I Made Ancient Opera Manuscripts Famous Again

Content warnings: This story passed review, but the author knows absolutely nothing about Chinese opera, so everything is made up to move the plot along.

If you want well-researched, authentic opera content, do not click. This story focuses mainly on the leads' everyday life.

Not recommended.

Not recommended.

Not recommended.

A self-disciplined, gentle gentleman (aloof, ruthless, fierce, and merciless), a restorer of calligraphy and paintings, the gong

A two-bit rascal offstage, bewitching onstage (a smooth talker, but acts like a little kid), a Kunqu opera performer, the shou

[Blurb]

When Lu Wensheng was seven, both his parents died in a car accident.

Before he even had time to grieve, his grandfather brought home a little boy the next day, pushed him in front of Lu Wensheng, and said, "This is your older brother from now on."

Lu Wensheng was mischievous and disobedient. His older brother was like his foil, making him look even worse by comparison.

His grandfather even taught this stranger, who had appeared out of nowhere and wasn't related to them by blood, every last bit of the family's traditional restoration techniques for calligraphy and paintings.

Unable to bear the rumors in the small county town, Lu Wensheng grabbed his bag and left without looking back.

Seven years later, Lu Wensheng set foot in this run-down little town again. By then, he had become an internationally renowned Kunqu opera artist.

And the older apprentice he couldn't stand had become the only glimmering pearl in this muddy wasteland, impossible for him to look away from.

Senior, they all say that objects are cold and soulless. No one understands you, so let me give them color. I'll make their stories known all over the world.

Ongoing novel: The Little Golden Dragon Reborn as Everyone's Least Favorite

Jian Jiarong was a little golden dragon beloved by all since birth. His greatest joy each day was eating and drinking, and collecting shiny things on the side.

One day, he fell asleep in a cave full of shiny things. When he woke up, they were all gone...

Not only that, but his mighty claws, beautiful wings, and shimmering scales had all disappeared too...

He had actually turned into an ugly, hairless monkey!

Jian Jiarong stared at his pale, slender fingers and couldn't help spitting in disgust. This was way too ugly.

Never mind. The important thing now was to find his shiny things.

But there were three major obstacles in the way of finding them.

Obstacle one: his biological father, who thought he was embarrassing and useless.

Obstacle two: his biological older brother, who kept an eye on him like he was a thief.

Obstacle three: his former online dating partner, now a famous streamer, who was publicly accusing him of being a disgusting sasaeng fan, causing him a great deal of trouble whenever he went out.

Jian Jiarong hadn't listened to a single word of these people's nonsense, but it was still annoying to have bugs constantly buzzing in his ear.

Jian Jiarong sharpened his claws. "Can I eat them all?"

Jian Jiarong's extraordinary stone-carving skills earned widespread praise.

Jian Jiarong had this to say: "A bunch of hairless monkeys who've never seen the world. It's nothing special. You just scrape away with your claws and gnaw at it with your teeth. I used to carve all the decorations in my cave myself, bit by bit, with my claws."

The host held a microphone up to Jian Jiarong. "These skills are very difficult to learn nowadays. Did you persevere because you dreamed of reviving traditional art?"

Jian Jiarong: "I heard the prize for first place on your show is gold, so that's why I came."

Jian Jiarong: "So where's the gold? Hurry up and give it to me."

Chi Fengxue was the next outstanding heir to a family of celestial masters (a group of charlatans). A bunch of old frauds in his family hailed him as the successor to the title of celestial master. His catchphrase was, "Slay the evil dragon and save the world."

Chi Fengxue had always disdained the nonsense spouted by his family's con artists, until he met Jian Jiarong.

Strange things always happened around this guy.

For instance, lightning chased people down to strike them, a tornado seemed to pursue one person in particular, and even the clouds in the vast desert followed him around to shade him from the sun.

No one would believe it if you said the footage hadn't been made with CGI.

