Chapter 1

Early morning.

Sunlight slipped through a gap in the heavy curtains, spilling into the master bedroom. The morning breeze stirred the fabric, casting shifting light and shadow across the handsome features of the man sleeping on the large bed.

A long-haired white cat crept silently into the room through the half-open bedroom door. Its odd-colored eyes quickly locked onto the flickering patch of light on the floor. Arching its back, it pounced.

A sudden gust of wind set the curtains swaying gently. Chasing the dancing shadows, the little cat bounded onto the bed and landed heavily right in the arms of its soundly sleeping owner.

Jolted awake, Qiao Yanli deftly scooped up the mischievous cat before even opening his eyes.

“Meow-“

Having caught the little culprit, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and gave a lazy yawn. His heavy eyelids drooped, and a tear of fatigue clung to the tips of his lashes, dispersing the moment he blinked.

He fished out his phone and checked the time: eight in the morning.

His usual wake-up time.

“Meoww-“

And his usual time to feed the cat.

The little cat wailed at the top of its lungs for food, pawing at its owner’s chest and rubbing its entire furry head against him in a clingy display of affection. Qiao Yanli gently pushed its head away, threw off the blanket, and got out of bed.

The white cat nimbly jumped down to the floor first.

It took two steps forward, then glanced back, its long, fluffy tail brushing across its owner’s foot with an impatient meow. Qiao Yanli trailed behind, pouring a bowl of kibble under the cat’s watchful supervision.

As the cat buried its head in the bowl and scarfed down the food, Qiao Yanli stood there and pinched the bridge of his nose, swamped by the exhaustion of too little sleep.

His schedule was usually disciplined, early to bed and early to rise. But yesterday, his new novel had reached its finale. Riding the momentum while his inspiration flowed, he had powered through in one go to finish the ending and publish it. By the time he was done, it was already well past midnight. Not only was he wide awake from writing, but his comment section had also erupted in celebration, even hitching a ride onto the tail end of the trending topics.

Qiao Yanli went into the kitchen first to make a cup of coffee. His phone was packed with unread messages. Taking a sip of coffee, he skimmed past the congratulations on finishing his book, opening only one of them.

Editor Qingniao: 【Teacher Xingqiao, congratulations on finishing!】

Editor Qingniao: 【Is your new novel ready too, Teacher Xingqiao? Are you launching it tomorrow? What genre are you planning this time?】

Qiao: 【No ideas yet.】

Editor Qingniao: 【!!!】

Xingqiao Huoshu was Qiao Yanli’s online persona, as well as a superstar prodigy who had taken the web novel scene by storm over the past two years. His debut work had become an instant blockbuster the moment it was published, selling adaptation rights left and right. Every single release since had been top quality, each more brilliant than the last, and the novel he finished yesterday had been pushed onto the trending list by pure word-of-mouth from devoted readers.

Xingqiao Huoshu was also ridiculously prolific. While other authors slacked off and procrastinated, he churned out ten, twenty, or even thirty thousand words a day without sacrificing quality, consistently launching a new project the very day after completing the last. In just two short years in the industry, he had already produced numerous high-caliber works.

Recently, however, Qiao Yanli had lost some of his passion.

Xingqiao Huoshu was famous for his versatile style, never repeating familiar tropes. Yet he had recently hit a bottleneck, unable to find a direction to break through, which left him with no concrete inspiration for the new novel he was supposed to have started plotting long ago.

Without replying further to the editor, he opened another message.

【Hello, Teacher Xingqiao. I’m the project manager for 《Entering the Mortal Realm》.】

【First, congratulations on completing your new work. Regarding the actor for Lu Yifan, the male lead of 《Entering the Mortal Realm》, we’ve found a suitable candidate on our end. It’s Song Shuqi, a star who has been very popular recently.】

《Entering the Mortal Realm》 was Xingqiao Huoshu’s debut work. Although its adaptation rights were sold right after it was completed, filming had never gotten underway, and progress had only resumed recently.

Having seen far too many novels butchered in screen adaptations, and with no shortage of money himself, Qiao Yanli had specifically insisted on several conditions when signing the contract, including a clause that the casting of the male lead required his explicit approval.

At the mention of this, Qiao Yanli perked up a bit.

