Chapter 61: 40.1

Chapter 40.1

Contrivances and Misfortunes

Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil

 

It has become a habit for Cheng Zhaoci to pick up Wei Zhuo from work every day, barring special occasions, like today, as the Zhou brothers are here to remind him about the preparations for the next part of his comic series.

Cheng Zhaoci needed some time to adjust, even, being completely engrossed in love earlier. He had to face the fact that he still needed to draw comics to make a living.

Ah, beauty is the bane of the mightiest warriors. In the onslaught of love, all his passions and dreams practically went to the dogs.

But, as a responsible male with a mature mindset, he knows he must balance his career and private pursuits. He has to be able to shoulder responsibility.

“Have you worked out the details for the three chapters of your comic’s next arc yet?” Zhou Luoluo sees Cheng Zhaoci looking all seriously determined, asks, “how much have you done?”

“Not a single stroke,” Cheng Zhaoci declares quite confidently. When the Zhou brothers look at him in shock, he calms them with a soothing gesture, explaining, “everything is on schedule. I’ll start drawing tonight. I’ve got the entire plotline down pat since the beginning.”

Zhou Xiaobao then sarcastically asks, “oh, too young to fall in love?”

Cheng Zhaoci’s advice ends up boomeranging back to him.

Unfortunately, an insectoid who’s lived for over 40 years in his past life and current life is hopelessly shameless, saying, “oh, of course there’s no such thing as being too young! I’m 17, if I don’t fall in love now, I’ll be an adult before I know it!”

“Wait, so Squadron Leader Wei is already going out with you?!” Zhou Luoluo is shocked. He himself is still meandering the garden path with Lu Nianqian, who continues to cite his young age as an issue.

Betroth? Wei Zhuo did not. Cheng Zhaoci recalls their recent days spent together, and they’ve sure talked a lot, but they haven’t officially talked about if they’re together yet.

Actually, if it wasn’t for Zhou Luoluo’s question, Cheng Zhaoci might not have thought about it.

It’s just been natural for them to spend time together now, especially as Wei Zhuo has become less nervous about it over time.

Nowadays, the two of them can just sit down side by side without feeling embarrassed. Instead, a sense of serenity would wash over them. Thinking about it, Cheng Zhaoci thinks it’s like they’ve already entered the halcyon stability stage post-marriage.

“He hasn’t, but I feel like it’s already a de facto thing,” of course, Cheng Zhaoci thinks it is still necessary for them to find an occasion to affirm their status, but it will need preparation and feel ceremonious. He needs to choose a special day, and if possible, with some surprise.

Cheng Zhaoci’s smile is making Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao salty.

Zhou Luoluo can’t help but say, “at least finish your draft first!”

“But, this arc has depressing bits. I just fell in love, obviously, I need some time to get into the mood for the content,” Cheng Zhaoci shrugs.

“Depressing bits?!” Zhou Luoluo asks, his voice breaking in the process, “what, what are you going to do?! Oh, Heavens, don’t tell me you’re going to kill off the demi!”

That last comic Cheng Zhaoci published almost gave Zhou Luoluo PTSD. It was only alleviated when everyone else around him started experiencing the same trauma.

Again?! Zhou Luoluo thinks it is bad for his wellbeing, “you, would it kill you to just draw something happy for once?! It’s, it’s like you keep…” Zhou Luoluo is trying to find a good term to describe it, but fails.

“Keep publishing knives?” Cheng Zhaoci finishes the sentence.

“Yes! Knives! That keep cutting at our hearts!” Zhou Luoluo grits his teeth, “and you’ve even…”

“Wrapped the knives in cotton candy. Sweet when you ingest, and then slash your mouths full of blood?” Cheng Zhaoci finishes the sentence again.

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“Exactly!” Zhou Luoluo appears irate, “you, you’ve even thought of the adjectives for this in advance?! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?! Is this a fetish or what?!”

Zhou Xiaobao is also glaring at Cheng Zhaoci, rolling his hands on his kneecaps into fists, to indicate his disapproval.

