Your Persona Has Crumbled

Jiang Nanan is a talented actor from the new generation, famous in the entertainment industry as an aloof beauty. He devotes himself to acting, stays away from variety shows, keeps a low profile, and never courts publicity. But off camera, he is eccentric, has terrible social skills, knows nothing about how to get along with people, and cannot tolerate the slightest grievance. At the drop of a hat, he goes off the rails, and his mental state is alarmingly beautiful. To preserve his taciturn image, his agent forbids him from acting like himself in front of the cameras. Jiang Nanan has always kept work and private life strictly separate, until one day, the hashtag “Jiang Nanan Spring’s heartfelt confession” shot to the top of the trending list. Clicking on it revealed a screenshot from the comments section of Spring, a game streamer on a certain platform: “[Pinned] Jiang Nanan V: Bro, you’re wrong. So, so wrong. Do you know that every night at midnight I scream and spring out of bed, helplessly losing my mind and wailing, with nobody caring about me? All I can do is slap myself to force myself to calm down. But the moment I see your face, your hands, and those god-tier plays, I burst into tears, hating myself for not being you. I love you. Do you hear me? I love you. The biggest mistake you’ve ever made was stealing my heart!” “[Author’s reply] Spring: ? Anyone who dares to point out my faults to my face will be executed.” By the time his agent’s 198th call came through, Jiang Nanan was terrifyingly calm. If I say I went crazy drunk and forgot to switch accounts, would you believe me? - Jiang Nanan’s aloof image collapsed overnight. He had no way to explain himself, so he put all his work on hold and stayed home to reflect on his mistakes. Sure, it was his fault for not checking which account he was using. But even if you gave him a million steps’ worth of leeway, wasn’t that game streamer called Spring at fault too? What kind of decent person holds a praise competition for himself, then shares the link and forces everyone to join in? The more Jiang Nanan thought about it, the more speechless he became. Then, later on, he was invited to appear on a gaming variety show. Backstage, he saw a man sucking on a lollipop. The name tag on the man’s chest bore the word he hated most: “Spring.” “Jiang Nanan?” The man had spotted him too. He glanced at Jiang Nanan’s name tag and drawled in a lazy Beijing accent: “So you’re the little star who got me trending? I caught plenty of flak because of you.” Whenever Jiang Nanan thought about it, he wanted to hang himself with a rope: “Was that why you pinned my comment right at the top?” “Come on, don’t be like that. We were just messing around because we had nothing better to do. Whoever got the best praise got pinned and worshipped by everyone. You left all the others in the dust.” The man spoke languidly. His candy clicked against his teeth as he chuckled, all carefree swagger: “You were so sincere, I thought you were really in love with me.” A breathtaking superstar with an aloof image, a carnivorous flower, and a perfectly serene, unhinged streak, the pursued x A mute groom, a cunning old fox from Beijing’s powerful circles, and a shamelessly flirtatious game streamer, the pursuer *The characters are not based on anyone! No real-person lookalikes or stand-ins!* One-on-one romance, happy ending 2024.3.1 ---Coming soon: I Really Don’t Want to Be Emperor--- Ying Tianqi transmigrated, ending up as a famously spineless ruler who brought his kingdom to ruin. He wreaked havoc on the court and persecuted loyal officials. In the end, enemy soldiers broke through the city gates and hung him there for three days, bringing an entire dynasty to its end. System: “Automatically accepting quest for Host: Peace and prosperity, become an emperor for the ages!” Ying Tianqi: “?” He silently recalled the timeline. What awaited him was Empress Dowager Chen, the Great Xuan dynasty’s puppet master; a national preceptor who rode the emperor into court; enemy nations eyeing them hungrily; a general poised to rebel at any moment; and his own miserable life, which would end with his head separated from his body before long. Ying Tianqi fell silent for a moment, then beckoned to the general nearby: “General Fang, you don’t have to rebel anymore. Come on, come on. The throne is yours. You be emperor in my place.” “?” To spare the general any trouble, Ying Tianqi immediately smashed his head against the ground, blacking out. Who would have thought that when he opened his eyes, he’d be back on the same old throne, at the same familiar point in time? System: “Less than a perfect ending. Restarting game.” ?? Poisoned by a spy who slipped something into his wine? Too stupid. Restart! Stabbed to death in bed by an assassin in the middle of the night? Too pathetic. Restart! Pushed off a cliff while traveling incognito? Too careless. Restart! There’s only one way to escape this fate: Become a renowned sage ruler, remembered for generations. Ying Tianqi: SOS! _ Fang Nansi was a celebrated general of the Great Xuan dynasty. He won countless merits expanding its borders, yet amid the shifting tides of political upheaval, he met his end pierced by a thousand arrows. Afterward, he was trapped at the end of the Xuan dynasty, watching his homeland march toward ruin over and over again, powerless to change a thing. He supposed this must be what they meant by being unable to find release, even in death. Until one day, at a certain point in one of countless loops, the man on the throne suddenly changed his ways. Fang Nansi knew he wasn’t the original emperor. Most likely, he was another poor lunatic trapped in this farce. The poor lunatic often stood on the throne and shouted that he would become a sage ruler remembered for all eternity. When drunk, he would hug a wine bottle and sob that he couldn’t take this life anymore, that he really didn’t want to be emperor. The poor lunatic also often died in bizarre ways, only to come back in perfect health soon after, then drag Fang Nansi along to crush the powerful in-laws, beat back foreign enemies, and revitalize Great Xuan. Fang Nansi played along. It was at least a little entertainment in his otherwise dull life. One day, the poor lunatic pitched Fang Nansi another grand dream, just like he always did. He drew a strange map and draped an affectionate arm over Fang Nansi’s shoulder: “General, as long as you’re on my side, Eastern Europe! Southern Africa! North America! They’ll all belong to the two of us! I’ll conquer it all for you!” Fang Nansi glanced at him. “There’s no need for me to conquer them. Your Majesty will lead the expedition personally?” Ying Tianqi was briefly at a loss for words: “That’s not important! I don’t want to be emperor anyway. When the time comes, I’ll give you the throne. You’ll be the rightful ruler of a nation, and I’ll stay behind and devote myself to supporting you. Ah, what’s that word again…” Fang Nansi looked at him and raised an eyebrow slightly: “…Head of the harem?” “?” You’ve got some serious issues. A scheming, quick-witted, knife-edge adventurer and theatrical performer, the pursued x A ruthless, quiet, chaotic-neutral, devoted hound, the pursuer If this sounds interesting, dear readers, click into my author page and add it to your collection. Mwah mwah mwah~ Theme: Stand on your own two feet, and treat everyone with sincerity.