He had never heard of the name Song Shuqi, though. Assuming the person was probably a rookie actor, he casually replied with 【Wait a moment.】

Just as he opened his browser to search, his phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, which read “Manager Sister Fang,” he blinked in surprise.

Indeed, Qiao Yanli had yet another identity: a former entertainment idol.

A few years ago, he had spontaneously harbored a dream of the stage. He signed up for a boy group survival show, trained hard in singing and dancing under professional mentors, and ultimately shot to fame, debuting in the center position.

He began in the boy group, later went solo, wrote his own songs, and released albums. In no time, he soared to become a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry, commanding immense fame and glory.

Dreams, however, were the sort of thing that kept appearing one after another as life moved forward.

His work in showbiz had earned professional acclaim, and he had reached the ceiling of what an idol could accomplish. Right at that point, a new dream came along. So, once his contract expired, he took the opportunity to bid farewell to the entertainment world where he had briefly shone so brightly, returning home to write web novels.

Sister Fang had been his manager back then.

When he first left the industry, Sister Fang had tried to persuade him to stay. Seeing his firm resolve, she stopped pushing and moved on to manage other artists instead. Over the past two years, aside from polite greetings during the holidays, the two had not kept in touch.

Puzzled, Qiao Yanli answered the call.

It turned out to be a video call. Sister Fang’s familiar face appeared on the screen, looking as sharp and capable as ever.

Sister Fang said, “Xiao Qiao, you’re trending. Did you know?”

Qiao Yanli was taken aback.

After leaving the industry, aside from the massive shockwave his departure had caused at the time, trending topics had had nothing to do with him. That was until last night, when Xingqiao Huoshu’s finale hit the trending searches.

He quickly realized that, as Xingqiao Huoshu, he had never shown his face in public. For his former manager to reach out specifically, it had to be related to the entertainment industry.

Sister Fang instinctively looked over the person on the screen first.

When Qiao Yanli competed on the talent show back then, the first thing that made him famous was his face. Two years later, his looks remained utterly flawless, without a single blemish even under a high-definition camera. With sword-sharp brows and bright, starry eyes, a tall nose bridge, and pupils dark as ink, his condition was still so immaculate that, despite living as an ordinary civilian at home, he could easily blow today’s trending idols out of the water.

Every time she saw him, Sister Fang couldn’t help but sigh with regret. Such a brilliant star, yet he had chosen to walk away from the industry.

At the same time, she let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I thought you’d actually gotten ugly.”

Qiao Yanli asked, “Gotten ugly?”

Sister Fang said, “Someone took photos of you and posted them online, claiming they were recent pictures of you. You’ve been out of the public eye for so long that people who didn’t know any better assumed they were real.”

In the photo, Qiao Yanli was dressed in a loose T-shirt, shorts, and slippers, squatting in front of a roadside vegetable stall to pick produce. The surroundings could hardly be called pleasant, with people bustling about in a messy clutter. It was hard to tell whether the photographer had chosen the angle on purpose, but it made him look extraordinarily down-and-out and forlorn.

What made the photo so tricky was its unflattering angle, which made Qiao Yanli’s looks take a massive nosedive. People casually scrolling through their feeds on their morning commute saw it, and between the lingering fame of a former top star and the jarring contrast, it instantly shot up the trending searches. Sister Fang had almost believed it herself, which was why she had rushed to place a video call to check.

When Qiao Yanli debuted, he was hailed as having top-tier, god-level visuals. For such a handsome man to turn ugly was practically a crime against the eyes!

But seeing the real person in front of her, she quickly spotted the differences from the photo. His face in the picture looked noticeably rounder, and his eyes smaller, worlds apart from Qiao Yanli’s actual appearance.

“It’s probably photoshopped, and they went out of their way to make you look ugly,” Sister Fang said indignantly. “I asked around for you. This was another stunt pulled by Song Shuqi’s team.”

Qiao Yanli paused in surprise. “Song Shuqi?”

Assuming his confusion stemmed from unfamiliarity, Sister Fang explained, “He only got famous after you left the industry, so it’s normal that you don’t know him. Right from the start, he used your name to hype himself up. At first, he marketed himself as Xiao Qiao Yanli^[1], but once he hit it big, he turned around and started stepping on you. I know you’ve retired and don’t care about this stuff, but posting that photo of you really crossed the line this time. I think you should still respond.”

