Openly Bright, Secretly Scheming [Showbiz]

[Two-faced, tsundere, stubborn shou x irreverent, scheming, blunt gong]

On the first anniversary of idol group HOLIC, one member after another gets caught up in scandals.

First, the calculating idol Su Wei liked negative comments about a bandmate using his main account, shattering his innocent, sweet image overnight.

Then his archenemy, Yan Yiming, was caught meeting his secret girlfriend after the celebratory party, and rumors were everywhere.

The proposed solution? Make the archenemies sell a fake romance together?!

Su Wei: I'd rather sell a selfcest ship and get mocked for having a split personality. There's no way I'm doing promo with him!

Yan Yiming: When you get right down to it, isn't this mess all your fault?

Bandmates: Is it really a good idea to make two people who could get into a fight backstage sell a romance...?

Fans: So they're forcing it, huh? Let's see how hard this is to ship.

First came verbal sparring. Su Wei flushed red and threatened to make him pay.

Second came some physical sparring. Yan Yiming had a bruise on his neck and claimed a dog had bitten him.

By the third time, their bickering sounded like flirting, and their fights like make-out sessions. The whole group was trying to shut the closet door while fans churned out fanfiction. "Wei Yi" had become the biggest ship in the fandom!

[Extra scene]

On a duo stage, their bodies were tantalizingly close.

The fresh scent of cedar traveled from Yan Yiming's pulsing wrist to his fingertips, filling the air around them.

No matter how hard Su Wei tried, he couldn't dispel the irritating scent around his nose. He deliberately tightened his grip on the other man's tie.

But that only brought the face he hated most even closer.

Amid the screams from the audience, a teasing voice brushed his ear.

"Didn't you say there was absolutely no chance of you and me?"

"It's just for work. Don't tell me you took it seriously?"

Bandmates: We told you not to flirt around in front of your bandmates. We're going to get eye infections! I hate this dog couple, aaah!

Fans: Archenemies are archenemies, all right. Archenemies can't turn into wives. If they became wives, they couldn't use work as an excuse to flirt while beating the hell out of each other anymore. If they became wives, all they could do would be flirt onstage as a duo and get tangled up in a bitter, desirous romance. So archenemies can only be wives. Oh, no, I mean, wives can only be archenemies. Sorry, I mean archenemies...

Note:

1. Each other's first love, 1v1.

2. The gong and shou are imperfect. Readers seeking perfect characters, proceed with caution.

3. Romance within an idol group. Don't read if that bothers you.

4. The entertainment industry setting is fictional, and the characters aren't based on real people. Please don't compare them to real people or speculate about their inspirations.

Blurb revised on 25.4.22

---Blurb for upcoming novel: Not Your Fated Mate [ABO]---

[Purehearted, spoiled rich Alpha shou x younger, fake-Omega, green-tea Alpha gong]

Ruan Lin is a wealthy young master, handsome and refined, with a long list of rumored lovers. Though an Alpha, ever since his first heat he has suffered from a rare condition related to his secondary gender: an inability to smell pheromones.

In plain terms, for an Alpha, that's basically... erectile dysfunction.

Then one day, he suddenly caught a whiff of lily of the valley. Ruan Lin was overjoyed. This had to be the Omega fate had destined for him! He immediately signed a dating contract with the owner of the pheromones, Jiang Yihuai.

Jiang Yihuai was a little clingy and seemed unusually possessive, but for Ruan Lin, who desperately needed an Omega to prove he wasn't impotent, that was just right.

As Ruan Lin grew more and more dependent on Jiang Yihuai, he began trying to mark him, but gradually realized something was off. Were an Omega's pheromones really supposed to be this stimulating to an Alpha?!

Was his sweet, affectionate little Omega, the only fated person whose pheromones he could smell, Jiang Yihuai, actually a bona fide Alpha?!

"Why are you running away?" Jiang Yihuai asked with an innocent, aggrieved look, blocking the Alpha as he fled. Countless wafts of pheromones carrying the scent of lily of the valley filled the air.

In the final second before losing consciousness, Ruan Lin finally remembered: lily of the valley is poisonous.

No wonder he sometimes felt dizzy around Jiang Yihuai. He'd been poisoned! He'd thought it was just the sweet scent unique to Omega pheromones...

Theme: Speak honestly and love sincerely