Chapter 1 – Inertial Hypocrisy
Novel Title: 我只喜欢你的人设 (I Only Like Your Made-up Persona)
Author：稚楚 (Zhichu)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 夏习清 (Xia Xiqing -MC), 周自珩 (Zhou Ziheng -ML)
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A hangover is the most torturous thing in the world.
If alcohol didn’t bring such nasty side effects a few hours later, he would definitely enjoy drinking them more. Xia Xiqing thought so as he opened his eyes slowly on the carpet. He leaned on the sofa and could barely stand up. He was suffering from a severe headache so he took out an ibuprofen pill from the coffee table and consumed it without water. He then took out his mobile phone to check the time.
It was already 13:24 in the afternoon.
His memory which had been numbed from drinking alcohol finally began to process slowly. He suddenly remembered that there should be Zhou Ziheng’s film press conference at six o’clock today. The VIP ticket was already in his hands so, of course he had to attend it.
Zhou Ziheng is an actor who began his career as a child star. Although he is only 20 years old this year, he has been in the acting scene for about 14 years already. He was only 6 years old when he first debuted. When he played the leading role in his childhood, that drama won the annual ratings champion all at once. It led him to become the most popular child actor at the time. Because of this, Zhou Ziheng later acted in many other films and TV dramas. But he has always been trapped in the persona of a child actor.
Later, when he went to take his college entrance examination, he stopped acting for a few years and disappeared from the public eye. But he didn’t even pursue his studies in the art stream. Like any ordinary senior high school student, he took the ordinary national college entrance examination and was admitted to the physics department of P University with an amazing high score. He then went for his military training but Zhou Ziheng stayed as the hot search topic on Weibo.
But he seemed to be very low-key. After entering university, the frequency of filming dropped again and again. At first, the public thought that he was going to quit the entertainment industry to concentrate on his studies, but because of a group of sneak shots when he was in school, he became a hot search on Weibo again.
In the photo, he was participating in a school basketball game. The smooth and solid muscle lines under the red basketball uniform, the sharp eyebrows that could not be concealed by his short hair, the sweat that dropped to the jaw line, and the slightly frowned eyebrows when he was shooting the ball into the net… They were all prominent in the photo. The details were so clear even from the perspective of a candid shot. Each photo was basked in aggressiveness.
By mistake, Zhou Ziheng, who had always been trapped in the persona of a child actor, was dubbed the “walking hormone” due to the photo. He changed his style inadvertently and took the “aggressive Alpha” route of a made-up persona that is popular nowadays. Not only high school girls were so keen on chasing after celebrities, even women a few years older than him fell into this hormonal trap without resistance.
After becoming an adult, Zhou Ziheng almost completely stopped acting in TV dramas and he didn’t even take on romance films. His style of taking on dramas was very consistent. Most of them were of realistic themes. Even commercials taken by him were mostly in the themes of science fiction. Even though there was finally a heroine in this drama, she only ended up in the relationship of ‘brother-and-sister’ with Zhou Ziheng. Thus, the netizens were always complaining that Zhou Ziheng is the actor who “wasted his looks the most”. But even so, as long as he appeared in variety shows or programs, fans and netizens alike would always find a lot of topics to talk about.
Xia Xiqing was also attracted to the made-up persona after his transformation. At that time, he was studying abroad. He happened to see the photos of Zhou Ziheng playing basketball. He felt that the guy’s figure and texture were perfect, so he suddenly wanted to paint him. He drew a watercolour painting of Zhou Ziheng and posted it on Weibo. Unexpectedly, fans found it by following the hashtags and reblogged it frantically. It became a very popular fanart.
He also naturally became the painter in the so-called fan circle.
Xia Xiqing looked in the mirror and realised that his hair had indeed gotten a little longer. It was time for him to get a haircut. He found a rubber band tied to a paintbrush of his. He took it out and put the paintbrush back on the table with a bang. He then tied up his hair casually. He picked up a white shirt he found from his closet and put it on. After wearing a black surgical mask on his face, he went out.
When he arrived at the venue, the main creative team hadn’t even arrived yet. Xia Xiqing took a photo of himself and posted it on Weibo. He soon received a group of fans’ comments.
[Child of Ru Heng]: Ahhh, did Mistress Summer go too! ! !
[Universe’s No. 1 Alpha]: Damn it, Mistress Summer! Aren’t you supposed to be overseas? It’s so exciting!
[I am Mrs. Zhou]: My God, I really want to have a face-to-face meeting with my Mistress Summer~
[Zhou Ziheng’s Nobodies in the Wild]: Hey, I’m also at the press conference. Our Mistress Summer is so close to the stage. Could it be a VIP ticket??