Just as Chi Fengxue was silently reciting the Core Socialist Values, Jian Jiarong transformed right in front of him into a... uh, an eight-meter-long giant lizard?

Chi Fengxue: In this situation, should I call 110 first or 120? I'm in a hurry, answer me online.

Upcoming novel: The Rich Man's Layered Schemes

Ning Shu was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. As an only child, he smoothly inherited the family business when he grew up. He strode through life with an air of confidence and the manners of a gentleman. Going out with eight bodyguards was standard, and a wave of his hand could seal a deal worth tens of billions. He was a certified winner in life, the dream diamond bachelor of countless young women.

But in the middle of the night, a secret often kept Ning Shu tossing and turning.

It wasn't a huge secret, but it wasn't exactly trivial either. It was just a little damaging to his image as a man.

There was something wrong with his body. To put it bluntly, he wasn't very capable in that department.

Naturally, Ning Shu kept this humiliating matter under tight wraps. Not even his parents, or even the family dog, knew.

For an overbearing CEO, Ning Shu was surprisingly laid-back: If it didn't work, it didn't work. There were so many wonderful things in life. It was just sex, so he might as well give it up.

Ning Shu made it sound easy, but deep down, he couldn't help feeling a little indignant: Hang on, I haven't done anything to deserve this. How did this end up happening to me?

The more he thought about it, the more bothered he got. Taking advantage of the dark, windy night, he dressed like a bank robber and snuck off to the hospital.

Ning Shu: I'll find out what on earth is going on.

After a series of complex and meticulous tests, Ning Shu clutched his diagnosis with trembling fingers and stared in confusion at the white-haired old doctor, whose speech was slurred and whose face was covered in wrinkles.

"Wait, there's nothing wrong? Are you sure there's nothing wrong? How could there be nothing wrong? If there's nothing wrong, then why does it... why doesn't it do anything?"

The old doctor looked more like he belonged in the hospital than Ning Shu did. In a kind voice, but without the slightest courtesy, he ushered Ning Shu out.

Standing in front of the firmly shut consultation room door, Ning Shu rubbed his nose, looked at the diagnosis in his hand, and muttered, "Quack!"

After that, Ning Shu completely gave up hope and couldn't be bothered to keep trying random things.

Back at the office, General Manager Ning sat in his hundred-square-meter office, looking down at the traffic from the 40th floor. Holding a steaming cup of goji berry tea, he blew across the rim of his thermos, took a small sip, and sighed. "Ah... I guess heaven envies the talented. It's all fate."

Ning Shu thought he would spend the rest of his life without desire or ambition.

Until one day, after a truly thorough, all-encompassing, head-to-toe physical examination, Ning Shu finally understood what test heaven had set for him.

It wasn't that he couldn't react. He could react. It was just that this reaction... happened... in the hands of a proctologist!

Ning Shu was completely shattered. For a moment, he didn't know whether to be embarrassed about meeting the doctor's eyes or upset that his body had betrayed him.

When had he developed a problem in that department?

Ning Shu had never known anything about men with men, and he fell into deep self-doubt.

In the spirit of rigorous scientific research, Ning Shu decided he had to conduct an experiment himself to find out whether he really had that kind of problem.

But finding someone to experiment with became a problem.

A male escort from a nightclub? No, no. That kind of person looked unhygienic, and there were too many people from the same circles in those places. It'd be easy for his identity to get out.

A young celebrity from the entertainment industry? No, no. That world was full of shady characters. Who knew what kind of weirdos he'd run into? If someone found out and got leverage over him, they might use it to blackmail him and refuse to leave him alone.

Ning Shu thought it over from every angle but couldn't find a suitable person, until the day he was invited to give a speech at his alma mater.

Returning to campus, Ning Shu was dazzled by the energetic, hormone-fueled male students. He glanced at the thermos that was always in his hand and sighed, "It's good to be young."

Then inspiration struck. Right! Outsiders weren't safe, so he could find a male college student to help him with the experiment.