Qiao Yanli listened half-heartedly. Propping his phone up beside him, he grabbed a tablet and opened Weibo. After two years away, sure enough, he saw his name on the trending list once again, followed by the tag “Explosive^[2].”

#Qiao Yanli#

#Qiao Yanli Fail Compilation#

#Song Shuqi Stunning Stage#

Under the first trending topic, the photo had originally been posted by a marketing account.

The marketing account had first sighed over the contrast between the former top star’s past glory and his present state, stopping just short of claiming that after leaving showbiz, he had abandoned all ambition, let himself go, and was barely scraping by. In the end, they concluded that while some people’s glory was fleeting, others steadily built up strength to surpass them later. Rather than stanning Qiao Yanli, it was far more worthwhile to support hardworking, currently popular stars like Song Shuqi.

Opening the comment section, he was greeted by an absolute bloodbath.

【How did Qiao Yanli end up like this? My god, I was still hoping for his comeback!】

【And people still brag about Qiao Yanli’s god-tier visuals? Who doesn’t know about his million-dollar retouching team? The moment he left showbiz and stopped managing his looks, his true face was finally exposed!】

【Hands off our Songsong! Our Songsong is gorgeous, hardworking, and professionally top-tier, unlike someone who quit halfway through.】

【Song fans above, spare me. At least Qiao Yanli was handsome, sang well, and blew the roof off the stage. He was a top star right from his debut and even won the Golden Finch Award. Which of these current little idols could hold a candle to Qiao Yanli back in his day? If he hadn’t quit the industry to chill at home, would your master have ever had a chance to shine?】

【Hilarious. The Golden Finch Award has degraded into a Water Bird Award^[3], and Qiao fans are still using it to brag? Don’t you know how watered-down your Qiao’s award really was? Go check the second trending topic to see your Qiao’s true skills. Wake up and stop dreaming!】

When Qiao Yanli clicked on the second topic, he found an isolated montage of clips from his past live performances, deliberately edited to create the illusion of terrible stage skills.

Having been in the entertainment industry, he naturally understood what this was all about. Even though he had retired, he really had been wildly popular back then. It was completely routine for newcomers to step on him to climb the ranks. After all, he was the one who had left the industry and couldn’t be bothered to respond to such nonsense anymore.

Over the phone, Sister Fang was still talking.

Perhaps because they rarely spoke these days, she had a lot to say. “Actually, responding wouldn’t do much good either. He drags you out for comparisons every few days, latching onto your fame to leech off you. Even if you respond this time, he’ll just keep putting out similar press releases later. Honestly, are you really not considering a comeback?”

Sister Fang continued, “You were so popular back then. Even after two years out of the industry, a single photo sent you straight to the trending searches. There are still plenty of fans waiting for your return.”

Sister Fang added, “I heard Song Shuqi’s team is currently in talks with the production crew of 《Entering the Mortal Realm》. His agency is pushing him hard, so landing the role won’t be a problem. Once the drama airs, his popularity will shoot up to another level…”

Qiao Yanli didn’t answer. Instead, he navigated to Song Shuqi’s Super Topic^[4].

He didn’t care about how Song Shuqi bought marketing or released press releases to step on him. As the original author of 《Entering the Mortal Realm》, he cared much more about whether the actor playing the male lead could bring the character he envisioned to life.

Sure enough, the Super Topic featured highlight reels edited by fans. Song Shuqi had filmed quite a few dramas, having starred as the male lead and played supporting roles in hit series. When fans listed his credentials, the long list looked quite formidable.

While posting these highlights, his fans never forgot to shower their idol with over-the-top praise, glorifying his acting as miraculous, claiming he blew every first-tier young actor out of the water, and declaring that a Best Actor trophy was just around the corner.

Since this might be his future male lead, Qiao Yanli tapped on the video with a hint of anticipation.

He opened it, only to be greeted by a face with features flying in every direction.

In the video, the man gaped and bulged his eyes in surprise, let snot and tears stream down in grief, and flashed an exaggerated, villainous smirk in joy…

“…”

A minute later, at a complete loss for words, Qiao Yanli closed the video.

He interrupted Sister Fang’s nonstop chatter over the phone. “I don’t think he’s cut out for it.”

Sister Fang paused in surprise. “Not cut out for what?”

