A Popular Idol Changes His Persona Every Day - Chapter 1

It happened too suddenly. Ruan Zhi went out to take out the trash, only to feel a sudden sharp pain in the back of his neck, as if something had been driven into it. Then, the world went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a pitch-black space.

A blue panel, about one meter square, floated before him, with dense lines of text scrolling rapidly across it. Before Ruan Zhi could make out the content, a mechanical, boyish electronic voice rang in his ear: “Host’s brain was pierced by a falling object from a height. Brain death confirmed. Beginning repair… Repair successful. Beginning possession.”

Ruan Zhi listened in a daze. He felt the back of his head and actually felt a depression where something had caved into his skull. Was he really killed by a falling object?!

Ruan Zhi couldn’t believe his luck was that bad. However, the wound at the back of his head was merging rapidly; in just three seconds, it had returned to normal.

The boyish voice continued: “Beep, beep, beep! Your little cutie has suddenly appeared. Starting data collection… 30%… 95%… Collection complete. Hello, dear Ruan Zhi. I am the Anti-OOC System, derived because too many authors let their characters collapse. My mission is to eliminate all Out-of-Character behavior! From now on, I give you the scripts, and you follow the lines! If you go OOC, I’ll shock you to death~ But don’t worry, based on the difficulty of the persona, we will give you corresponding rewards! Muah~”

“???” Ruan Zhi asked, “Are you kidding me?”

Hearing him, the system let out a very human-like sigh: “There’s no other way, I didn’t want this either~ I saved you out of the goodness of my heart. If you don’t want to cooperate, I’ll just have to leave your body. Note: After the system leaves, the host will return to the ‘Point of Origin’—the moment of death. You’ll die on the spot, okay?”

Ruan Zhi: “…” Terrifying.

The system chuckled: “So, if there are no problems, let’s start the first mission~”

Ruan Zhi hurriedly stopped it: “Are your lines going to be insane? If I follow your scripts in real life, won’t I look like a lunatic?!”

But the system ignored him and continued in its youthful voice: “The first persona has arrived. Title: The CEO’s Runaway Sweetheart. Role: Overbearing CEO Mr. Ruan. Personality: Cool, aggressive, domineering.”

“Synopsis: A chance encounter in his youth made him fall in love with her. He spoiled her and protected her, but he also hurt her. Finally, she heartlessly left, only to be forcibly brought back by him and locked in a billion-dollar villa. She said: ‘Let me go.’ He said: ‘Impossible…'”

Ruan Zhi: “…” This synopsis… he felt like he had returned to the era three years ago when he was dominated by the fear of “Overbearing CEO” web dramas.

The system’s soft yet slightly stiff electronic voice continued: “Data loaded into the brain. Please check. Complete the mission to receive: ‘Great Long Legs That Sway in the Wind.’ Fail the mission and receive: ‘Beginner Electric Shock.’ Add oil! Add oil! Add oil! (Fighting!)”

Ruan Zhi frowned slightly. “Why ‘sway in the wind’? Shouldn’t it be ‘straight and slender’ or something?”

The system chuckled again, its tone teasing: “Because this posture is better… hee hee hee~”

As a gay man, Ruan Zhi immediately understood the subtext. His lip twitched: “.”

Without waiting for a response, the system dissolved the black space. Ruan Zhi felt the ground vanish beneath him. The sensation of weightlessness made his blood run cold. He squeezed his eyes shut. Within two seconds, a familiar female voice screamed in his ear.

“Ruan Xiaozhi, I think you’ve lost your mind and don’t want to stay in the industry anymore!” His manager, An Ya, shouted his name. “What are you doing lying on the park grass for no reason? And staring at the sky talking to yourself?! If I hadn’t passed People’s Park on the way to pick you up, you’d be on the trending searches right now!”

She paced anxiously in front of the sofa where Ruan Zhi was sitting, rambling about the consequences of him being caught acting crazy in a park. After a while, she turned around.

What she saw was Ruan Zhi staring at her with a blank, hollow expression.

An Ya panicked. she waved her hand in front of his eyes, but Ruan Zhi didn’t react at all.

In fact, Ruan Zhi saw her, but he couldn’t afford to react. Floating clearly above An Ya’s head was a large block of text with a sub-label: [Lines for ‘CEO Ruan’ from ‘The CEO’s Runaway Sweetheart’].

Ruan Zhi: “…” I refuse.

The moment that thought appeared, a violent current surged in his abdomen and exploded through his body. The numb, tingling sensation spread into the very marrow of his bones. Ruan Zhi couldn’t help but shudder. It wasn’t excruciatingly painful, but a mysterious internal reaction like that was enough to inspire fear.

The system’s voice returned: “Since this is your first mission, I won’t be too strict. Please complete the task immediately and do not neglect your duties. When saying the lines, you must feel the character’s emotions. You cannot act in a way that contradicts the lines. Of course, you cannot reveal the existence of this system, or you’ll get the electric shock too. Muah~”

Ruan Zhi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

His long silence finally made An Ya feel something was wrong. She grabbed his arm to take him to the hospital to check his brain, but the moment she moved, her wrist was gently pushed away.

An Ya looked at Ruan Zhi. His gaze seemed to fall on her face, yet also seemed to be looking through her at something else. A look of struggle appeared on his face.

A moment later, his thin lips parted, and he spoke with a trembling voice: “My ‘her’ is lost. She doesn’t want me anymore.”