Was there anyone safer than a powerless college student? More importantly, college students hadn't seen much of the world, so there was no need to worry about getting extorted.

After carefully selecting, Ning Shu found himself a sweet, sunny, good-natured college student.

Most importantly, the student had a clear-eyed yet foolish air about him. Give him an internship stamp and a job offer, and Ning Shu could keep the secret firmly under control.

Besides, the guy didn't seem all that straight, so Ning Shu felt a little less guilty.

What straight guy spent every day thinking about knitting a pink floral sleeve for his thermos?

One day, Ning Shu's secret suddenly came to light. As everyone mocked their dark relationship, the sole heir to an old-money family abroad tagged Ning Shu at the center of the storm, writing: "This is my wife. You country bumpkins have never even seen a married couple's bedroom games?"

The person in the picture below was none other than that clear-eyed yet foolish college student.

His little canary leaned lazily against a rare sports car, one of only ten in the world, grinning with wild abandon. Behind him, great clusters of roses were in full bloom, with a castle that clearly had a long history in the background.

Onlookers online: Well, well, well. We thought this was a forced-love story, but instead a whole basin of dog food just hit us. Is this how you rich people play? We're all part of your game, aren't we?

Ning Shu, no less shocked than the netizens, rubbed his eyes. He looked at the sports car he'd only ever seen in magazines, then at the castle he'd only ever seen on TV...

So this was the supposedly naive little canary he could trick with an internship agreement?

This was bad. He'd gotten involved with someone dangerous.

Could he still swap him out for another college student?

Upcoming novel: So You're Stealing the King of Hell's Business

Ji Deng was a conscientious King of Hell who never took a day off or left work early, and worked overtime every day, all 365 days of the year...

His greatest goal in life was to succeed in his career. In other words, to help the Underworld thrive and run smoothly.

But now Ji Deng was holding the Underworld's work report, his hands trembling slightly and the veins at his temples throbbing, as he stared at the Black and White Impermanence and Ox-Head and Horse-Face, who were cowering below him.

"Explain to me what it means that our performance has been zero for three consecutive months."

"Where are the people? Where have all the people in the human world gone? Huh?!"

"Look at the number of deaths in the mortal world, then look at the number of people in the Underworld. We have more staff than ghosts waiting to be reincarnated!"

The number of deaths and the number of souls being reincarnated had been out of balance in the Underworld for years, but at first Ji Deng assumed there were just too many wandering spirits escaping.

Over the past two years, the death toll had climbed straight up, almost reaching wartime levels, yet there were fewer and fewer souls in the Underworld.

By now, there wasn't a single soul left in the Underworld.

Their performance had been a big fat zero for three months in a row.

This was a disaster!

With nothing but a bunch of useless deadbeats working for him, Ji Deng sighed and decided he would have to go to the mortal world himself to investigate.

Having not visited the human world in over a thousand years, Ji Deng was stunned by how quickly it had developed. The world was peaceful, people lived in comfort, and happiness levels were high.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong, so... just what was going on with that death rate, higher than during wartime?

Ji Deng spent a carefree month in the human world without finding anything wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to slink back in defeat.

If he went back to the Underworld just like that, how would he be any different from the good-for-nothings he complained about?

Too proud to lose face, Ji Deng stubbornly stuck it out in the mortal world for another week.

Just as he was about to admit he'd been useless and head back, he was suddenly pulled into a strange space.

While everyone around him screamed in terror, Ji Deng slowly smiled.

So that's where all his performance had gone. It was all here.

Newcomers had the highest mortality rate in this world. It especially loved springing face-to-face kills on them.

As a result, the mortality rate among newcomers remained above 90 percent.

Ji Deng was the only newcomer in that group to emerge completely unharmed, drawing the attention of all the major powers. Plenty of people wondered what Ji Deng did for a living to have such strong nerves.

Ji Deng had this to say: "Face-to-face kills? I love them."

Is there anything more fun than doing nothing while work comes right to you?

Theme: A couple join forces to promote traditional Chinese arts.