Plucking a Star [Showbiz]

The full novel is complete and currently undergoing a careful edit. I edit slowly, but I generally only fix typos and issues with the language or logic, so it won't affect your reading. Feel free to enjoy it as is. Thank you!

Upcoming novels: "On the Compatibility of a Cockroach Omega and a Mothball Alpha" and "Don't Talk About Love! It Costs Money!" (in that order). Blurbs are at the end. Please add them to your favorites!

Weibo: @Sweet_TKY

Writing some bittersweet, painful stories about mutual secret crushes

*

On October 11, when the rain that had fallen for half a month finally stopped, the skies also cleared for Qiao Wenyu.

Lin Xingshang, who had been in a vegetative state for three years after jumping from a building, miraculously woke up.

*

Lin Xingshang had woken up, but he had no memories, couldn't move, and couldn't speak. Like a newborn child, he could only let others do as they pleased for now.

After Qiao Wenyu brought him home, Lin Xingshang stared at the enormous cat, Youyou, covered in garlic-clove-like markings. The cat stared back at him. It wore a cotton flower shaped like a huge red firework around its neck, so ugly it was practically explosive.

Qiao Wenyu laughed as he took pictures and asked Lin Xingshang, "Do you want one too?"

Lin Xingshang was powerless to resist and could only watch as Qiao Wenyu put a matching one on him. "Then I'll get you a yellow one."

Lin Xingshang: "..."

*

The room was cozily decorated. There were rails around the bed, every corner wrapped in soft protective padding, and a plush carpet on the floor.

Qiao Wenyu never went anywhere. He stayed home with Lin Xingshang every day, patiently preparing nutritious meals, helping him with rehab, and teaching him to walk. He really was like someone raising a child.

Later, watching TV, Lin Xingshang learned that Qiao Wenyu was a huge star. The star didn't work often, and whenever he did go out to earn some money, he spent it all on Lin Xingshang's treatment.

Lin Xingshang couldn't understand why. So the first question he asked once he was able to speak was, "Why are you so good to me?"

Qiao Wenyu only smiled and didn't answer.

*

No one knew what Qiao Wenyu had felt when, after storming out following a huge argument with Lin Xingshang, he came back to find Lin Xingshang lying in the emergency room, fighting for his life after falling from a tall building.

Through the thick glass, he stared at Lin Xingshang's pale face and tightly shut eyes, clutching the gift he had originally meant to give him as he prayed to the heavens.

He thought, It doesn't matter. I only want Lin Xingshang to survive. As long as he's alive, that's enough.

[Reader's Guide]

1. There are other circumstances behind the recipient's fall from the building. It wasn't a conscious choice. He's been through a lot, but at heart he's a very resilient person.

2. The two have a relationship that's something like childhood friends. They've known each other for years and have mutual secret crushes. They will gradually talk things through.

3. Although the recipient wakes from a vegetative state, most of what happens after he wakes up isn't true.

4. Some of the early plot may be hard to understand, but it'll be explained later. If it still doesn't make sense to you, then maybe my writing isn't good enough. Sorry!

5. Enjoy the story!

"On the Compatibility of a Cockroach Omega and a Mothball Alpha"

A reincarnated swan who becomes a cockroach and lets loose Omega x an insecure Alpha with low-quality mothball pheromones

*

In his previous life, Lang Zhang, heir to the noble Swan family, differentiated as an Omega at eighteen and was abandoned by his family, who turned him into a pawn for a political marriage.

For the sake of his young brother, Lang Zhang fought the other swans tooth and nail, finally reclaiming everything that belonged to him.

But his brother was blind to the truth and fell for a malicious little green tea. After differentiating as an Alpha, he joined forces with the green tea to drug Lang Zhang and seize power.

Lang Zhang fell for their trap. When he was at death's door, Qiu Rao, a low-quality Alpha with mothball pheromones whom he had looked down on most in their class as teenagers, took him away and stayed with him through the final days of his life.

Only then did Lang Zhang learn that this Alpha had been secretly in love with him all along.

At the very end of his life, Lang Zhang had a sudden thought and asked, "If I became a cockroach in my next life, would you still love me?"

Qiu Rao, grief-stricken, made a solemn but ridiculous vow: "You fool. Even if you became a maggot, I'd still love you."

But when Lang Zhang opened his eyes again, he had truly been reborn in the body of an Omega whose animal attribute was a cockroach.

*

Standing in front of the mirror, Lang Zhang poked at his long antennae, feeling a little troubled.

Who could have guessed that his wish would come true? Now that he'd become a cockroach, Qiu Rao's pheromones were toxic to him!

But Lang Zhang had already died once, and he feared nothing. This time, he was going to bravely run toward the person who truly loved him!

Lang Zhang pounded on the door, full of spirit. "Qiu'er, open up! Your cockroach is back!"

*

Qiu Rao had never imagined that he would get to share a memory with Lang Zhang, the beautiful swan he'd secretly loved. But that memory had come when Lang Zhang was at death's door.

If he could choose, Qiu Rao would rather have Lang Zhang live a long, healthy life. Holding Lang Zhang's ashes, Qiu Rao had barely started crying when the door suddenly burst open.