[I am the coolest]: Damn, a VIP?! Must be involved with the team members.
In order for them not to cause more speculation, Xia Xiqing had no choice but to pick a fan at random and reply.
[Tsing_Summer]: I got a VIP ticket from a friend.
Coincidentally, just after replying, he received a text message from that very ‘friend’ who gave him the ticket – Xu Qichen.
[Xiqing, I have something to tend to so I will leave first today. I have already greeted the organiser. Sorry.]
[It’s okay. I’ve already arrived at the venue.]
After Xia Xiqing sent the text message, he twirled the handphone around using his fingers.
Xu Qichen is a young writer. The movie starring Zhou Ziheng this time is adapted from his novel. Coincidentally, Xia Xiqing and him were high school classmates and good friends. He was the one who gave the VIP ticket to him this time but the author himself couldn’t directly attend the conference.
The program did not start after he waited for half an hour. Xia Xiqing felt a little bored so he walked out of the venue through a long corridor to a side hall. The interior design of this hotel looked good. He looked at the Goya paintings hanging on the wall. These paintings were considered relatively high quality copies of the real paintings.
As he was looking at the paintings, he was suddenly bumped into by a strong force from behind him. It made him wobble a little and the handphone he was holding fell out of his hand. Xia Xiqing glanced over his shoulder to look. There were several bodyguards in black uniforms behind him. They surrounded a celebrity who was taller than the bodyguards and was wearing sunglasses. Xia Xiqing recognized Zhou Ziheng almost instantly.
Similarly, Zhou Ziheng immediately realised the rude behaviour of one of his bodyguards. He stopped his hurried steps, bent down nimbly to pick up Xia Xiqing’s knocked-off handphone and passed it back to him through the crowd. It was a swift move.
“Sorry.” Zhou Ziheng’s voice sounded very manly. It didn’t sound like a 20-year-old kid at all. It had a strange charm between a teenager and a mature man. Surrounded by many fans, they started screaming and recorded the scene using their handphones. If such a heartwarming gesture is posted on Weibo, it will definitely be retweeted by everyone. It may even be on the hot search.
This was the first time that he was in close proximity to Zhou Ziheng. The sudden encounter was a bit unexpected for him but Xia Xiqing was not too nervous. He skillfully displayed the smile on his face to make himself look gentle and polite, “It’s okay. Thank you.”
Xia Xiqing stretched out his hand and took the handphone from the guy’s hand. At the same time, his cold fingertips took advantage to rub Zhou Ziheng’s fingers, appearing to be done unintentionally.
It happened for only about half a second.
The expression on Zhou Ziheng’s face didn’t seem to change much. It can be said that there was no reaction at all. Xia Xiqing could see it clearly but he still smiled until Zhou Ziheng left. Only then did he return to the venue.
What a truly straight guy, he thought.
When he entered the venue again, Zhou Ziheng’s fans were giving out free support items. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl stopped him and asked, “Handsome guy, whose fan are you here for? Do you need any support items?”
Xia Xiqing, who was still wearing a mask, smiled. With crooked eyebrows and a soft voice, he spoke, “Sure.”
The little girl opened her bag excitedly. There were headbands, badges, bracelets and cheering sticks inside it, “Which one do you want?”
Xia Xiqing took a badge and said thank you gently. He put the badge on his chest and returned to his seat.
The press conference started on time. Once the host began the opening ceremony, the main teams of the film appeared one after another. The film is adapted from Xu Qichen’s novel ‘The Seagull’. It tells the story of an unemployed young man named Ouzi who was deceived by an acquaintance to get a job in Thailand. The story is about the will of the protagonist to escape.
Zhou Ziheng played the character of a young ‘shrimp slave’. In order to get closer to his image and role, Zhou Ziheng lost nearly 20 pounds. During the filming, he once appeared skinny and sick. He wore a tattered vest and a pair of knee-length shorts that were too dirty to be washed off. His face was covered with sunburn marks from years of exposure to the sea. His shoulders and back were covered in scars and bruises. Almost nobody could recognize that this young man was Zhou Ziheng. Even the director all nodded repeatedly, praising him as Ouzi himself.
It has been almost half a year since the movie finished filming. Zhou Ziheng has come back to his old self a lot. Now, his body has returned to his pre-filming posture with full muscles under crazy fitness programmes. Seeing that figure, Xia Xiqing couldn’t help sighing. Acting could not be done by ordinary people. If they need to be thin, they go ahead and be thin. But if they need to be fat, they have to go ahead and get fat. Are they balloons?, Xia Xiqing thought to himself.
