In his sleep, Shi Liang seemed to catch a faint, lingering fragrance of begonia flowers.
In his drowsy haze, it felt as though someone was intermittently calling him “Gege” right by his ear.
Shi Liang shook his head, trying hard to wake himself up.
“Gege!” That single utterance of “Gege” made Shi Liang lose his soul, causing his heart to flutter.
This was the first time Shi Liang had ever fallen in love with a man calling him “Gege” like that.
Hidden within that “Gege” was a deep, intense affection and carnal desire.
He slowly opened his eyes, heavy with sleep, his gaze somewhat unfocused.
Once it all registered, his entire body went rigid.
Reflected in his eyes were the man’s eight-pack abs. Shi Liang’s hands were raised in a surrender pose, pinned down by the man’s hands, or more precisely, their fingers were tightly interlocked and entwined.
Just by virtue of this posture, the air instantly grew a few shades more ambiguous.
The man was completely naked save for a bath towel tied loosely around his waist, sitting right on top of Shi Liang’s lap.
The man lowered his head, his bangs draped casually across his brow and eyes, exuding a natural laziness and sex appeal.
Shi Liang reservedly shrank back, but pinned down like this, it was completely useless.
Shi Liang was utterly helpless. Seriously, wasn’t this posture a bit too intimate?
The next second, Shi Liang’s worldview shattered into a million pieces.
The man actually leaned down and kissed Shi Liang right on the lips.
The cool, soft touch sent a shockwave through Shi Liang’s heart. His eyes widened to their absolute limit, his whole mind descending into chaos with only a jumble of tangled wires left in his brain.
Holy cow! I have been alive for over twenty years only to be forcefully kissed by a man!
Shi Liang reached out to push the man away, but his resistance not only proved useless, it actually stoked the man’s desire for conquest.
He began kissing Shi Liang’s neck.
Shi Liang took a deep breath, kicking his legs and thrusting upward. Seizing his leg, the man yanked him right under his body, flipped him over, and sat right down on his buttocks.
“Calm down!” Shi Liang struggled even more frantically.
The person before him paused, then suddenly let out a laugh, a laugh that was desolate and bleak.
“At a time like this, Gege can still remain calm because in your heart, there is truly no longer any place for me, is that it?” It was as if he were suppressing rage to the absolute limit, his eyes filled with an unyielding, bitter malice.
Shi Liang took a deep breath, trying his best to stay calm. He was completely clueless about what this man in front of him was talking about.
Furrowing his brows in utter confusion, Shi Liang looked at him and asked, “What are you talking about?”
Unexpectedly, the man gripped his wrists even tighter. “Who is in your heart right now? Is it that little blue-haired kid from the bar? How am I inferior to him that you are having a change of heart?”
The little blue-haired guy from the bar?
Is this not a character from the novel he was reading recently?
Lately, he had been reading a BL novel titled Brilliant Stars on Yangtze Literature City.
The moment he clicked on the synopsis, he fell completely in love with it, as it hit every single one of his preferences. The crucial part was that the shou shared the exact same name as him: Shi Liang.
It gave him an immense sense of immersion.
That was why he had clicked on it.
The story began with the wealthy second-generation heir named Shi Liang, whose very persona immediately satisfied all his wealthy-heir fantasies. Right after finishing his college entrance exams, he went to a club with friends to celebrate getting into Kyoto University.
Yet right there at a glance, he fell for a man named Qi Wei. That man’s face looked like a masterpiece of Goddess Nuwa showing off her skills, and his physique was beyond flawless.
Under the dim blue-purple lighting, his gaze appeared even more profound, making him look completely out of place in a venue like this.
A gambling addict for a father, a mother who died young, a sister with a terminal illness, and a shattered self.
Shi Liang fell in love with him at first sight.
Shi Liang himself belonged to a well-off family, was good-looking, and got into Kyoto University half due to luck and half due to being a sports specialty student.
Qi Wei, on the other hand, was an absolute top-tier student.
To win Qi Wei over, Shi Liang investigated and found out Qi Wei’s younger sister had congenital heart disease and needs a heart transplant.
Using all his family’s connections, Shi Liang spent a massive fortune to bring in the best doctor from Country A and found a matching heart.
The condition he put forward was to make Qi Wei his partner.
Upon hearing Shi Liang’s demand, Qi Wei pondered for a long time before telling him, “I am not gay. I have never dated a boyfriend before.”
Shi Liang replied with a carefree, rakish attitude, “There is a first time for everything. Just think about your sister’s heart.”
After struggling and hesitating for a long time, Qi Wei finally agreed to him. “However, I cannot accept being at the bottom.”
Shi Liang did not care about such details and readily accepted, publicly declaring: “Sooner or later, I will make you willingly let me top you!”
Shi Liang treated Qi Wei exceptionally well, giving him the absolute best of everything within his power, but he knew Qi Wei did not genuinely love him.
