The Monsters Are All Hopeless Romantics

Advance Notice: The Angsty-Novel Bottom Is Always Coveting Me. Launching September 15. I hope you’ll add it to your favorites, everyone~ Synopsis: [What does it feel like to be loved by a nonhuman creature?] All sorts of nonhuman creatures have begun appearing around you for no apparent reason. They are dark and twisted, insecure and sensitive, obsessive and strange. They often hide in the shadows, watching you with eyes full of love. They will even resort to any means necessary to come to your side, just so they can be with you. Their love is sick and frantic, but it is meant for you alone. A quick preview of the stories: 1. The Impostor Lin Xingshu has a boyfriend. They have only been together for a short while, and he can count their meetings on one hand. Whenever they are together, his boyfriend is as cold as a stranger. At last, one day, Lin Xingshu can’t take it anymore and has a huge fight with him. After they break up, however, his boyfriend takes the initiative and seeks him out. This time, the man seems like a completely different person. He is so warm and clingy it is almost unbearable, and when he acts cute, Lin Xingshu can hardly resist him. But strangely, his boyfriend’s expressions are always stiff. When he is quiet, he looks just like a paper effigy... Though that is not really a big deal. Just as their relationship heats up quickly, Lin Xingshu gets up one night and discovers his clingy boyfriend sitting in front of the mirror, trying to use his hands to straighten his crooked nose... Lin Xingshu is scared out of his wits. The next day, while his boyfriend is away, he packs his things, moves to a neighboring city, and deletes and blocks every one of his boyfriend’s contact details. Just when he thinks his life is about to get back on track, one rainy night after work, an uninvited guest appears outside his rental apartment. The tall man slowly turns around. His once exquisite face is now completely blank, with no features at all except a mouth. When he sees Lin Xingshu, he opens his mouth, full of fangs. “Shu, long time no see. Did you miss me?” 2. The Spider A handsome new boy named Xie Guan transfers into the class. He is gentle toward others, generous with his money, and an excellent student, so he quickly wins everyone’s favor. As class monitor, Lin Xingshu used to be the most popular person in the class. After Xie Guan transfers in, his friends and classmates gradually drift away from him. Their homeroom teacher also turns an admiring gaze toward Xie Guan, and even Lin Xingshu’s family won’t stop praising him after a parents’ meeting. Lin Xingshu’s discontent gradually grows. Just then, Xie Guan asks to meet him alone. Lin Xingshu assumes it is a provocation, but this usually kind boy suddenly acts like a madman, confessing his undying love for him. That is also when Lin Xingshu discovers that Xie Guan is not human at all. He is a spider! Even more terrifying, he is asking Lin Xingshu to sleep with him! Lin Xingshu is horrified. As he struggles to push Xie Guan away, he accidentally shoves him off the building. After that, everyone avoids Lin Xingshu, and he is ostracized. Just when he is feeling helpless, Xie Guan comes to his side. Excitement gleams in his eyes as he reaches out and wraps his arms around Lin Xingshu, then whispers in his ear in a syrupy voice: “Wonderful. You’re finally mine.” 3. The Scarecrow’s Bride Lin Xingshu is an independent photographer. One day, he sees a picturesque little town online. With a recommendation and help from an online friend, he travels there alone and rents the friend’s old house for a short stay. The town is sparsely populated, with beautiful scenery. The villagers are simple and kind, and they are very welcoming toward him, almost too welcoming. Lin Xingshu goes out to take photos every day, but whenever he returns home and looks through them, he always finds a strange scarecrow in the pictures. It appears in the fields, by the roadside, even beside the stream and inside farmers’ homes. No matter where he goes, he photographs that scarecrow. It does not look like a traditional scarecrow. It is tall, wears a straw hat, and hangs its head low as it is bound to a wooden frame. From a distance, it looks like a grown man. Lin Xingshu pays it no mind. Then strange supernatural incidents begin happening around him, leaving him deeply uneasy. One day, while looking through his photos, he accidentally notices that the scarecrow is standing right behind him! It is no more than ten meters away... At last, he realizes something is wrong and tries to leave in the middle of the night, but it is too late. The once-friendly villagers suddenly turn hostile, tie him up, and take him straight to the eerie scarecrow. The scarecrow moves its stiff body and takes off its straw hat. Beneath it is the face of a grown man. He smiles faintly. “Sir, I’ve been watching you for a long time. You’re really cute.” “Will you become my bride?” 