Chapter 86- Outline of the Novel
He Ruge shared his speculation with Xi Guican, “I’m not too sure if this idea is correct. Maybe the reward isn’t the kill list.”
Xi Guican quickly responded, “It’s okay, I don’t mind. What if the reward is indeed the kill list? And if we don’t have the kill list, it’s hard for us to find the real culprit. Time is of the essence, so why don’t we complete the first phase now and see what the reward is?”
His blue eyes sparkled, as if all he needed was a nod from He Ruge to pounce and devour a hot spring fish.
Suddenly regretting his impulsiveness, He Ruge said, “I’m not ready yet. I need to outline the novel first before considering all these.”
“Alright, I’ll help you. What issues are there with the outline?”
Xi Guican enthusiastically offered, like Sima Zhao’s heart, known to all passersby.
“The plotline needs to know the real culprit and organization to better allude to them. So, let’s set aside the plotline for now and talk about the romance plot. You’ve always said that the protagonist’s love interest is me, right? What kind of character do you want me to be in the story?”
He Ruge felt like he was writing a custom-made fanfiction for Xi Guican, where the protagonist’s plot and love interest were all decided by Xi Guican to ensure his enjoyment. The motivation behind all this wasn’t money, but love, which was truly a legendary tale of love-powered writing.
“Beautiful, you’re the most beautiful person in the world. Your voice should be melodious, like a divine sound. Also, since you’re the embodiment of a koi, you have good luck and can turn danger into safety.”
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In Xi Guican’s description, an old-fashioned Tom Cruise image appeared in He Ruge’s mind.
“You can add some flaws. There’s no such thing as a perfect character. Being too perfect will make readers feel it’s fake.”
Seeing Xi Guican’s conflicted expression, He Ruge sighed and added flaws himself, “Indecisive, high on appearance but low on intelligence, poor interpersonal skills…”
He wanted to say more but was stopped by Xi Guican’s slightly rough fingers on his lips.
“I won’t allow you to say that about yourself,” Xi Guican frowned.
“If you keep saying that, I’ll have to shut you up with my mouth.”
The child had grown up, actually threatening his old father.
He Ruge looked meaningfully at the imposing Xi Guican and smiled slightly. He gently moved Xi Guican’s hand away and whispered, “Don’t worry, your character also has flaws.”
Confident in his righteousness, yet aware of his many flaws, Xi Guican shrugged, “You can add any flaws you want to my character.”
Hearing the words “add any flaws,” He Ruge raised an eyebrow and democratically asked, “Can I really add any flaws?”
Short-tempered, melancholic, lacking empathy and sympathy…
Xi Guican knew he had too many flaws. He felt that without a thousand words, he couldn’t list all those flaws. Perhaps the only bright spot was falling in love with He Ruge. Then, the fearless Xi Guican heard a thunderbolt-like sentence—
“Then I’ll add a baldness trait to the character.”
Xi Guican: “??!!”
His blue eyes widened instantly, and Xi Guican looked at He Ruge in horror, so nervous he started to stutter, “W-what bald, baldness, b-bald what, how can hair be bald?”
“We have a saying on Earth, ‘I’ve become bald, but I’ve become stronger.’ It’s a funny meme that Earthlings understand.”
He Ruge smiled kindly and first reached out to touch the uneasy bald head, then retaliated by pinching the other’s lips and turning them into a sausage shape.
With a smile, He Ruge asked, “Isn’t this character setting interesting?”
Xi Guican, with a blank mind from the shock, could only repeat mechanically, “Y-yes, indeed very interesting.”
A big guy like him was now like a child caught hiding his report card from his parents.
He Ruge lovingly patted Xi Guican’s head.
Don’t threaten your dad anymore, baldy.
After all, your dad is still your dad.
“But the protagonist’s character must be impeccable. A trait like baldness, which could lead to losing fans, shouldn’t be added. The interstellar people won’t understand this meme.”
After all, He Ruge couldn’t bear to bully the big child too much. He said softly, “The protagonist’s character is based on you. A setting like baldness that doesn’t match reality shouldn’t be added.”
Xi Guican breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly, “Right.”
He even shamelessly admitted that He Ruge had fooled him.
But whether it matched reality or not, this baldy knew it all too well in his heart.
“Let’s think about your name in the story.” Xi Guican quickly changed the subject, “Can I just call you He Ruge?”
As someone terrible at naming, He Ruge felt like he was going bald.
“Let’s forget about the name for now and focus on finalizing the occupation and romance plot. Since the protagonist is a Federal warrior, what profession do you think would be more suitable for the love interest? Let’s not go with a writer. It’s hard for the character of No. 20 to resonate with book fans.”
