The Bystander Doctor in a Melodramatic Mary Sue Story

[Before you start reading, remember to check the content warnings below! New novel Carrying Her Late Husband's Younger Brother's Child is now open. Please add it to your favorites!]

Sunny, naturally scatterbrained workaholic woman x gloomy, domineering, fatherly / green-tea / tsundere / loyal-dog / obsessive / sickly men

Zhuang Yao is an NPC therapist living in a fictional world. Her full-time job is regulating the physical and mental health of every character except the protagonists. Her side job is getting the main plot back on track and keeping the novel running smoothly.

Unfortunately, she is assigned to a bizarre urban world disguised as a melodramatic Mary Sue novel.

As her colleagues look on in mourning, she rolls up her sleeves and starts giving the NPCs acupuncture and medicine.

A refined, germaphobic doctor who is constantly woken up by the male lead in the middle of the night to work overtime shows up in front of Zhuang Yao with dark circles under his eyes. Before he can even sit down, she feeds him a mouthful of stamina booster.

Zhuang Yao: You're boosted. Now get back to work!

A stray-dog gangster, meant to create the male lead's heroic rescue of the heroine, drags his bloody, battered body over to Zhuang Yao. Before he can even speak, she works her magic and stitches up his wounds.

Zhuang Yao: Your patchwork man is ready!

A celibate neighbor who always looks gloomy but is unexpectedly gentle with the heroine takes Zhuang Yao's hand and instantly gazes at her with deep affection. He's just about to say something sweet when she takes the opportunity to stuff his mouth with Chinese medicine.

Zhuang Yao: Looks like your hypersexuality is acting up. Let's get that treated!

A neurotically obsessive reporter who has been stalking the heroine for years goes on and on about how wonderful she is, then finally admits, hesitantly, that years of exposure to chemicals may have made him lose his libido.

Zhuang Yao: There's nothing a couple of acupuncture needles can't fix. And if there is, I'll just use two more!

After all that, Zhuang Yao looks at the task panel and sees the NPCs' health scores soaring. But...

Why do their mental health percentages keep dropping?!

Until:

The doctor won't stop clinging to her, asking where she's going, who she's with, and when she'll be back. If she ignores him, is she trying to drive him and his little cow to their deaths?

The stray-dog gangster is always covered in wounds. He endures the pain so she can heal him and boost his score, licks the blood off her hand, and smiles as he asks if she'll like him more this way.

The neighbor always ties her up and takes her home to show off all the collars he's bought, asking why she isn't satisfied with having only him as her dog.

The reporter appears beside her pillow every night, spending day and night pressed close to her until she's nearly driven mad, asking what to do if the medicine still hasn't worn off.

Only then does Zhuang Yao realize she may have landed herself in serious trouble.

Reading guide:

1. Slow burn. The pacing might be a little too slow, so impatient readers can probably skip to Chapter 69 (scratches head).

All the male leads are sexually inexperienced and unhinged. No picking favorites, and the original male and female leads won't be split up. There won't be much focus on career, since most of it serves the romance. The System is just a task panel, not the main plot!

2. The original novel is full of melodrama and cliches. There are no real-life inspirations, and no author will be harmed. The setting is entirely made up, so please don't read real people into it. Any resemblance is entirely fabricated by me.

3. I'm bad at writing blurbs, but the main text has more male leads than just the ones above. There will likely be six or more, including but not limited to: pseudo-incest, tsundere childhood friend, loyal dog, green tea, fatherly type, obsessive... The male leads have a process of becoming unhinged; they don't start out as fully gloomy men.

4. This isn't a strong-female-lead story. The female lead will grow little by little, and may return the male leads' feelings depending on her mood. The author also has occasional urges to dote on men. I'm already putting in the effort to write this, so please cut me some slack (hands together).

5. Every character, emphasis on every, has one or more flaws, such as greed, stubbornness, being a yandere, or being unable to communicate. They aren't perfect. If you can't accept that, please stop reading, but don't tell me. Thank you, thank you (bows).

(This synopsis was written on 25.4.11, revised on 25.9.04, and saved in screenshots.)

Here's a coming-soon historical transmigration harem novel: The Fourth Calamity, but in an Old-School Palace-Intrigue Game

After playing an old-school palace-intrigue game for several all-nighters in a row, Fu Suijiu dreams that she has transmigrated into the game.

Following her memories, she reloads saves and speedruns the routes, easily maxing out every male lead's affection.

But after winning over all the male leads, the hidden ending she expected never arrives.

Instead, the six favored sons of Heaven arrive, carrying the memories of every time she reloaded, and collectively force their way into the palace.

Her cousin, the son of a general with a bright future ahead of him, is willing to give up everything to enter the palace as a lowly guard for her sake.

His former gentleness and refinement are gone. He buries his face in the crook of her neck and rages, "Is what we've shared over all these years worth less than that fickle dog of an emperor?!"

The regent, who has always taken life lightly and loved to manipulate the court, breaks his vows for her and kidnaps her in front of everyone.

In front of her, he no longer cares what anyone else thinks. He forcefully cages her in his arms and murmurs beside her ear, "Don't you understand? I am the true master of this dynasty. What right does that puppet emperor have to compete with me?"

The fake eunuch was once a selfless doctor, a loyal assassin who served only the emperor. For her, he repeatedly breaks the rules and secretly meets with her under the pretense of taking her pulse.

In the Cold Palace, he clings to her and holds her fiercely, his voice hoarse. "I would die for you. Would they?"

The newly appointed top scholar, always preaching ethics and propriety, has never taken sides at court. But after she is banished to the Cold Palace, he gets dragged into the fray again and again.

He grips her waist. His spirited, confident manner is long gone, and he questions her like a madman. "Who do you think I became like this for? I don't care if I go down in history as a villain, or if the world condemns me! But why do you still not love me...?"

The court official, long tired of servitude and eager to make a name for himself, is willing to fall into the abyss again for her.

He opens his robe to show her the marks she left on him, then forcefully presses her hand against his countless scars. His chest heaves. "Look, these are all marks you left on me. What other man could endure such humiliation besides me? Those princes and ministers, could they satisfy you like I can?"

The young emperor, usually meticulous and a master of strategy, has never been interested in women, but she has made him lose his mind.

He threads her hair through his fingers and twirls it, then grabs her by the neck and bows to bite her ear. "My consort, have you forgotten that I am your lawful husband? Where have you put me, hmm?"

Surrounded by wolves, she tries to escape by reloading a save, only to find their faces everywhere.

They all ask the same thing: "This time, which other man's arms are you planning to reload into?"

Theme: You are the only protagonist of your own life