Chapter 1: Part 1 - Taking Turns to Dote on

Jin Yanliu had a dream.

In the dream, he experienced reverse transmigration, his soul separated from his body, and he could only watch as an imposter took over his body, took over his life, spend his money. He could only watch as his parents became the imposter’s parents, his friends became the imposter’s friends and the men on his bed change one after the other*.

*TL note: this is saying that the other soul slept around

At the end of the dream, his body had crawled into another young man’s bed.

The man had a narrow waist, broad shoulders, with a strong, lean back and extremely smooth muscular lines. The impostor climbed up and turned the man over, revealing a cold, upright face with a faint scar visible on his right eyebrow.

“F*ck!”

Jin Yanliu suddenly opened his eyes and sat up on the sofa.

It was still raining outside, a summer thunderstorm, with the wild winds blowing against the heat waves, making the clusters of flowers outside the window sway up and down.

The formerly flourishing flowers had at once become ravaged and unrecognizable.

He felt that he was now in the same situation as those flowers outside.

Jin Yanliu, the man with divine facial features, mega-rich, viral at the age of twenty; his proud and arrogant life had just begun, yet he was suddenly told by some “Taking Turns to Dote on” that he is actually living in some novel.

<<Taking Turn to Dote on>>, a novel that one would know is a BL just by looking at the title.

As the name implies, the reader can choose any male character to bet on, just as in the case of stock market speculation, since there is no official couple.

In such stories, there would usually be two points:

First, the main character has fantastic charisma, and everyone will love him.

Second, it will definitely be a messed-up playground for melodrama and sourness.

<<Taking Turns to Dote on>> is such a novel.

In this story, the male lead is beautiful, pure, innocent and clearly “honest,” yet he “unknowingly” provokes all of the big shots within the novel, who fight to have a chance of doing some things to him—things unsuitable for children to know— and forcing him to play in the little black room, “I’ll come next once you’re done.”***

***Tl note: This is suggesting something sexual and dark, and I as I interpret it, kind of playing a pun on the name of the novel.

The comments section was filled with groundhogs****: “Ahhhhhhh! How sick! How scary! I love it!”

****Tl note: Refer to the meme: https://youtu.be/ggrkh-IX34Q screaming groundhog.

“Hey, hey, hey! What should I do? I like this; I think I like that too!”

“Only children do such multiple-choice questions. I like it; I like everything! So Great Author, why don’t you make them all go at the same time!”

Jin Yanliu, “…”

If you found yourself living in a novel without too many problems, that’s still bearable, not too tragic, but what is tragic is that the trademark of this novel is that it contains transmigration elements.

And the person whose body will be taken over… his name is Jin Yanliu.

“Dear,” the love and harmony system called Little Ai said softly, “Dear, dear…”

“Shut up!”

“Dear, being angry won’t solve a thing,” Little Ai said, “It’s already been two days, yet you still haven’t accepted this reality! For a harmonious socialist society, things beyond the neck shouldn’t be described,* so we, love and harmony system, will carry out a mission to transform it! Allow us to make this piece of unharmonious writing to become a socialist brotherly love with you!”

“Can you prevent me from experiencing reverse transmigration?” Jin Yanliu asked while frowning.

“… No.”

“Then why are you still wasting words?”

“So you don’t care about your body being played with this and that, and you won’t think for your friends? According to the impostor’s character, do you really think that Yushu Linfeng’s younger brother, your good friend, can escape? You’re probably is still unaware of the novel’s goal, but please understand, no outstanding man can escape the clutches of that devil who can woo tens of thousands.”

“…”

F*ck!

“Dear, you still have half a year left before your soul gets taken over. You still have the chance to change things.” Little Ai said. “But you probably still need some time to digest this situation, so I’ll go offline first. If you need any help, just shout out in your hear, ‘Heyo, Little Ai’ and Little Ai will come to your service!”

With a click , the voice within this annoyed person’s head disappeared.

Jin Yanliu lifted his head and finished the bottle of wine within his hand in a few gulps. Throwing the bottle down to the floor, the person laid back onto the sofa once again.

The thunderstorm outside was still ongoing, the courtyard’s greenery wobbling, and between the flower branches, wet petals rubbed against the glass windows. The pattering raindrops hit, and the windows quickly fogged up, leaving behind a moist red.

Jin Yanliu laid on the sofa for a very long time, before a cough suddenly interrupted the silence. The door opened, and with it came the blowing winds and violent rains. His assistant, Fatty Xiao, came in panting, turned around, and closed the door.

“The rain is so heavy outside.” Fatty Xiao took off his glasses to wipe them before wearing them again. He took a look at the empty wine bottles and asked, “Brother Yanliu… how much did you drink?”

Jin Yanliu usually never drank nor smoked, but for some reason, he’s been cooped up at home and drinking one bottle after the other these days.

The assistant put down the food he bought and cleared the table. Jin Yanliu sat up, his hair raven black, his body thin and fair, convex shoulder blades due to his posture, and eyebrows slightly furrowed. His abnormally flushed face held a drunken expression, adding to his beauty.

The entertainment industry did not lack handsome men, but it was hard to meet someone like Jin Yanliu, whose face was simply divine.

Fatty Xiao could still remember the shock he had the first time he met Jin Yanliu.

He had come for an interview and went out into the halls for a phone call, then suddenly saw a crowd surrounding Jin Yanliu, dressed in a black suit, absentminded, and resembled something more than a mortal. The celebrity was buttoning his cuff while raising his eyebrows, showcasing a golden, jade-like beauty. Watching the person whose appearance was more impactful than when he was on television, Fatty Xiao had been wonderstruck, standing there dazedly at the side, unable to say a word.

From then on, all of the male leads within the various romance novels had a face, the Jin Yanliu, who was surrounded by clear golden light, the embodiment of spring that was overladen with flowers.

“Brother Yanliu, don’t drink anymore. There’s an event you have to attend tonight.”

AiShang Magazine would host a charity dinner, with most of the stars within the entertainment circle participating. Jin Yanliu, with his popularity, would walk the red carpet with the editor of the magazine.

But how would the Jin Yanliu from right now have the heart to go to some event? “Just say that I’m sick and can’t go outside.”

Fatty Xiao had also expected this answer.

Jin Yanliu’s situation from the past few days doesn’t seem quite right.

But even if he asked, Jin Yanliu wouldn’t tell him exactly what happened. Moreover, he knew Jin Yanliu’s temper very well and was too afraid to ask anymore. Finally, Fatty Xiao said, “Then I’ll tell Brother Fei; you have a good rest and don’t drink too much.”

Just as he finished his words, Jin Yanliu unscrewed a new bottle of wine with a ping.

Aishang Magazine was the top fashion magazine in China, and the charity dinner they held had now become an annual event in the entertainment industry. Before the red carpet had even started, all the major entertainment sections had already started to flood the internet forums with various news. As soon as the news that Jin Yanliu would be absent from the charity dinner was released, it immediately became the focus of heated discussions online.

The summer four years ago, the twenty-year-old Jin Yanliu became famous due to a school drama. He had ridden a bicycle through a flower garden in the drama, becoming the internet’s chosen “The boy that was blessed by God,” and could even be said to be a purple star descending from the heavens. The boy had been so popular that he had become purple**. In the past two years, his popularity has reached its peak, with fans covering half of the entertainment industry, his every move causing huge waves.

** TL note: 红的发紫= red to the point of being purple, with red meaning popular.