The Man Everyone Hates Lives Off Others and Owns It

As netizens celebrated the long-awaited retirement of Ye Kai, the most disliked man in showbiz, he submitted an application to join a variety show's production team.

No one knew that, on the brink of death, Ye Kai had awakened and learned that he was merely a supporting character in a book, while the protagonist was his half-brother, Ye Boyu.

Everything that had happened before finally made sense. No matter how hard he tried, he was always met with cold stares and beatings, never a hint of warmth from his family.

His childhood friend, whom he'd grown up with, said he only considered Ye Boyu a friend. When Ye Boyu was caught on camera showing violent tendencies, the Ye family twisted the truth and made Ye Kai out to be the abuser.

Ye Boyu got to enjoy an easy, carefree life, while Ye Kai paid the price, suffering false accusations, betrayal, abandonment, and blame he didn't deserve.

After awakening, Ye Kai decided it wasn't a big deal. He paid off his contract termination fee in record time and returned to a family that had nothing but money, ready to live off them.

And so the entertainment industry lost a has-been actor everyone hated and gained a variety show producer who drove countless award-winning actors and top-tier stars up the wall.

His older brother and a domineering CEO reunite on a dating show after a bitter breakup, still caught up in a tortured love story. Ye Kai strolls by peacefully with his thermos, and a text message reminds him that both men have transferred five million to him.

On a lifestyle reality show, the guests' scandals come crashing down one after another, like episodes of a TV drama. The show becomes famous for its shameless editing, while Ye Kai and countless netizens watch the drama unfold live.

The manager of a disgraced top-tier star angrily corners Ye Kai and demands an explanation about the show's editing.

Ye Kai remains calm. His catlike eyes blink as he offers a sincere, innocent smile. "Real or fake? I have no idea."

*

A domineering CEO has a hapless younger brother. The CEO pursues his wife in a groveling redemption arc, while the younger brother works. The CEO spends a fortune on his lover, while the younger brother works. The CEO is heartbroken and threatens to jump into the sea, and the younger brother...

The younger brother decides to give him a push.

Shen Wu stands on the cruise ship's deck, casually lighting a cigarette. Inside, his older brother is arguing with his lover, and the noise is getting on Shen Wu's nerves. He turns to look at the sea at sunset, when suddenly he hears someone call his name.

A young man stands in the sunset, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing a slender wrist. His gaze is clear and distant. Shen Wu's heart stirs. Ye Kai walks over and hands him a gift box.

Shen Wu puts on an air of composure. "So you remembered my birthday."

Ye Kai: "Of course. I picked this gift out especially for you."

Shen Wu smiles and eagerly opens it, revealing the printed title: Lectures on Criminal Law.

Shen Wu: ?

Ye Kai says earnestly, "Sometimes, a man needs to admit that what he's doing is criminal."

*

We still don't know where Ye, the producer, is eating his popcorn today.

1. Most revisions are just fixing typos.

2. One-on-one romance. No harems, no switching.

Coming soon: How to Make a Beauty into a Yandere

A bittersweet story about mutual pining where they insist on turning it into a dark, obsessive romance.

Top: I want a dark, obsessive romance! Scared yet?

Bottom: You left the key to the dark room with me. Can you act more convincingly? Otherwise, playing along makes me look like an idiot (rubs forehead with a wry smile).

*

Qin Eryan passed the imperial examinations at seventeen and became a close aide to the emperor at twenty-three. He weathered the ups and downs of officialdom, believing he'd poured his heart and soul into serving his country and family. Later, the battered realm was restored, but he was left frail and riddled with illness.

With peace and prosperity finally within reach, Qin Eryan breathed a sigh of relief and wrote a memorial requesting leave due to illness. He said he didn't know when he'd return and planned to travel, admire flowers, and keep birds.

But the memorial never reached its destination. The next day, the young emperor casually tossed a memorial accusing him onto his desk, along with a letter written in blood, every word soaked in anguish. The Censorate accused him of deceiving the emperor, cultivating a faction, and harboring treasonous ambitions known to all.

The emperor's wrath could leave a million corpses in its wake.

The boy he'd raised with his own hands looked at him. The emperor gazed at him from beneath his crown. Only then did Qin Eryan realize that the emperor's eyes held unmistakable, frenzied hatred.

*

Qin Eryan had imagined that Pei Jinxue might exile him, kill him, or even torture him and humiliate him, but he never expected Pei Jinxue to lock him away in a secluded palace residence.

Pei Jinxue's hand closes around his vulnerable throat, forcing him to look up, but his voice is gentle. "Teacher, your health is poor. Why not stay here and recuperate?"

Qin Eryan sneers. "Your Majesty, Qin Eryan has already been driven out of the capital by you and become a laughingstock across the realm. There is no Qin Eryan left in this capital."

Pei Jinxue takes his coldness in stride. Whether Qin Eryan hates or resents him, their fates are entwined all the same.

Later, rumors spread that Qin Eryan is being kept by the emperor. His close friend risks his life to meet him in the palace. "The emperor is a real bastard. I'll find a way to get you out."

Qin Eryan smiles and lightly jingles the chain around his wrist. "No need."

His close friend is baffled. "What do you mean?"

"From poetry, history, rites, and music, down to right and wrong, I taught him everything. Even if he makes a mistake, no outsider gets to meddle."

"He doesn't know how to love someone. I'll teach him myself."

Theme: As long as life goes on, so does the struggle.