Little Pink Starfish

The partial collapse of the internet caused an uproar, but many important areas were not affected at all. Apart from some people who usually liked to mess around with entertainment being impacted, the entire nation’s sectors involving economy, politics, and development that needed computers were completely unaffected.

After the relevant departments checked everything over, they suddenly discovered that basically, it was nothing. It would not cause national turmoil. At most, it just prevented some people from going online to spout nonsense.

In the end, although the matter was still being investigated, overall, it was not treated as something particularly serious, and it only made it onto the entertainment section as a news snippet.

Later, observant people noticed that among the random investigations and countless complaints, they found that all the people whose internet crashed were related to the recently trending handsome guy online! Whether they were fans or haters, all had forwarded photos or commented!

Thus, many people suddenly understood.

It must have been done by some crazy fan!

#If you love him, don’t share him with the world#

#He belongs only to me#

#Possessiveness formed#

#This handsome guy has been contracted by me!#

↓

Just that domineering!
Just that arrogant!

—Although it was just wild guessing, one had to say, it still somewhat hit the truth.

Hehe.

And the dead pervert, domineering CEO Qiguan Rui, who caused all this, did not bother about it anymore. For him, he had already done what he needed to. Those people who dared to gossip about his Gu Bai could go fix or buy their own computers! For a short time, they should not even think about getting online properly.

Thus, recently the computer repair business… was particularly booming.

While people were discussing fervently, that mysterious handsome guy Gu Bai, who had already cooled down a bit online, was pushed back into the spotlight.

In the film crew, the girl in charge of publicity went online and accidentally discovered that the handsome guy they had invited for a cameo had become even more popular! It was like free publicity, wasn’t it!

She had a brainwave and posted on Weibo.

·

Crew assistant Huaduoduo V:
Recently our crew got a super handsome guy! I heard he came to audition for a popular character who is a city lord, and in Duoduo’s opinion, he will definitely succeed! Plus, he’s super handsome! Nosebleed-worthy! Totally fits the role! [picture] [picture] Duoduo almost didn’t recognize him! Movie king, look at me look at me! @Actor Meng Chuan

·

As soon as this Weibo post appeared, the whole internet exploded.

【Wtf, are you kidding me! This is Movie King Meng Chuan?】
【Must be joking! Are crews now this shameless for publicity!】
【If it’s true, then we’ve all been fooled, and the previous photos were all staged for promoting the new drama, right? Movie king is this awesome, does his mom know?】
【What handsome guy, do you think we don’t recognize Movie King? He obviously has a rugged face, okay!】

The public was furious.

They all felt there was no way Movie King Meng Chuan could be that handsome guy! Give them back the real handsome guy!

But then, lots more Weibo posts popped up online.

·

Actor A:
Phew… finally can say it. At first, I didn’t believe it either. But had to admit, it’s really him. @Actor Meng Chuan

Actor B:
This world always has many unbelievable things. @Actor Meng Chuan

Actor C:
Don’t blame me! At that time, we P’d off his beard and tan skin from old photos, and he instantly looked like a different person! Unbelievable! Handsome guy’s power is real! @Actor Meng Chuan

Actor D:
Believe it! Learn to use PS! It’s not that the movie king wasn’t good-looking; it’s that he made himself rugged! Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be shocked! Everyone was stunned! He probably changed his style because of “beep beep beep.” People involved are so lucky… @Actor Meng Chuan

·

The internet exploded again.

【If one person says it, I don’t believe it. But a whole group? How can I not believe!】
【xx and xx never lie, anyway, I believe it.】
【Holy crap, this isn’t about belief, it’s about cosmetic surgery!】
【Don’t doubt it anymore, I personally PS’d and it’s true [picture] [picture] [picture] Never thought the movie king used to make himself so ugly!】
【Oh my god!】
【Ahhhhhh!】
【I got a critical hit… Movie king… you… Er Kang hand.】
【Am I the only one who noticed the beep beep beep part?】

And so on, countless comments caused a massive online earthquake.

Although it was not intentional, the publicity effect was achieved perfectly. The entire crew received massive attention!

The crew was ecstatic. Since it was like this, they immediately started hyping the exposure! Whether Meng Chuan was suitable for the role or not didn’t matter anymore — they must use him!

Even posting occasional blurry photos paired with his face was enough to get endless reposts. Of course!! Clear shots could not be released! It had to stay like this, so everyone kept licking the screen, right?

The face was truly a promotional weapon.

And it cost nothing!

Thus, this detective drama aroused endless anticipation. While promoting non-stop, the crew also felt a subtle pressure.

Even some originally acceptable actors were replaced with better-looking and better-acting ones with the support of wealthy investors!

The entire drama was exquisitely produced.

After several months… they finally wrapped up filming.

