height-increasing insoles really get you to 170 cm? This old servant welcomes the Crown Prince to the throne.” Zheng Yin, the rapper, is a cool, aloof guy nearly 190 centimeters tall. His eight-pack abs have his fans drooling. Antis' verdict: “The only straight guy in a whole flock of soft pretty boys. His fans claim they can turn even a stone-cold lesbian straight, but he's really just an aggressive, overbearing jerk with a huge macho streak, the perfect symbol of the urban-rural divide.” Lin Baizhou, the dancer, has a Latin dance background, a slim waist, long legs, and incredible stage presence. His fans call him a cool, ethereal little uke. Antis' verdict: “His fans' dream fantasy: a gorgeous, saintly gay man. His vocals sound like a cow mooing. Gay for work, straight in real life. He's useless at fanservice, and even needs his girlfriend to teach him how.” In short, this was a truly remarkable show, packed with eye-catching contestants: soft pretty boys, top studs, straight guys, ugly guys, guys pretending to be gay, and “stone-cold lesbians.” The fans were at each other's throats, tearing their hair out amid a storm of blood and fire. But the one who left the strongest impression was that man, Xu Zhaorong! A face like a classical immortal, A boy-group villain dripping with bitchy attitude, A born magnet for attention and controversy, Five points of actual skill, ten points of stage presence, ready to turn every teammate sharing the stage into his servant, A freakish, demonic mess in the eyes of antis, a ghost dancing wildly, but a breathtaking celestial beauty in his fans' eyes, whose every dance is a fleeting glimpse of a swan, A groveling fan-kisser according to antis, but a master of fanservice and fan-pleasing in the eyes of his fans, Whenever fans of different members or ships start fighting, the teammates all put on the “Matron Rong” skin, the antis' nickname for Xu Zhaorong's fans, to put out the fire. His popularity was so enormous that he eventually tore up the script and staged an incredible comeback. Antis' verdict: “Crown Prince moms, now that the footstool is shitting all over everyone, do you regret pushing him as a top?” Crown Prince moms: “I saw the willows turning green by the roadside, and regret urging my husband to seek a title.” TAT #WhoDidXuZhaorongInsultToday #DidXuZhaorongsColoredContactsSlipAgain #ClickHereToWatchTheFootstoolsRiseToTheTop #EveryoneIsXuZhaorongsServantAnyway #BroPushedBroAndTheEmpressKilledTheEmpress #XuZhaorongAgreedToFanserviceWithHisTeammateButWantsToBeTheFlower #I saw the willows turning green by the roadside, and regret urging my husband to seek a title~ Content warnings: 1. The pairing is set: the crown prince, who will grow taller. The blurb's “I want to be the flower” is a joke. Don't call my gorgeous top a bottom. 2. This is not a everyone-loves-him story. It's a boy-group drama about men scheming against one another and fighting tooth and nail. That doesn't mean there's no friendship at all, but there's only a little. The seme is a villain and a born magnet for attention and controversy. 3. The language can be pretty mean, and there are forum-style sections. 4. The author used to follow idols, but that was a long time ago. There are no real-life inspirations. 5. No content warnings. If you have any triggers, enter at your own risk. Please add my upcoming book, No Evil Goes Undone, to your reading list! Blurb: Lucifer is an elegant, noble vampire prince. After his wife Lilith cheats on him, he goes dark and becomes a deadbeat father, psychologically tormenting their six children in all sorts of twisted ways. Out of hatred for his ex-wife, he even forcibly turns a nobleman's son named Micah into the lowest class of vampire, simply because the boy looks so much like Lilith. Micah is hounded until his family is destroyed. With no choice, he becomes Lucifer's humiliating plaything, biding his time and waiting for a chance to take revenge. At Micah's instigation, Lucifer's children gradually grow to hate him. They decide to join forces and kill their bastard of a father. * Micah once had a happy family. He was the eldest son of Count Howard of the Tailand Empire, born into a distinguished family. His father was gentle, his little sister was adorable, and he was about to graduate from Norton Academy and continue his studies at university. His future looked bright. Until one day, a man entered their lives. He was the most powerful man Micah had ever seen, with long, pale hair and cold, green, beastlike eyes. He was so beautiful, yet so cruel. He was the dangerous heretical creature hunters spoke of, the vampire of legend. This man destroyed Micah's family and toyed with his life as he pleased. Humiliated time and again, Micah played along and did everything he could to please him. In secret, however, he joined the Heresy Tribunal as a hunter, waiting for the right moment to take revenge. “As expected of the child I valued most. I lost. Devour me, inherit my power, and become the new king.” When Micah finally defeated the man, he gazed at his pale hair and that dangerous, captivating face. Deep down, beneath his anger and satisfaction, Micah felt something he had never realized was there: infatuation and admiration. You've got to be kidding... * When Micah joined forces with Lucifer's children to betray him, Lucifer wasn't surprised. He was a creature born of hatred, and his power came from such extreme love and hate. After a thousand years, he was already weary of life. Whoever devoured him would inherit all his power and become the new vampire prince. But, unexpectedly, no one did. After getting his revenge, Micah used his overwhelming strength to kick Lucifer's children aside and lock Lucifer up. Micah: “My lord, when you look at my face, are you thinking of me, or of the wife you once loved?” The children: “Father, we'll definitely come back to save you.” Lucifer: ? Theme: The wind may be strong, but one day we will ride the waves.