The Peak Competition of Beauty and Acting (1)

March 22, 2025, 4:00 AM.

Xu Qichen died suddenly.

In one moment, he was sitting in front of his computer, working on his new BL novel, and in the next moment, he fell into the keyboard, plunging into darkness.

At that moment, a slightly metallic voice could be heard from somewhere.

“Hello, welcome to the BE Fanatic’s Survival System. I am the system AI, designated as 0901.”

Xu Qichen: “What system?”

The voice calmly replied, “This system is also known as the Heartless Author Repayment System, Love Me Again Reader System, and No Acceptance of BE Rewrite System.”

If Xu Qichen could see his own face right now, he would probably be full of black lines. These aliases were all too familiar to him, frequently appearing in the comments section of his Weibo.

As a male BL novel writer, Xu Qichen was undoubtedly a rare species. With his unique and captivating storytelling style, he gained popularity through diligent updates.

However, his novels had two common flaws: weak romantic plotlines and unintentional BE (bad end). These two issues had been criticized since the beginning of his writing career. However, despite the complaints, his outstanding plots and inherent popularity kept him as a popular writer, as long as he was still alive.

System: “Mr Xu, in this system, you will be transported to various different worlds, assuming different roles to complete assigned tasks, while…”

“I refuse,” Xu Qichen interrupted straightforwardly.

The AI, undisturbed by the interruption, responded, “Understood. The host chooses to reject entering the system…”

Wait… Can he really refuse?

“Rejecting entry into the system. The host’s real-life outcome remains unchanged.”

“Wait a minute!” Xu Qichen immediately reacted, “Am I really dead?”

“Yes.”

There was no doubt in that tone.

Xu Qichen probed, “So, if I enter the system, is there still a chance to save myself in reality?”

“Yes, if you complete all the tasks, the outcome of your death in reality will be rewritten.”

This was too surreal. Fortunately, he was a writer, as an ordinary person would have a hard time accepting these bizarre settings.

Xu Qichen’s parents had passed away, and his aunt, who had raised him until high school graduation, had been kind to him. He wanted to earn more money to provide her with a better life. The new novel had only just started with ten chapters, and the little angels in the comments were eagerly waiting for more. Besides…

No, he couldn’t die yet.

Xu Qichen composed himself, “I choose to enter the system.”

“Very well, let’s proceed to the first world.”

The efficiency of this system was a bit too high.

As Xu Qichen absorbed the information, his mind was filled with fragmented images. The dark space around him began to distort, and countless shining fragments gathered towards him, slowly forming his body.

Xu Qichen looked down and saw his hands gradually taking shape. He tried to clench them, feeling the terrifying realism of his skin.

Opening his eyes, he saw nothing but the ceiling and a few unfamiliar yet familiar faces.

“Mengze woke up!”

Frowning, Xu Qichen sat up from the sofa, and before him were four young men with different temperaments and impeccable appearances, wearing exaggerated stage makeup.

The little man just now called him Mengze.

Mengze…?

“The system file is complete. Mr. Xu, your identity in this world is Ji Mengze, the face of the national idol group SOULMATE.”

What?!

Ignoring the concerned greetings from the others, Xu Qichen got up and walked to the mirror. A supremely delicate face appeared, with the same exaggerated makeup, even more beautiful than a girl’s.

Xu Qichen couldn’t help but touch his current face, asking the voice in his heart, “Why have I entered my own novel?”

The system AI answered, “All the travel worlds in this system come from the novels created by Mr. Xu. The roles assigned to Mr. Xu are also the protagonists in the novels.”

Xu Qichen looked carefully at himself in the mirror and then at the people around him.

He had indeed entered his own novel.

This novel was a celebrity themed story that he started serializing six years ago. It was called “The Peak Competition of Beauty and Acting.” In reality, his creative purpose at the time was not purely innocent. It was because celebrity themed stories were very popular in those years, so he decided to write one to cater to the market.

His current identity was one of the male leads in the novel, a superior popular idol in a super popular boy band. Xu Qichen was well aware of the current trend of male beauty, so he created Ji Mengze, a perfect vase, in a very clichéd manner. Just in terms of beauty, he could be described as a world-class beauty. Unfortunately, his acting skills were not great. Relying on his popularity, he starred in one flop after another.

The other male lead, Lin Ran, was the youngest ever Best Actor, naturally talented in acting. The two of them met while working on a same-sex themed movie and disliked each other. But they couldn’t resist the skyrocketing popularity after the movie was released, and the national CP quickly rose to fame, appearing on variety shows and topping the search rankings.

However…

Xu Qichen remembered that this novel had a bad end.

There was nothing he could do about it. As he reached the later stages of writing this novel, Xu Qichen lost interest and just wanted to finish it and start a new one. So he killed of Ji Mengze, the character, due to prolonged online bullying and malicious slander, choosing suicide as the ending.

Now that he thought about it, it was a bit irresponsible.

Recalling all the plot details, Xu Qichen began to feel strangely confident.