“Song Shuqi can’t play the male lead in 《Entering the Mortal Realm》. His acting isn’t up to par.”

“Oh, come on, who cares about acting these days? How many newcomers actually take the time to hone their craft? They debut on a talent show one day and join a film crew the next. You know about 《Entering the Mortal Realm》, right? It’s Xingqiao Huoshu’s work. Once it’s adapted, it’s guaranteed to be a massive hit. Song Shuqi’s team is only eyeing it for its popularity.”

Sister Fang didn’t know he held veto power over the male lead, and Qiao Yanli didn’t mention it.

He opened his chat with the head of the production team for 《Entering the Mortal Realm》 and rejected the candidate outright.

The person on the other end had been waiting and quickly sent back a message.

【If Teacher Xingqiao feels Song Shuqi isn’t suitable, what about Su Ziyue or Dai Ge?】

These two were also stars who had blown up in the past two years through web dramas, famous for their looks. But after Qiao Yanli watched clips of their performances, both had left him disappointed.

Neither of them had the acting chops to meet Qiao Yanli’s standards.

Xie Yifan, the protagonist of 《Entering the Mortal Realm》, was a simple, unworldly young man who had grown up in total isolation. When he first entered the mortal realm, people frequently tricked and mocked him. Yet his awkwardness was merely the innocence of someone ignorant of worldly ways. As he journeyed through the mortal world, he grew and transformed step by step until his naivety faded and his confusion vanished, becoming someone truly strong and resolute within.

The character underwent a massive transformation from start to finish, with many complex emotional scenes along the way. It demanded exceptional acting ability and layers of performance. Most young idols today, however, were only chasing fleeting popularity, rarely taking the time to hone their craft. While there were other young actors with decent skills, none had the fame needed to carry the male lead of a major IP.

After he rejected them one by one, the person in charge on the other end also fell silent.

But this was Qiao Yanli’s first adapted work, so he naturally held high hopes for it.

Over the phone, Sister Fang let out a sigh. “If you were still in the business, this juicy role never would have fallen into Song Shuqi’s lap. With your fame, even if you made a comeback right now, starring as the male lead wouldn’t be an issue at all.”

Even though she managed quite a few artists now, not a single one could compare to Qiao Yanli in his prime.

And compared to two years ago, the man on her screen had shed the youthful greenness of his debut, gaining a mature composure while his facial features were even more striking than before. Qiao Yanli was born for the camera. Even framed within the narrow screen of a phone, the casual motion of him lowering his head to sip coffee looked like retouched wallpaper shot by a top photographer, with the tiny black mole at the corner of his eye serving as the perfect finishing touch.

With someone this exceptional, she could have made him a star even if he were a block of wood.

Yet Qiao Yanli had already reached the absolute peak of fame, basking in peerless glory at the top. She had personally signed him, and when he decided to leave the industry, she had worn her lips raw trying to convince him to stay, all to no avail.

The more she spoke, the more regretful she sounded. “It’s just a shame you never had much interest in acting back then…”

“Not necessarily anymore,” Qiao Yanli said offhandedly.

His work was being adapted now, but not a single suitable actor could pull it off. Rather than handing it over to idols with nothing but fame and zero acting chops, letting it be reduced to a pawn in capital’s games, he might as well do it himself.

…Wait?

He might as well do it himself?

A thought stirred in Qiao Yanli’s mind.

He mused, “What if I become an actor?”

“Sure, you…” Sister Fang began, then paused, instantly overjoyed. “Y-You’re making a comeback?!”

The more Qiao Yanli thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Film and television were territories he had never explored. During his time in the entertainment industry, his only experience had been shooting commercials, which hardly qualified as real acting.

He hadn’t had much interest in this area before, but once that curiosity surfaced, a brand-new idea and goal took shape in his mind.

He said, “I want to give acting a try.”

“You’re not kidding me? You really want to act?” Sister Fang said in a rush. “We can’t talk through this over the phone. Your address hasn’t changed, right? I’m coming to see you right now!”

With a beep, the person on the other end hung up in a whirlwind.

Qiao Yanli reopened his chat window with the Yunshu Web editor.

Qiao: 【I’m not starting a new book.】

Qiao: 【I’ve found a new dream.】

Editor Qingniao: 【……???!!!】