4. The Butterfly [This story arc involves the love interest giving birth!] Lin Xingshu has always been afraid of butterflies. He was born that way. He is afraid of their brilliant wings, hates their swollen abdomens, and despises their faintly quivering antennae. In short... he hates everything about butterflies. But on a trip, he unknowingly signs up for an excursion to Butterfly Valley. When he arrives at the attraction, he is stunned. Terrified, he turns to run, but the people around him shove him into the valley. Frightened out of his mind, he runs for his life and gets separated from his tour group without realizing it. Just when he is helpless, a handsome young man suddenly appears and rescues him, leading him out of Butterfly Valley. The young man tells Lin Xingshu his name is Xie Guan, and that he is also part of the tour group. Afterward, the two exchange phone numbers. Not long after, Xie Guan confesses his feelings. The two naturally become lovers, then move in together and sleep together. Everything seems perfectly natural. But their good times do not last. Xie Guan gradually grows frail. His face turns pale, he no longer clings to Lin Xingshu for sex, and he often sneaks off to make phone calls without telling him who he is speaking to. At night, he even gets up and disappears without a trace. Just as Lin Xingshu starts to think his lover is cheating on him, he unexpectedly discovers a pregnancy test with two lines at home! Lin Xingshu is shocked. How can a man get pregnant? Whose pregnancy test is this?! He can’t take it anymore and is unable to keep working, so he takes time off and goes home to confront his lover. But after searching the house, he can’t find him. Just as he is about to leave, he hears a strange noise coming from the bathroom. As if possessed, he opens the bathroom door and sees a sight that leaves him stunned. His perfect lover is now lying miserably in the bathtub. Two enormous, brilliant butterfly wings tremble on his back, and his once-slender abdomen bulges high. Beneath his skin, round, unidentified objects can be seen moving. The bathtub is full of eerie mucus. Xie Guan lifts his weary eyes. The instant he sees Lin Xingshu, his pupils shrink, and he raises a hand to cover his face. “Don’t look at me, Xingshu, please... don’t look at me!” Note: The male leads are all nonhuman, hopeless romantics, and obsessive with eccentric personalities. The story involves nonhuman beings and niche romantic themes. Warning! Story Four involves the love interest giving birth. The love interest is a man! A man! He changes his body so he can give birth and keep the protagonist by his side! He is a man! Please don’t read if you can’t accept this. Thank you~ Advance Notice: The Angsty-Novel Bottom Is Always Coveting Me After an accidental car crash, Bai Lian, who has already kicked the bucket, is forcibly bound to an anti-hopeless-romantic System. The System tells him that if he can stop the book’s bottom from being a hopeless romantic and help him become a clear-headed, independent, self-reliant male lead, he can return to his original world. 1. Fake White Lotus with a Sadistic Streak Lan Zhuo is a rich second-generation heir famous in Jing City. Sweet-natured and submissive, he is the protagonist bottom in an angsty novel. In the original story, the protagonist bottom falls uncontrollably in love with the top during a chance encounter, throws himself into the relationship, and is then subjected to all kinds of gaslighting, sexual abuse, and physical and emotional torment until he is reduced to the top’s plaything. Bai Lian, meanwhile, enters the body of a servant in the Lan household. His task is simple: stop the bottom from ruining himself for the top and cure him of his hopeless-romantic tendencies. So Bai Lian comes up with a plan: he dates the bottom, then ruthlessly dumps him when he is most in love, teaching him a harsh lesson. After finishing all that, Bai Lian happily gets ready to go home. But instead of a message from the System, he gets word that the bottom has kidnapped him. The bottom stands in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister smile as he toys with a box cutter in his hand: “Lian, haven’t I treated you well? Why would you do this to me? I love you so much.” “Ah... I know... If your legs are broken, you won’t be able to leave me, right?” Bai Lian: Wait, why is this bottom nothing like the one in the original story?!!! 2. Fake Frail, Helpless, Sweet on the Outside and Dark on the Inside Failure is the mother of success. The System suggests that maybe he can cure the bottom’s hopeless-romantic tendencies by approaching him as a friend. All right, let’s try it and see if it kills me! This time, he becomes an insignificant cannon-fodder character in a campus novel, while Lan Zhuo is the universally adored protagonist bottom. Because of his family background, Lan Zhuo is spoiled, arrogant, and sharp-tongued. In the original story, this personality catches the top’s interest. The top sweet-talks him into bed, then gaslights and toys with him in all sorts of ways, until he is reduced to a parasitic vine clinging to someone else. Bai Lian takes another shot at it. This time, he goes to great lengths to get close to Lan Zhuo, giving him plenty of care and guidance until he finally gets back on the right track. After finishing all that, Bai Lian once again cheerfully prepares to go home, but the System informs him that Lan Zhuo’s hopeless-romantic tendencies have not disappeared. They have simply shifted to someone else. Bai Lian’s smile freezes. Who? The System replies: You. Bai Lian: ? Sure enough, the bottom blushes and confesses to him. To get home, Bai Lian turns him down outright. The next day, however, news arrives that the bottom has attempted suicide over love. He rushes to the hospital. The bottom lies pale-faced in bed, his wrist covered in cuts. When he sees Bai Lian, he pulls out his IV needle and shakily wraps his arms around him, his voice weak: “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me... Please, take pity on me, will you...” Theme: Treat everyone with kindness