·

Gu Bai’s scenes were actually few. He truly just came for a cameo. Although his face had become the ultimate repost tool, he still did not agree to adding scenes or even a romance subplot.

The agent team — yes, Qiguan Rui had equipped Gu Bai with a very professional team — gave a simple reason: this character was popular because he was a male god. The male god already lost fans because of being “taken” outside the drama, so inside the drama he had to remain forever alone, to heal fans’ broken hearts and make them go crazy for the role. Romance subplot? Stimulating single dogs, huh!

The crew had no choice. With Gu Bai’s backer so tough, they had to accept the ruthless rejection and continue filming.

And Gu Bai, all his scenes were finished in one day.

Crew: This was a tragedy.

Afterward, Gu Bai returned with Qiguan Rui to continue their sweet dating life, waiting for a few months until the show aired.

When they returned, Qiguan Rui pinned Gu Bai to the bed and did him for three whole days.

Gu Bai’s body was nearly falling apart, and even Qiguan Rui’s enhanced body started to feel a bit powerless… Even with soul transformation, they couldn’t go on like this!

Finally, Qiguan Rui hugged Gu Bai against his chest, satisfied, revealing a gentle smile.

【Gege is mine…】
【As for others, I don’t care at all.】
【Anyone coveting gege cannot take him away from me!】

Yes, the pervert was just this stubborn, this confident!
—When not confident, after a good session, the sense of security naturally returned.

·

When the new show aired, after months of hype, the first episode’s ratings were sky-high and blazing hot.

Although many initially tuned in for the handsome guy, because of the quality production, they were gradually hooked by the story. Almost 99% of the original viewers stayed, and the ratings remained consistently high.

And when the long-awaited Baiyun City Lord Ye Gucheng appeared…

That scene’s [beep] level!
That luxurious, noble styling!
That beauty boosted by at least 30%!
That ultimate sword strike flying from the heavens!

In short — unbelievably handsome ahhhhhh! Male god ahhhhhh! So handsome, so cool, so amazing!

That episode’s ratings broke the charts.

And when Baiyun City Lord was killed with a single sword…

—Heartbroken, heartbroken, wailing ahhhh!
Kill that so-called Sword God ahhhh! Give me back the City Lord ahhhh!

Sword God·Actor: “…”

Who could understand the pain of a Weibo explosion just because of acting a role.

After the entire drama aired, the storm in ratings drew media attention and analysis. Audience opinions varied, but the heat stayed strong even after it ended.

Everyone agreed: the drama was a masterpiece. People were beautiful, scenes were beautiful, the plot was beautiful — but if there was any regret, it was that within the show, no one could match the beauty and aura of Baiyun City Lord, not even the main character or supposed equals like Hua Manlou and the Sword God.

This imbalance created a fleeting but legendary Baiyun City Lord, while making other actors’ brilliance seem a little lacking… Even great acting couldn’t make up for it.

Success because of the City Lord, loss because of the City Lord.

After quietly reading all the comments, Gu Bai summed it up in two words: So Mary Sue.

Damn it, it felt so Mary Sue ah!

·

Qiguan Rui, together with Gu Bai, perhaps because this world was high-tech and fun, or maybe because Qiguan Rui deliberately wanted to annoy those who thought he was unworthy of Gu Bai, they stayed in this world for a full thirty years. @Unlimited Good Stories, only on Jinjiang Literature City

During this time, their relationship was publicly known to the world, causing near-riots online. But Qiguan Rui even deliberately brought Gu Bai around to show affection daily, stuffing the faces of lamenting fans — only then did he feel satisfied.

And that stallion man?

He could no longer jump around.

Even though that divine drama became hugely popular, it had nothing to do with him. And the scripts he wrote afterward would, for various reasons, always end up in Xinghuang’s hands, stripping away all the plagiarized things he tried to produce.

In the end, he remained lukewarm his entire life.

Compared to his past life of becoming a thorough [beep]-tier trash, although this time he wasn’t exactly [beep]-tier, he was still not much better.

Struggling his whole life, he never reached the heights he had dreamed of.

Even if he became a little known, it was very limited.

Walking on the streets… among the crowds who had watched countless of his “creations,” no one recognized him.

As for women?

His face, stiff from too much plastic surgery, was even worse than at the beginning. He could still hook up with some girls, but he could no longer get away with two-timing.

His wife was still that Miss Weiwei. But Miss Weiwei’s high-ranking father had to step down due to certain reasons, making their power much lower than before.

Even so, the father, while unable to stop Weiwei from marrying the stallion man, at least ensured he could not philander anymore.

However, because of the lack of power, the stallion man could not fight back against others either.

In the end, he could only “provide” a few decent ideas and be used by others as a stepping stone.