After his sister’s surgery, she needed a massive sum of money every year for medication; if not for these medical expenses, Qi Wei would have run away long ago.
To show his sincerity, on Qi Wei’s twenty-second birthday, Shi Liang scoured the globe to buy him a one-of-a-kind gemstone, which he named Brilliant Stars.
He had it crafted into a star necklace.
He told Qi Wei: You are my unique, precious, brilliant star.
That night, he claimed Qi Wei.
Yet, while falling in love is easy, staying together is hard. The stark differences in their childhood backgrounds led to constant friction throughout their life together.
By now, Qi Wei had established his own company, growing it larger and larger, returning home less and less frequently, and arriving later and later.
Shi Liang sensed that Qi Wei might be about to break up with him.
Shi Liang hated the feeling of being discarded, so he decided to strike first. He sent a breakup text message, deleted all their contact information, and left to go traveling.
Qi Wei would surely be glad to see the breakup happen and would likely move out of the apartment soon. When he returned from his trip, the house should be empty, which was Shi Liang’s plan.
What he never expected was that after he left, Qi Wei went completely out of his mind, searching the entire world for him to no avail.
Their next meeting took place back at that very same club.
Bai Yuan had witnessed the entire progression of Shi Liang and Qi Wei’s romance, feeling deeply that his buddy was getting a raw deal.
Bai Yuan guaranteed with absolute confidence, “Do you not just like Qi Wei’s pretty face and charming figure? Buddy will find you someone of that exact type, and someone younger and more obedient.”
Shi Liang waved a hand dismissively. “Forget it, I am not interested.”
Dragging and pulling, Bai Yuan hauled Shi Liang into the club, pushing a newcomer straight into his arms, a boy who looked seven or eight parts similar to Qi Wei, sporting a very fashionable head of blue hair.
As it happened, Qi Wei and some business associates had also come to this club. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw a young boy resembling him, yet younger, nestled obediently in Shi Liang’s arms.
Qi Wei walked right over, dragged Shi Liang outside, and the two of them started arguing. Amidst the altercation, a car rushed over and directly plowed Shi Liang to his death.
Plowed to his death?
No wait, author big shot, are you messing with me here?
It was like setting off fireworks where the fuse had burned all the way to the end, only for a basin of water to put it straight out.
I wanted to see Qi Wei tell Shi Liang he loved him to distraction.
I wanted to see a chaser’s crematorium trope.
I wanted to see Qi Wei slowly win Shi Liang’s heart back page by page.
Clutching his phone, Shi Liang cursed: “Trash writer, enjoy a blade warning!”
He glanced at his WeChat balance and silently dismissed the idea of mailing actual razor blades.
Poverty makes people virtuous, or so they say!
Author big shot, if I do not curse you under your Weibo post until you cannot tell east from west today, I will take your last name.
He kept cursing until the early hours of the morning, when Shi Liang grew overwhelmingly exhausted and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, such a thrilling scene was actually playing out right in front of him.
At that moment, a Google-like voice chimed in his head: “Beep beep, I am Brilliant Stars System 741, at your service.”
Shi Liang scoffed mentally. “741, Piss you off? Your name is quite unique!”
Without wasting words, Shi Liang went straight to the point: “Spit it out, what is going on right now? I remember this scene was not in the plot!”
The system replied: “It was not in the plot. Did you not rant under the author’s Weibo that getting hit by a car and killing Shi Liang off was a cop-out ending? The system has now brought you into this book so you can change that outcome. The current plot point is that you were not hit by a car outside the club, but instead passed out, and were then brought back to the apartment you shared by Qi Wei.”
“Why am I the one transmigrating? Does everyone who finishes reading your book have to transmigrate?” If so, whoever reads your book is truly cursed.
“Not everyone, there are conditions.”
Curious, Shi Liang asked, “What conditions?”
After a long pause, the system finally replied: “Sorry, I have been rebooted, so I do not know. Besides, this is not my department; I am only responsible for bringing you across.”
“Hah, your operations are quite finely divided, with different systems handling different departments!”
Vocal, Shi Liang figured it must be because he had cursed the author out so fiercely that he ended up transmigrating, complete with this exasperating system assigned to keep him in line.
The system silently clenched its tiny fists, grinding its teeth while thinking, I will endure this: “Our book operates on the principle of you can you up, no can no bb. I will be eagerly watching the subsequent plot to see how you change it.”
Shi Liang took a deep, steady breath. Do not get angry, do not get angry. It is not worth arguing with an idiot.
Gripping Shi Liang’s hand with enough force to yank him back into view, Qi Wei looked at the anger on Shi Liang’s face, his gaze filled with nothing but impatience.
Qi Wei had always assumed Shi Liang was throwing a tantrum simply because he had been neglecting him lately.
Yet seeing him again now, not a shred of affection could be found in those eyes anymore.
Shi Liang was not just throwing a tantrum, he was genuinely done with him.
Understanding this, his heart felt as though it were being violently wrung out, a sour ache blooming deep within his chest.