An Ya almost stopped breathing. “…When did you get into a relationship?” As his manager, she hadn’t noticed he was dating. This was a massive failure on her part!

An Ya didn’t know Ruan Zhi’s voice was trembling from anger. She thought he was truly heartbroken, and her voice softened: “Don’t panic. Tell me what happened.”

Ruan Zhi hadn’t finished his lines yet, so he couldn’t answer her. He looked at the “Line Progress Bar” above An Ya’s head and, with an expression like he was ready to die, continued: “No matter.”

An Ya froze. What did he mean “no matter”? Then she saw Ruan Zhi narrow his eyes. A cold sneer appeared on his lips as his gaze swept past her into the distance: “Little wildcat, you can’t escape the palm of my hand.”

An Ya: “…” What’s wrong with this poor child?

She had honestly thought he liked some girl, but these cheesy lines… they sounded like they were from a script.

The manager, who had been fuming with anxiety, suddenly calmed down. She studied Ruan Zhi seriously: “Honey, if the work pressure is too much, tell the company. After all, the bosses are your parents. Don’t push yourself so hard… Have you been reading too many scripts lately?”

Ruan Zhi almost nodded in agreement, but he wasn’t done with the lines above her head!

An Ya watched as Ruan Zhi fell silent for a long time, looking at her stiffly. The struggle in his eyes gradually turned into determination: “No. Only by controlling the lifeblood of City Z can I keep her firmly in my grasp. Too many people covet her. If I am not strong enough, how can I protect her?”

An Ya’s throat tightened: “…As long as you’re happy.”

She gave up on “rehearsing” with him and moved on to his scheduled tasks: “The company has booked you for a reality show—The Love Battle. Movie Star Du is in it, so the ratings are guaranteed. You’ll just play a ‘CP’ (couple) with our company’s rising star, Liu Feiyu. Just endure it for three months; it’s not hard. The company plans to get you a big-budget movie soon, so stirring up some rumors with a female celebrity now will help maintain your popularity.”

After saying this, An Ya noticed Ruan Zhi didn’t immediately refuse and breathed a sigh of relief. Although Ruan Zhi was the “Prince” of RZ Entertainment, he didn’t have a spoiled temper. However, his desire to be famous while simultaneously rejecting every show and variety program made him very difficult to manage.

Usually, if he heard a plan to manufacture a “CP,” Ruan Zhi would reject it outright. Today he didn’t, and An Ya didn’t know it was because the little prince was currently under a life threat. She felt deeply relieved and whispered: “I know you like men, but I’ve watched previous seasons of this show. You just need to create some ambiguity; no physical contact is required. You can rest easy.”

As she finished, she noticed Ruan Zhi’s expression change. The look of endurance vanished and he waved his hand at her: “No, I don—”

But he cut himself off mid-sentence.

Ruan Zhi detested fake romance for publicity. Hearing about The Love Battle made him feel physically repulsed. He just couldn’t speak due to the system’s oppression. Finally, seeing the lines disappear, he opened his mouth to refuse the reality show.

But before he could finish his rejection, a new line of text appeared over An Ya’s head.

Ruan Zhi was trembling with rage, but he could only grit his teeth and read it: “Fine. It’s time I went to find my ‘little wildcat’ as well.”

…Aghhh, I’m so angry!!

“…” An Ya was left dazed by the toxicity of his lines, but the Prince’s word was law. She nodded: “Okay!”

She didn’t know what kind of episode Ruan Zhi was having today, but at least the reality show was settled. Having finished her task, she prepared to leave. Communicating with a Prince who wouldn’t stay “on script” was exhausting.

The moment she left, Ruan Zhi, who had been sitting gloomily on the sofa, snapped upright. The system’s annoying voice rang in his head again: “La la la! Your little cutie is here~ Congratulations on completing the first step of the mission! Keep up the good work! Add oil! Add oil!”

Ruan Zhi felt a bad premonition: “Wait, the first mission isn’t over yet?” He had already said so many lines.

System: “Nope~ It needs to continue for a few more days.”

Ruan Zhi’s lip twitched: “How many is ‘a few’?”

System: “Dear, I don’t know either~”

“…” Ruan Zhi: “Then another question. Why did you make me join that reality show?” Ruan Zhi felt a chill down his spine. There couldn’t actually be a “little wildcat” for him to act with, right?

As if sensing his thoughts, the system chuckled and actually made a “clapping” sound: “That’s right! Because your ‘little wildcat’ is right there, quack!”

Ruan Zhi didn’t catch that the system used a “him” instead of a “her.” He gripped the sofa cushion, gritting his teeth: “I don’t need to act with anyone.” He just wanted to be left alone to finish his lines in peace.

But the system clearly didn’t intend to let him off easily: “Prepare well. Tomorrow will be even better! Ganbatte!” Excited, the system made that “clapping” sound again.

Ruan Zhi felt something was off: “System, what is that sound?”

The system let out a “Huh?”: “What’s wrong? I’m just patting my belly, quack.”

Ruan Zhi froze: “Why are you patting your belly?”

System: “Don’t you like this sound? Pa-pa-pa, pa-pa-pa-pa-pa~“

Ruan Zhi’s breath hitched: “Don’t do that. I’ll think you’re ‘doing something NSFW’ (GHS).”

Unexpectedly, the system let out a shy laugh: “Hee hee hee~ You caught me~”

Ruan Zhi: “…”