The Rise of the White Lotus - Chapter 8 Unexpected gains

One sunny day, Shen Jingwei, a Z-list actor, received an opportunity to attend an open-call audition the very next day.It was for the role of an antagonist in a new BL C-Drama, “Dance Of The Dragons”, which was adapted from a novel of the same title.He agreed to join the audition due to several factors, among which his manager's threat to jump off the 20th floor, his dire need for money, and also the fact that his rank in the film industry could not go any lower.One look at the panel of judges made him want to turn on his heel to leave, but it was all too late.Because who would expect the poor Z-List actor to meet his mortal enemy/ex-boyfriend, Yan Renzhong, the A-List Actor responsible for his decline long before he even learned how to fly?------------------“You and I... are playing a couple of lovers, who will go on to get married and have children with each other.”Shen Jingwei could sense blood coming up his throat.What was the point of saying it out loud, again?“Yes,” he forced himself to agree nonetheless.Yan Renzhong pinned him with a stare.“We have unresolved issues from the past. I hope you won't let them affect your and my performance in the drama. Act the professional you are supposed to be.”“...”“And don't call me 'Emperor Yan' anymore.”Yan Renzhong left after delivering one blow after another, not even waiting to see if Shen Jingwei succumbed to his injuries or not.What?Whattt?Whattttttttt?

When Fang Jin learned that he was in a cultivation novel where the protagonist was a lady and that he had become cannon fodder, he quickly racked his brain to think of a way to save himself.

Everything seemed wrong until he saw it.

[First day as a pet owner.]

[Attractiveness +1]

…

[A day of cultivation with zero gain.]

[Understanding +1]

Over a million years ago, the first human contracted with the first Spirit. Ever since then, Spirit use has become commonplace. Humans used Spirits to carry items and start fires. Eventually, even start wars. Thousands upon thousands of years past and one day, one human did the impossible. He transcended his mortality and ascended to the realm above.

Nicole d'Armand never expected to walk into her apartment and find her fiancé *bleep*-deep in another woman's lady bits. What's a girl to do?Well, after obliterating an 18th-century Meissen vase, delivering a punch that would make a heavyweight boxer proud, and embarking on a night of raucous drinking, Nicole figures she might as well embrace the chaos.But when alcohol and pheromones collide, her wild night spins into something unexpected... Like a ride on the Logan Everett express.Which, naturally, leads to a whirlwind of its own: She's his fated mate. Because of course she is.And he rejects her. Because of course he does.Now embroiled in a mystery bigger than her post-breakup hangover, Nicole finds herself the prime suspect in a murder she didn't commit—no matter how tempting the thought might have been. And the only person who believes her innocence? The same guy who shot down the idea of being her fated mate.Great. Just what she needed: her love life is a crime scene, and the man stupid enough to let her go is holding her freedom in his hands.