I Made My Fortune as a Street Vendor in the 1990s

[My new entertainment-industry novel, Playing Pretend Got Me Hooked, is now available on my author page! A story where the second male lead takes over after the male lead's big mistake. Please add it to your reading list!]

Blurb for the new novel:

Zhou Shili had loved Qin Yang for many years, but he had dallied with countless women and never once liked her.

Yet as her boss, Qin Yang always took excellent care of Zhou Shili. He gave her the best resources, cast her as a supporting actress in an S+ production right after her debut, made sure she never lacked good scripts, and was quick and efficient about shutting down bad press.

He was so thorough and considerate that Zhou Shili couldn't stop herself from falling for him.

Until he told her to fake a relationship with Chen Qi, a popular singer at their company, and staged a scene for the paparazzi, making sure the two of them were seen entering and leaving a hotel together.

At last, Zhou Shili lost all hope in him. She decided she wanted to live as carefree a life as Qin Yang did.

In the middle of the night, she got the urge to knock on Chen Qi's door. Looking at his restrained yet flustered expression, she asked, "Want to turn this fake relationship into the real thing?"

*

Chen Qi had been like Zhou Shili's shadow for years. Wherever she went, he followed.

So he wouldn't lose track of her, he joined the entertainment industry. So he could talk to her more, he fought to get on the same variety show. He even helped create opportunities for her because she liked Qin Yang.

When Zhou Shili knocked on his door, he became a shadow she could finally show to the world.

But with every step closer, he was more careful, hiding his feelings well.

Because he knew Zhou Shili seemed to be growing more and more wary of serious relationships.

A carefree actress who just wants to have fun x a male singer with excellent service skills

Bonus scene:

At a company dinner, a group of colleagues who'd known each other for years drank their fill, and their conversation grew increasingly daring.

Someone said Zhou Shili was so aloof and innocent that she probably hadn't watched adult films in her twenties.

Chen Qi tightened his grip on his glass. Across from him, Zhou Shili said frankly, "How could I not have? I just prefer watching ones made for women."

Everyone was surprised. Only Chen Qi sat in silence.

A few days later, a sasaeng fan found Chen Qi's phone at the airport. People discovered his browser was full of viewing history for films made for women, while his notes app was packed with detailed analyses of the male leads in those films.

Everyone was dumbfounded: Who knew that the aloof, unapproachable male singer was into this stuff in private?!

Blurb

In her previous life, Meng Li was a beautiful shop owner with several dessert stores and a thriving business.

Unfortunately, she had misjudged a man when she was young, married a freeloader who lived off his wife, and was killed by his schemes.

Reborn in 1992, she found everything reset to zero. The three generations of her family were squeezed into a fifty-square-meter dorm assigned by the textile factory, living on her mother's meager wages.

To build her fortune, Meng Li relied on the System's help and made money by taking advantage of every opportunity, starting with a street stall.

The one price was that she had to complete the System's task: win over Shen Heli.

Meng Li was very good at flirting, and before long, Shen Heli fell under her spell. She made so much money her hands practically went numb.

Before she could enjoy her new life for long, Shen Heli discovered the real reason she'd gotten close to him.

As Shen Heli confronted her with reddened eyes and a hoarse, fragile voice, Meng Li pretended not to care and openly suggested they sleep together one last time before breaking up.

She thought they'd part on good terms the next day, but Shen Heli ended up clinging to her and refusing to leave.

*

Shen Heli was insecure and reserved. Whenever Meng Li pursued him, he responded cautiously, afraid that one wrong move would upset her and make her leave him behind.

When they finally made their relationship official, he thought their lives would stay beautiful forever.

Until the day he discovered the System's romance mission. Meng Li was so calm that Shen Heli felt she'd been weaving a beautiful but false dream around him all along.

He felt as though he'd fallen into an icy abyss, his heart crushed beneath her feet.

But once again, he couldn't resist falling for her tricks. After making love to her, he couldn't bear to leave.

He leaned over the bed, staring at the marks he'd left on her, and pleaded, almost desperately: "Meng Li, use me however you want, just don't leave me."

Theme: Work hard to change your fate.