He stared at Lang Zhang in shock, joy gradually filling his eyes.

Did the swan becoming a cockroach mean he was no longer worthy of love? No. As long as he was still himself, Qiu Rao would still love him.

Qiu Rao slapped away the boric-acid potato mash offered by his idiot brother and the malicious little green tea, his expression cold.

This time, he would protect Lang Zhang.

[Reader's Guide]

1. This is more or less a rebirth-and-revenge story. The premise is clichéd and melodramatic, and the length is undecided.

2. The author doesn't like cockroaches. I've just written several serious novels and suddenly had an absurd idea, so I wanted to write this. If there's a cockroach in my house, I jump higher than anyone.

3. If you really do find a cockroach at home, don't hesitate: use boric-acid bait. Don't use a slipper, or the slipper will be sacrificed and your home will become the cockroach's home. Kill it with your hand, then wash your hands thoroughly.

4. The recipient's cockroach traits aren't very noticeable. He just has long antennae, likes KFC mashed potatoes a little, and can be poisoned by boric-acid bait.

5. The gong's pheromones are low-quality mothballs, a bit like fake medicine to humans, so they're not very harmful to the recipient and are even kind of pleasant to smell.

6. I've listed all the potential content warnings I can think of for now. If you can't handle it, run!

7. Enjoy the story!

"Don't Talk About Love! It Costs Money!"

Being greedy and lustful is a flaw, but being greedy and pairing it with lust makes for a great life.

*

Zhao Nanzhi was so broke in college he couldn't scrape two coins together. To make ends meet, he had no choice but to sign up with Lujian and write novels for a living.

He only meant to earn enough to get by, but his novel suddenly became a hit and caught him completely off guard. With readers demanding updates every day, Zhao Nanzhi was tearing his hair out. He wrote about gay guys, but he wasn't actually gay, and he had zero dating experience. How was he supposed to finish the story?

With no other choice, Zhao Nanzhi thought it over, gritted his teeth, and really took the plunge: he found himself a rich young master boyfriend.

The young master had money, but not much sense. Zhao Nanzhi, a writer, showered him with one sweet line after another until he was completely swept off his feet.

Zhao Nanzhi leaned into his arms, closed his eyes, put on a sweet voice, and praised him. "Hubby, look at Lord Guan, so magnificent and mighty as a tiger. That's exactly how mighty you are in my heart. From now on, I'll call you Master Guan!" (In reality, he was a silly young master with a head full of air.)

Master Guan was so pleased by the flattery that he handed over money by the fistful. Zhao Nanzhi was so delighted with all the cash that he was beside himself. Just as he started thinking this was a better gig than writing and considering doing it full-time, Master Guan's family feud abruptly ended with the young master dead.

But the honorable man left his entire inheritance to Zhao Nanzhi. Keeping watch over the huge fortune, Zhao Nanzhi knelt before his grave and had a good, heartfelt cry. Then he lived comfortably for the rest of his life on that money.

When he opened his eyes, he never expected to be young again. Zhao Nanzhi thought it over and decided that, since he'd enjoyed such a good life with someone else's money in his previous life, he ought to repay him this time. He steeled himself, went looking for Master Guan again, and decided to save him before getting back to his own quiet life.

*

Shen Boxu fell for a beauty at first sight at a KTV, lost his soul to that face, and immediately waved a hand to keep him.

The beauty had a gorgeous face, a great figure, and a sweet mouth. Shen Boxu adored him. But after only a few years of enjoying himself, someone set him up and he died in a flash.

Before he went, he made a point of leaving his inheritance to the beauty, thinking that after all those years together, it would be better to give it to him than let someone else have it. He never expected that after his death he'd see the beauty crying his heart out and spending the rest of his life living off what Shen Boxu had left him: a mountain of gold and silver.

Shen Boxu was deeply moved and decided that if there was a next life, he'd want the beauty to be with him again.

He never expected that when he opened his eyes again, he really had been reborn.

*

Later, when everything had settled down, Shen Boxu confessed his love to Zhao Nanzhi with deep feeling.

Zhao Nanzhi stared at him in disbelief. "I'm talking money with you, and you're talking about what? Don't talk about love. It costs money!"

Shen Boxu was stunned. "Don't you love me?"

Zhao Nanzhi didn't say a word. He just hurriedly packed his bags, trying to run away.

Shen Boxu panicked and tried to keep him there. "That's fine too. We can go back to how we were before. No love, just money."

Zhao Nanzhi was bewildered. "??? You're really taking this well."

But much later, Zhao Nanzhi realized something was wrong. "Oh my god, I think I've gotten mixed up with a hopeless romantic!"

A silly, rich, lustful gong x a beautiful, scheming, money-loving recipient

[Reader's Guide]

1. They're a perfect match. They both have flaws, but their personalities complement each other.

2. Both are reborn. There was love in their previous life, but the relationship really was mainly a transaction of money and sex.

3. Writing novels is one thing, taking the plunge is another. The author didn't take the plunge to write this story, and neither should you for the sake of coming up with a plot.

4. Both characters are completely pure, physically and emotionally, in both lives.

5. Enjoy the story!

Theme: Hesitating when you should act will only lead to trouble.