Lian Zhi, a veteran coder and overworked office drone, transmigrated into a book.
He landed in a melodramatic modern danmei novel that a straight man like him would never even dream of reading, Escape 99 Times: The Tyrant CEO's Runaway Darling, and became the CEO's personal bodyguard, charged with protecting the CEO's romance with the man he loved.
Looking at his reflection, Lian Zhi saw a scrawny, dog-thin man who looked exhausted. Years spent working at a computer had left him sallow, and his body was riddled with all sorts of ailments. He really couldn't understand why the System had assigned him this role.
Lian Zhi: Me? A bodyguard? You mean me?
After accidentally transmigrating into a new world, Lian Zhi barely lasted two days before his gay CEO boss made his eyes burn with sheer horror.
Desperate to return to the real world, Lian Zhi broke down and decided to accept the System's mission: help push the small world's story toward a happy ending.
On Lian Zhi's first day on the job, the delicate white flower the CEO had his eye on refused to give in, even if it meant dying. He obediently carried out the CEO's orders, preparing to knock the white flower out and take him straight back to the villa.
Instead, he was the one knocked out and taken back to the villa.
On Lian Zhi's second day on the job, the CEO captured the white flower and locked him in the villa. Lian Zhi was ordered to keep watch, but while he was away delivering a meal, he got knocked out for the second time.
On Lian Zhi's third day on the job, he dropped to his knees in front of the white flower with a thump. “Come on, little brother, let's make a deal. When I try to catch you, can you fight fair and not hit me in the head or face?”
The white flower rolled his eyes, swung his club, and Lian Zhi blacked out again.
When Lian Zhi woke up with his head pounding, he broke down and wanted to quit. “I freaking told you I can't do this!!!!! Can't you get someone else to be the bodyguard?!!!”
Qu Yuechong wasn't surprised at all by the idea of transmigrating into a book.
After all, anything was possible in this vast world. Since he'd ended up here, he might as well make the best of it. The most important thing was figuring out how to return to the real world.
After reaching an understanding with the System, he slowly set his plans in motion by staying close to the CEO. He became the CEO's love guru, guiding the story along its proper path, and took care of some of his old line of work by helping manage the company.
But one day, he realized his colleague, or half-colleague, Lian Zhi was acting strangely.
It was as if he'd become a different person. Every task the CEO assigned him ended in failure, with Lian Zhi showing a truly unprofessional lack of enthusiasm. He was even indirectly messing up the story's progress.
Once, Qu Yuechong accidentally bumped into him around a corner in the office, and the other man crumpled to the floor like Lin Daiyu.
Qu Yuechong: ? What was that supposed to mean? Was youth really that great? Or was he about to get fired by the CEO and trying to fake an injury for a big payout?
It wasn't until he took Lian Zhi to the hospital that he learned the truth: the CEO's unruly, fragile white flower had beaten him senseless.
Qu Yuechong: ...
Lian Zhi had been on the job for less than a week and had already been beaten until he was nearly wrapped up like a mummy, but the CEO still hadn't replaced him. Qu Yuechong, whose story progress was being affected, finally couldn't sit still. When the white flower tried to escape again and got into a fight with Lian Zhi, Qu Yuechong helped the genetically defective rookie bodyguard capture him.
Lian Zhi thought the white flower was about to beat him up again. He opened his eyes, shielding his head, and saw Qu Yuechong looking so handsome that he seemed to glow with golden light.
Qu Yuechong: “What are you staring at? Come tie him up!”
Lian Zhi burst into tears with a “Woof!” “Waaah, Daddy! You finally came to save me!”
Qu Yuechong: I think this guy's got something wrong with his head. :)
[Emotionally steady, career-focused, maxed-out combat skills, ascetic assistant gong x frail, weak little straight-guy, homophobic bodyguard shou]
Reader's Guide:
1. Qu Yuechong is the gong and Lian Zhi is the shou. The gong is older.
Both leads transmigrated into a book. They'll soon discover each other's identities and rely on each other.
2. A goofy comedy, written with complete abandon. The plot may not make much sense, so just have a laugh and let it slide. (Please, please!)
3. The shou is really bad at fighting and has a tiny build (but he's not short!). At first, he relies entirely on the gong to win every fight. As for why the CEO doesn't replace such a useless bodyguard, you'll find out in the story. He'll improve later.
4. The main group, meaning the transmigrators, are all unlucky minor characters or bit players in typical CEO romance novels. They all help advance the CEO's romance, and none of them have a romantic storyline with the CEO. The CEO's storyline, the one in the book, follows the classic melodramatic formula. The main gong and shou's story does not.
Blurb written on 2024.12.17
Premise: Don't make things hard for people.