“0901, I have a question,” Xu Qichen decided to address the AI by the number mentioned earlier. “I am the author, and I created all the storylines. What is the point of players playing the game with the Eye of Heaven?”

0901 explained, “Mr. Xu, firstly, this system is based on your original novel, but it is not exactly the same. Secondly, you are no longer the author with a god’s perspective; you are now a participant in the story, and every choice you make will bring unpredictable changes to the plot.”

Xu Qichen felt a headache coming on. He had transmigrated into his own novel, hoping to be the winner of life with a script in hand, but now it seemed that the previous script might not even matter, and every step he too could lead to completely different outcomes.

The butterfly effect, huh…

“Mr. Xu, I will now assign you the main mission,”

A screen appeared in front of Xu Qichen, visible only to him, displaying a line of blue text: Rewrite the ending where Ji Mengze commits suicide.

Xu Qichen stared at the words and asked, “What if I fail the mission?”

“In any world, once a mission fails, you will not be able to resurrect in real life.”

Compared to quick transmigration novels he had read from his colleagues before, what Xu Qichen was experiencing now felt more like a death game. He had no way out.

Honestly, Xu Qichen was never a fan of celebrities, and he didn’t have much feeling towards those online idols either.

But if he became a popular idol who was constantly subjected to cyberbullying and online hate, how could he turn the tables?

The reflection in the mirror looked really good, although he was not bad-looking in real life, compared to this character’s appearance, he was nothing.

“Oh, by the way, do I need to imitate the character settings from different worlds?” This was a question Xu Qichen was concerned about, as it meant he would have to rely on his poor acting skills.

0901: “If your identity is suspected by people in the system world, the mission will be in crisis, which could lead to failure.”

In other words, he had to make sure he didn’t act OOC. (TLN: Out of Character)

“Mengze, are you okay?” One of the young men with the gentlest temperament walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Xu Qichen carefully recalled the character settings and smiled in response, “I’m fine Mingqi.” Seeing the other person also smile slightly, Xu Qichen breathed a sigh of relief. He guessed correctly.

The short guy who shouted the moment he woke up should be the lead vocalist, Bai Yi. When writing the novel, Xu Qichen thought that male group lead vocalists were usually not tall, so he made this setting. The muscular guy next to him should be Jiang Ling, who was in charge of the rap.

His gaze fell on the corner where a slender but slightly rebellious-looking person stood. Xu Qichen thought for a moment and concluded that it should be Shen Huan, the main dancer in the original work, who also had a crush on Ji Mengze.

Xu Qichen roughly sorted out the original characters and weakly smiled at everyone. “I’m sorry for worrying you.

Bai Yi: "You suddenly collapsed when you came off stage, it scared me.”

Jiang Ling crossed his arms and said, “It’s lucky you didn’t faint on stage, otherwise the fans in the audience would go crazy.”

Xu Qichen nodded and was pushed to the sofa by Mingqi. A glass of water appeared in front of him, and when he looked up, it was handed to him by Shen Huan.

He whispered a thank you, took the water, and sipped it slowly, his mind quickly recalling the plot.

Suddenly, the sound of high heels could be heard from the entrance.

Bai Yu whispered, “Mom Yu is here~”

Just as he finished speaking, a woman in her thirties with a capable temperament walked in. Xu Qichen looked at her, sensing her strong aura.

That’s right, this is Soulmate’s manager, Li Yun.

Xu Qichen weakly spoke up, “Sister Yun…”

Li Yun turned to the other members and said, “Go and get ready, we have a concert celebration banquet later.” Then her gaze fell on Xu Qichen’s face. “How are you?”

Xu Qichen: “I’m much better.”

“That’s good. Amy, help Mengze get ready again. The sooner, the better! Come find me when you’re done.” The last sentence was directed at Xu Qichen.

Xu Qichen nodded and followed the staff into the dressing room. He took a shower and the hairstylist wanted to give him a new hairstyle but Xu Qichen only asked him to blow dry his hair.

However, the makeup artist, Amy, unexpectedly applied makeup on him again. Truly a specialized profession.

The other members quickly finished getting ready and got into the assistant’s car. Xu Qichen was pulled into another car by Li Yun.

After getting in the car, Li Yun threw him a stack of papers, “Take a look.”

It was a movie script. Xu Qichen quickly realized that in the novel, after the Shanghai concert, Ji Mengze was pulled away to participate in an impromptu audition. It was because of this audition that he had subsequent interactions with Lin Ran. This was a crucial turning point in the plot.

Skipping directly to the main storyline, that’s quite the progress.

“Oh, by the way, Mr. Xu,” the voice of the system sounded again, “In addition to the main mission, you also need to complete a side mission that runs through all the system worlds. If you successfully complete it, you will receive additional points and items from the system, which will help you complete the main mission. If you fail, even if you revive in the real world, your brain nerves may be damaged, which could affect your normal life.”

…This game is going too far.

“So, what is the side mission?”

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