Cheng Zhaoci shrugs and says, “I didn’t say I was going to kill off the demi. We’re in the creative writing business, after all. There needs to be a central conflict one way or another.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to separate them in life and death, or give them terminal illnesses, or have traffic accidents, or get kidnapped by space buccaneers, or realise they’re actually biologically close relatives,” and terminal illnesses, with current insectoid technology? They’d probably be dead before they could even be diagnosed.

Never mind traffic accidents. All these pre-programmed automatic floating vehicles are in the sky. What, have the protagonist fly and ‘crash’ into one of them? It’s so unrealistic.

Biologically brothers? Some kind of ‘Insekutoido no Sora‘? Unfortunately for any such aspiring writers, by insectoid law, incestuous relations would result in the non-male side executed.

As for kidnappings… Cheng Zhaoci has thought about it, but it is far too unrealistic to occur. The risk involved with kidnapping a male outweighs any potential payment they could get, while the demi is simply a reporter who is neither rich nor powerful. Obviously, no pirate would do something like that.

Cheng Zhaoci listed those examples to reassure Zhou Luoluo, although Zhou Luoluo is clutching his chest, going, “you’ve even thought of all these treatments?!”

“Not really,” he didn’t think of them. They’re all old clichés of his past life. It makes them the fruit of all the writers and readers on Earth.

Though, unexpectedly, Zhou Xiaobao’s eyes seem to be glowing from inspiration.

“I just thought of an idea,” Zhou Xiaobao, winking, looks at Cheng Zhaoci, “I want to draw my own story later.”

Cheng Zhaoci raises his brow. He would support the Zhou brothers wanting to develop their own works, of course, but he’s also curious what Zhou Xiaobao could have thought after listening to the bunch of disjointed overused tropes.

“I’m going to make a meek demi the protagonist,” Zhou Xiaobao thinks, and explains, “he’s very kind, and simpleminded. He is very poor, and like, his father has died, and his dad couldn’t care less about him.”

“…” What the fuck is this extremely familiar opening?! Cheng Zhaoci is now sitting up straight as he listens.

“Then, when the demi is working his shift at a bar frequented by males…”

“Why would a demi be allowed to work in a bar full of males?” Zhou Luoluo interrupts, “actually, would they even be allowed inside in the first place?”

“He, he could use some disguise; potions! So he works inside, because the pay is good. One day, he was bullied by customers into drinking a lot. Then he runs into a drunk male, and they end up doing it,” Zhou Xiaobao continues.

Zhou Luoluo looks like he has a lot to say about that, but Cheng Zhaoci quickly covers his mouth shut. Zhou Luoluo is widening his eyes at Cheng Zhaoci – there are not even male servants in male-only bars! There are only robot waiters!

Cheng Zhaoci gestures for Zhou Xiaobao to keep going, while keeping Zhou Luoluo quiet.

“After that fateful night, the demi hurriedly runs away…”

In the next half hour, Cheng Zhaoci listens as the epic, strangely familiar saga involving an accidental pregnancy, terminal illness, traffic accident, pirate kidnapping, a scheming shemale rival, misunderstandings, and finally, the dumpster fire that is the male trying to win back the demi’s heart is laid out.

Ah, yes, of course. Misdiagnosis for the terminal illness; ‘traffic accident’ that happened when the protagonist slipped and fell off a tall building, and being knocked away during his descent by a passing vehicle, while pregnant. And of course, the protagonist’s egg isn’t the least bit worse for wear inside.

Tch tch tch, Cheng Zhaoci is amazed. Zhou Xiaobao really is a treasure that keeps on giving.

Who could have imagined that quiet and shy Zhou Xiaobao was hiding such talent with contrived plot devices beneath his socially anxious exterior.

Yes, Cheng Zhaoci has decided he must support Zhou Xiaobao fully. True, the tropes are fully overused in his eyes, but that’s not the case in insectoid society! In his past life, this trope died hard, and was outlandishly popular at one point. Whatever the reason, it was successful.

Tropes are overused when too many people write about them all the same. Yet, look at it another way – many people write it all the same because many people are receptive to it.

The plot holes are big enough to ram a whole train full, but it’ll likely be popular regardless.

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