The cropped hairstyle he specially trimmed for the movie has also grown though it is still quite short. Zhou Ziheng has sharp facial features and deep eyes. This look is different from many male stars of the same age as him. Most of them have gentle and delicate looks, but Zhou Ziheng is an exception. He does not look gentle but that does not mean that he is not beautiful either. His whole body exudes male hormones. The sharpness in his silhouette could not be concealed. He also has a natural aggressive look.
Xia Xiqing has praised Zhou Ziheng’s transformation to his friends more than once. This time, he was also not disappointed. Zhou Ziheng wore a grey-blue shirt which was tucked into dark grey suit trousers. His solid muscles with excellent lines, wide shoulders and narrow waist were almost in the proportion of a golden inverted triangle. They were all wrapped under that shirt. His height is 1.92 metres. He looked calm and outstanding.
The overall attire was high-end and simple. But he also wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. A delicate golden chain goes behind the ears attached to the glasses. It shone brightly under the light. It added a sense of abstinence to his sharp-edged temperament.
A woman who appeared to be in her thirties came by Xia Xiqing’s side. She was covered in famous brands and she was very well-dressed. When she sat down, she brushed against Xia Xiqing, which was done either intentionally or unintentionally.
“Excuse me.”
Xia Xiqing looked at her and curved his eyes to show his friendliness. The other party probably seized this opportunity and stretched out her hand with a smile, “Hello, I am Jiang Yin, the producer of this movie.”
Glancing at her outstretched hand covered with exquisite nail polish, Xia Xiqing politely took off his mask and shook her hand, “Hello.”
The moment Jiang Yin saw him take off his mask, her eyes lit up. It was quite rare for her to be that way. After all, she has seen countless beautiful people in the entertainment circle. The young man in front of him could be described as very beautiful. His facial features looked a bit feminine, but he had an attractive masculine charm. The slightly long hair is half-tied up, revealing a pair of extremely mesmerising peach blossom eyes. The corners of the eyes were very delicately curved. In addition to all that, there was a mole on the tip of his nose, which was simply a finishing touch by God.
To put it bluntly, this person has a look that can be forgiven by anyone no matter what wrong he does. He does not look aggressive and people would have a desire to protect him. This type of look is the most popular with audiences nowadays.
“I haven’t seen you around before. That’s odd.” Jiang Yin let go of the handshake and smiled, “You are not in the entertainment circle, are you?”
Xia Xiqing smiled, “The author of the novel adapted for this movie is my friend. I just relied on his blessing to get close to the celebrities.”
“Oh?” Jiang Yin smiled and looked at the heroine who was talking on the stage, “So, you like this type of girl.”
Xia Xiqing laughed lightly and shook his head. He looked lazily at Zhou Ziheng who was standing beside the heroine.
“I like this type of boy.”
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*Author’s Note:
Xia Xiqing: I welcome everyone to my arena *laughs*
Chenchen: I will try my best to make a cameo!
-ZC
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*Translator’s Note: When I first decided to translate this novel, I wasn’t aware that it had been translated by another translator but thank God that it hasn’t been updated for two years already. So, I believe there will not be any issue or translation drama, yeah? Thanks. My motive to translate when I found any interesting novel was to make sure that I could get it completely translated (because as a reader myself, sometimes I’m frustrated when there are no updates when the story is getting good). There was nothing I could do about it. It’s an OCD of mine. I was already depressed that I had to drop the ‘Grey Uncle’ translation because of the translation drama. I’m afraid if I die someday, I might really become a ghost and haunt people because of that unfinished business. But as long as it makes other people happy and peace can be restored, I’ll just become a ghost someday. Lol.
Chenchen is Xu Qichen, a friend of Xia Xiqing. He is the MC from another novel written by Zhichu which is ‘BE (Bad Ending) Crazy Survival System’ [BE狂魔求生系统]. The novel doesn’t have a BE though, just the title is like that. The ML in that novel is Xia Xiqing’s nephew Xia Zhixu. Xia Xiqing’s handle on Weibo is @tsing_summer and his followers called him ‘Mistress Summer’ (Summer Taitai). I think they probably thought that he is a girl or they just prefer to teasingly call him that way lol. I like this novel a lot. Younger seme vs older uke. No dogblood drama and just full of sugar your teeth will rot. The author is also very knowledgeable or I dare say, intelligent, by discussing physics and art in the story. It’s really beautiful. -K
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*GLOSSARY:
- ‘Shrimp slave’ or ‘xiānú’ [虾奴] – poor people from Myanmar or Cambodia who are lured to Thailand by being sold at low prices. They work as ‘slaves’ on ‘fishing boats’ and are often beaten, insulted, and even face death threats at any time.
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Next update: 2023.03.14
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