My Online Chat Partner Is the Top-Tier Star Himself

[70% anti-piracy protection in place; complete] Exclusively on Jinjiang. Wishing readers who support the original a fortune that grows by the day and wealth rolling in!

[Upcoming: "How Did You Fall for My Rival?" Please add it to your collection. Blurb at the very bottom~]

--

Qi Luo had just graduated when he became an assistant to a top-tier star.

The job was great in every way: high pay, plenty of vacation, full benefits, and the chance to meet all kinds of famous actors, singers, and musicians at any time.

Qi Luo's boss, Ren Qingyun, was a gifted singer and dancer onstage, radiating charm and captivating countless adoring fans.

Offstage, though, he seemed to have a serious case of social overconfidence.

"Hey, ma'am."

"Hey, man."

"Hey, little dog passing by whose name I don't know, but what a round butt."

Ren Qingyun really was good-looking, appealing to both men and women. Even all of Qi Luo's friends were fans of his.

One day, a friend asked excitedly, "He must be just as handsome in private, right?"

Qi Luo: "No. He's just plain crazy."

--

As it turned out, that only made his friend love Ren Qingyun more. The friend even changed their social media name to "Ren Qingyun," so every time Qi Luo tagged them to show them something, it felt incredibly weird.

For half a year, he kept tagging the same friend. At first, the friend ignored him, then started responding to every post, and eventually began tagging Qi Luo too.

The first time Qi Luo got tagged by his friend, it was, as expected, an edit showing off Ren Qingyun's looks.

Qi Luo replied to his friend:

"I still don't get it."

The other person quickly replied: "Aren't you a fan of his?"

"Aren't you?"

"You're not a fan of him?!"

Bombarded with private messages, Qi Luo was completely baffled.

Seriously, did he love him that much? Even dogs wouldn't go for a fanboy with a celebrity obsession. Ugh.

--

One day, Qi Luo was talking with his friend about a video online.

His friend looked confused and showed him their empty message list.

"You never tagged me, though?"

Qi Luo: "? Then who have I been tagging?"

It turned out his friend's real ID was "Ren Qingyun from City A," and all this time Qi Luo had been tagging the real Ren Qingyun by mistake.

--

Online, Qi Luo: @Ren Qingyun, say, "Princess, please watch this video."

In person, Ren Qingyun leaned close to Qi Luo's ear. "Why is the princess so quiet? Is something on your mind?"

"..."

The seme starts out straight, flirting until he turns the uke gay, then falls hard and pursues him.

[Online, a sharp-tongued little devil who strikes hard; in person, a socially anxious, withdrawn, world-weary uke] x [A superstar who shines on screen and is a self-obsessed social butterfly with a penchant for outrageous antics offscreen, seme]

Reader's guide:

This is a simple, sweet little story, so same-sex marriage is legal in this world.

I haven't thought of any specific content warnings. It's just a silly, brainless sweet romance, but the entertainment-industry romance plot may not suit readers who are fans of celebrities. If you can't accept an idol dating, please don't read.

Just to be extra clear: No characters are based on real people. Any similarities in names or tropes are purely coincidental. Please don't make real-person associations or offer unsolicited writing advice. If you drop the story, please don't come back to criticize it. Extreme seme- or uke-stans, please look elsewhere. Beginner-level writing ahead. Please read with respect and help create a positive writing and reading environment.

--

Upcoming:

Xu Dengxin is the well-known online artist "Huaqi," with a queue of commissioned work and a huge following.

Half a year ago, he met the popular writer "Nan Lou" in a fandom group. They had identical tastes in couples and hit it off immediately, admiring each other as kindred spirits.

As they spent time together, they became each other's favorite fan creators, planning projects together and attending numerous events.

Until Nan Lou posted on their social feed:

"AB are just too good together."

Xu Dengxin saw it and despairingly deleted the words he'd typed into the chat.

Because this time, he shipped BA.

He'd tragically ended up shipping the rival pairing to his favorite writer.

--

Ji Nanlou is a writer with a versatile style and several secret identities.

Each of his accounts has its own set of fans who would go to extremes for him.

He never imagined that a popular artist he'd been lucky enough to meet would become his muse for sensual inspiration.

Love at first sight, captivated by his looks.

As a result, Ji Nanlou had to rein himself in, because whatever he wrote seemed to turn into an erotic scene, and he almost gave away his secret identities.

Even when Huaqi just stood there drying his hands, Ji Nanlou thought he was flirting with him.

...What a masterful seducer.

Huaqi praised him: "Teacher Nan Lou's writing is so different. The atmosphere is incredible! It's nothing like those stories that are only about smut."

Ji Nanlou guiltily hid the Red-and-White website secret identity under which he'd written dozens of explicit, violent erotic stories.

Huaqi complained: "The web novelist I hate most actually commissioned me :) Making money is hard, and so is taking a dump."

As Ji Nanlou worked as Huaqi's client, he guiltily hid his secret identity as a famous novelist.

And so began this romantic comedy of two people each hiding their own agenda.

--

Finally, Xu Dengxin, who'd ended up shipping the rival pairing, decided he couldn't keep hiding it and wanted to type out an apology and confess everything.

But before he could send it, Nan Lou messaged him.

Nan Lou: [Novel character profiles.pdf]

Nan Lou: "Teacher, I've finished the character profiles for my new book. If you're able to draw them, can I pay you directly, like last time?"

These were clearly the character profiles for that famous novelist's new book.

Huaqi: "?"

Ji Nanlou: Oh, no.

Xu Dengxin thought that, as a rival shipper, he was a liar hiding his identity.

He had no idea that Ji Nanlou was simultaneously a young master from Beijing's elite circles, a fandom big name, an AO3 smut writer, a renowned novelist...

There really isn't room for this many people here!

And Ji Nanlou hadn't told him that "close friend" meant "boyfriend you kiss until you're dizzy."

A fastidious, perfectionist artist who doesn't realize how sensual he is x a laid-back, seductive writer who's secretly a smutty menace

Theme: Embrace the sunshine and live.