If No. 20 was set to both seek revenge and chase after the author, and genuinely fall in love with them, it might be too absurd.
“What are top and bottom protagonists?”
Xi Guican, who had entered a whole new realm, asked.
Naturally, the different positions determined the different titles. Just as He Ruge was about to explain, he found a problem.
Why did he naturally assume he was the bottom? It wasn’t about male dignity but about life safety. With Xi Guican’s thorny tiger whip, wouldn’t the koi die if it really went in?
He Ruge calmly said, “These are two terms with beautiful blessings. ‘Top Protagonist’ means endless pursuit, hoping those called by this name can forge ahead bravely and strive hard. ‘Bottom Protagonist’ means eternal longevity, wishing for their good health and long life.*”
*T/N: Seriously Ruge? hahahaha
Xi Guican suddenly realized, not knowing that such a simple title had so much significance.
“Then let’s go with ‘interstellar singer’ for the bottom protagonist. Your singing is so beautiful, you have fans all over the interstellar space.”
Children’s song singer He Ruge: “… Hmm, this idea works too.”
He activated his little brain as a writer, quickly finalizing the romance plot, “If the bottom protagonist is an interstellar singer, then setting up a small antagonist who happens to be his fan works perfectly. The small antagonist’s joy in life, aside from doing bad things, is chasing stars. After No. 20 reads the memories of the small antagonist, he becomes interested in that singer.”
“The bottom protagonist’s singing voice is very soothing. Every time the top protagonist kills someone, he listens to a song by the bottom protagonist. Over time, he becomes a fan.”
“The top protagonist changes his appearance every time he reincarnates. Sometimes he’s an old man, sometimes a young handsome man, and even sometimes a girl, um, a busty, long-legged older sister.”
There was still some resentment in He Ruge’s voice when he mentioned his romance plot being altered, so he emphasized the words “older sister.”
Xi Guican was completely fascinated, not caring about the details. It was his first time chasing a novel, especially one where he and his crush were role-playing.
He urged for more, “And then?”
“If the plot continues like this, the relationship between the top protagonist and bottom will be like two parallel lines without any intersection. But the novel definitely can’t be like that. So, one time after a star war, the soldiers temporarily repel the bugs, and everyone wants to celebrate.”
“The bottom protagonist holds a concert on the frontline, and the top protagonist, as a fan, goes to listen. This time, the top protagonist happens to have a youthful and handsome appearance, and his status is also high, so he sits in the front row of the concert, attentively watching the bottom protagonist sing.”
“He’s watching, not listening. In the interstellar where entertainment stars aren’t revered, the bottom protagonist is an exception. Like you said, his character is good-looking, sings well, and is a breath of fresh air in the entertainment circle.”
He Ruge felt like he was bragging about himself, but years of being a writer helped him ignore the embarrassment as much as possible.
“So, we can add a lot of jokes to the bottom protagonist’s character, like fans saying he sings really well.”
“Then, the bugs attack again. It turns out this time the bugs pretended to be defeated and suddenly launched a sneak attack. The situation becomes chaotic for a while. To protect the bottom protagonist, and also because of his golden finger that allows him to reincarnate after dying with the bugs, the top protagonist deliberately sacrifices himself.”
“In the eyes of the bottom protagonist, it’s a young, talented, and handsome officer who dies protecting him. This death skyrockets the bottom protagonist’s favorability.”
Xi Guican, with a slight daze, who had been listening attentively, spoke up, “But in this way, he will be very sad.”
Xi Guican stared straight at He Ruge, “He thinks No. 20 died protecting him. He saw No. 20 die in front of him, so he must be very sad.”
“He Ruge.” His low, trembling voice seemed to be swallowing some sour emotion. His white eyelashes drooped slightly, and Xi Guican suddenly realized the mistake he had made before.
His long eyelashes seemed unable to bear the self-blame and trembled violently, “… When you saw me die back then, were you very sad?”
In a flash, the memory returned to the day when Miaomiao died, under the sparkling starry sky, holding the cold body, experiencing the deepest despair he had ever felt.
Sad?
Indeed, very sad.
He Ruge opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his lips were met with something soft.
Xi Guican was like a little hedgehog with thorns all over, but he had two soft spots. One was his soft belly; hedgehogs loved to hold their loved ones against their belly. The other was his lips.
The man in front of him awkwardly kissed his lips, the fine and wet kiss falling on his lips, cheeks, and corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I won’t let you be sad again.”
Sleepyblue’s Corner📓:
Me at the end of this chapter:
