Reborn, I Became a Male God - Chapter 12

After dinner, Yang Rou crouched in front of the computer. The screen was split into two windows—one was the Nanzhou platform, and the other was the entertainment gossip section of the platform’s built-in forum.

It was exactly 19:30, still half an hour before Song of Eternal Joy would start airing.

Yang Rou replayed the official trailer while replying to posts on the forum.

Topic: Anyone wanna chat about that Song of Eternal Joy all over Weibo for a dime?

no.0 Tanuki: recently there’s been an overwhelming amount of marketing on Weibo, even flooding into the homepage of my life account. I was bored out of my mind and took a stroll through the official Weibo—what was pinned at the time was the character styling photo, and at a glance, it actually looked pretty decent. Especially the male and female leads—crazy good looks. But my first thought was, damn, that photo editor’s skills are out of this world. Then I read the comments below, and suddenly I didn’t feel so good. The male lead is actually played by a girl! [photo]

no.1 Zhiqiu: The one in the photo is a girl playing the male lead? So handsome!

no.2 Drinking Alone Among Flowers: So handsome +1. But my attention’s on another aspect. The two leads in this drama are both female. Is this… yuri? No clue, but it looks impressive!

no.3 Moe Nana,: Whoa, yuri?! They’re really going there!

no.56 a4: Don’t mislead everyone, okay? I’m sort of half a fan of the novel. I saw the title and came in. Let me give a quick explainer. The original isn’t yuri—it’s your standard palace intrigue power play story. But yeah, the main characters are a little dramatic. The female lead crossdresses as a man (that’s the photo in the main post), and the male lead crossdresses as a woman. I saw the official styling photos too—probably couldn’t find a male actor who could convincingly play a woman, so they got a girl to do it. Gotta say, the girl playing the male lead is seriously beautiful! Here’s a photo for everyone to admire [photo]

no.57 Qiao Qiao: Totally get the girl’s beauty—makeup is on point. No idea when this weird trend started, but lately all the historical dramas have those thick straight brows from Korea. Totally breaks immersion!

no.1398 Tanuki: Whoaaa anyone seen the official trailer yet?! Tell me—is the actor playing the male lead really a girl???

no.1399 Deep Sea in the Clouds: I wanna know too, tt. The male outfit in the trailer is insanely handsome. I only thought of one phrase after watching: “A refined gentleman, gentle as jade.” Feels like I’m about to become a fan of this girl. If it’s actually a guy—never mind my knees, take my whole wallet!

no.1400 admin: Feels unlikely it’s a guy, right?

no.2596 Did Juan Eat Today: Has no one noticed how suspicious the official account’s silence is? So many people asking whether the male lead is a guy or a girl, and they haven’t replied. No way they haven’t seen it. I think there’s a good chance the actor really is a guy!

no.2597 Half a Cabbage: Just finished reading the whole thread—one question: doesn’t the male lead have a Weibo? If we dig around, we should be able to find it, right?

no.2598 a4: Replying to upstairs, no, there isn’t one. Otherwise it would’ve been dug up long ago.

no.5368 Half-Finger Sand: Why’s everyone so hung up on the gender thing? The show airs in just a week—we’ll all know soon enough. Let’s talk about whether this show might blow up instead?

no.5369 Qingqing: I went and read the original—really exciting stuff, but the Mary Sue vibe is a bit overwhelming and kind of cringe. Still, with the actors in mind, it’s super immersive! Personally, I think as long as the screenwriter doesn’t mess it up and the visuals of the leads stay on par with the trailer, this could be a hit.

no.5370 Love Zhongqin: upstairs +1, but I think one more thing needs to be added—just a little bit of acting skill would be nice. As long as it’s not disfiguringly bad, I see a hit coming.

no.5371 Wan, Yiyue: Speaking of acting skills—I’m not so sure. Both leads are newbies. The female lead, Li Yi, is okay—currently a sophomore in the acting department at China Film Academy, so barely counts as professionally trained. But we can’t dig up any info at all on the male lead—definitely not someone from the industry. Still, just based on that face… a breakout hit might be a stretch, but gathering a bunch of appearance fans? No problem. I think they have a bright future!

no.8215 Willow Fluttering: Twenty minutes to go! Anyone watching together?!

no.8213 a4: Yup.

no.8214 Deep Sea in the Clouds: Me me me, I’m in!

Yang Rou’s fingers clacked away on the keyboard. Between chats, she rewatched the trailer again. Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and her mom’s voice sounded from outside: “Xiao Rou, can I come in?”

“Mhm.” Yang Rou quickly agreed.

Yang’s mom pushed the door open, a bit surprised to see her daughter not playing games today. “Why aren’t you gaming today?” she asked, walking over.

Yang Rou replied, “Not playing. What’s a game compared to a boyfriend!”

“You have a boyfriend?!” Her mom’s voice shot up in pitch.

Yang Rou pointed at the computer screen. “Look, my boyfriend. Handsome, right?”

Her mom followed her finger and saw the screen paused right on the male lead’s look in menswear: white robe, blue sash, jade hairpin, tied-up hair. His features were refined, with a naturally noble air—hard to look away from. Even Yang’s mom, despite her age, was stunned for a few seconds. Then she came back to her senses and lightly smacked the back of Yang Rou’s head. “Teasing your mom again! But this young man really is good-looking. What show is this?”

Yang Rou reflexively launched into selling the show.

In a flash, twenty minutes passed. As Yang Rou talked, she kept refreshing the page. When the episode appeared on the right, she clicked play without hesitation.

“Mom, get ready to see your handsome son-in-law!”

As expected of a weekly drama, the opening was short—just a few seconds. A segment of classical music played over silhouettes of the main cast. Finally, the title Song of Eternal Joy appeared, with smaller text crediting the original author Jin Nian and director Liu Tonghe.

The first scene was a gloomy prison cell. In the bottom right corner: “13th year of Jian’an, autumn.” In a dark corner, someone curled up on a hay-covered bed. A person in official garb reached out to check their neck for a pulse, then stood up to report, “Reporting, sir, the suspect is dead!”

The scene changed to a grand palace hall.

“Your Majesty, the main culprit in the embezzlement of relief funds in Caozhou, Zhao Lingxian, committed suicide in prison.”

The next scene was a refined courtyard, a group gathered at the entrance of the main house. At the front stood a man in a purple robe embroidered with a dragon and python, dignified in bearing. The timeline jumped to three years later—16th year of Jian’an, spring.

The tightly shut door suddenly opened. A woman came out holding a bright yellow swaddled baby, saying as she walked, “Congratulations, My Lord, it’s a noble son!” Though she said this, her expression held some unease.

The man took the baby, peeked under the cloth, and said solemnly, “A grand reward!” Then summoned a servant. “Laifu, report the good news to the palace.” 

The screen faded to black, with a flash of white text—another jump in time.

14th year of Yongning, spring.

A new emperor on the throne after a change of dynasties.

In the palace, the Empress and the Crown Prince discussed going to Wanfo Temple to pray for blessings the next day. Elsewhere, in an ordinary household in the capital, Zhao Zizhen and his mother were discussing the same thing. Two threads, running in parallel—the plot diving straight into the action.

Yang’s mom saw the male lead dressed in women’s clothing and commented, “This girl is really beautiful!”

Yang Rou smiled without answering.

The plot progressed rapidly. By the end of the first episode, the male and female leads had already met at Wanfo Temple. Zhao Zizhen accidentally uncovered Li Yu’s secret identity. Their first meeting erupted into conflict—Li Yu tried to silence him, and Zhao Zizhen quickly came up with a plan to save himself.

The first episode ended there. The preview for the second episode followed.

Zhao Zizhen was carried in a small sedan chair into the prince’s manor, where a cold, secluded courtyard and a servant ordered to monitor him awaited.

After several seconds, Yang’s mom turned to her daughter. “That’s it?”

Yang Rou sighed, “That’s it for today. Another episode tomorrow.”

As she spoke, she quickly switched to the show’s official Weibo. The latest post was from three minutes ago.

Song of Eternal Joy TV Series v:  

We know you’re curious about the male lead’s identity.  

Jing Ling—second most handsome under the heavens—take it, no thanks needed. [dog emoji]

Yang Rou froze for a second, then realized,  

“Finally using Weibo, huh?!”

She followed the link to Jing Ling’s Weibo.  

There was only one other post, from half an hour earlier.

Jing Ling—Second Most Handsome Under the Heavens v: 

I know what you want to ask.  

I’m a guy. Don’t believe me? Check the photo. [photo]

Yang Rou stared at the selfie,  

completely forgetting her mom was still next to her,  

and swore out loud:  

“Holy sh*t, he is a guy!”

For this novel one Kofi is two extra chapters.     Ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/mitake55760