Crafting The Perfect Male Lead

Su Yan looked up to where the voice of the System seemed to be coming from. "Hey, how can I leave this place?"

[Has the host finished the test?]

"No, but … I at least have to tell Nie Chang where I went, don't I?" He waited but this time the System didn't answer. It seemed like he wouldn't be able to leave the Special Dimension before he finished the test.

Su Yan sighed. Well, it probably wouldn't take much time and maybe this was one of those dimensions that weren't part of the normal timeline so that not even a second would have passed when he returned to the normal world. Wasn't that how it normally happened in novels?

Mn, he should just concentrate on the test.

Su Yan rubbed his chin and slowly circled his protagonist. This was really marvelous! Crafting characters like this was fun! Now, what had the System said how he was supposed to give his character a personality? Just think about it to try it out and then say it out loud to finalize it?

He went back in front of his character and stared at his face to not miss any change in his expression. 'Friendly,' he thought and the corners of the character's mouth lifted in a graceful arc.

Su Yan clasped his hands over his mouth. Whoa! That really was a pleasant smile! This was definitely a good character for a romantic story! Wouldn't every woman love a handsome, gentle and proper gentleman such as this?

…

Su Yan crouched down on the floor and cradled his head. Oh no! He had completely forgotten about it but there wouldn't be any woman with this shitty System! That so-called 'Lovely' thing was gay! It wanted him to pair up men!

Su Yan's lips twitched. Wait. Why was he complaining about that? He himself had a boyfriend since today. There was nothing strange about that.

He nodded to himself, stood up and turned to the other platform. If he understood it correctly, he would still be able to change both characters later on. For now, his protagonist was alright as he was.

Su Yan stared at the second platform. Alright. He had no idea how he should create a compatible character for his protagonist. Mn, most likely, it would be a good idea to use the tips he had gotten from the System with the basic character taskline.

What had it said which archetype a good male lead could be? Well, if he remembered correctly, then more or less every archetype could be used as the male lead. The System had mentioned him for the Hero, the Caregiver, the Sage, the Explorer, the King, and the Lover. Only the Creator had been suggested for the protagonist instead. But there had been some gradation: The ones most suited to the male lead seemed to be the Hero and the Lover while the others might just be alright or might be better suited to other positions.

"Alright, so I guess my male lead should be a hero and a lover. Now about his appearance …" Su Yan honestly had no idea. If he actually went with that protagonist, then he'd need some kind of cultivator-type character, someone who was compatible with him and wouldn't be left behind like a normal human. "Mn, he should be a cultivator, too."

Su Yan imagined one of those ancient robes and the image of a person slowly started to form in front of him. The only problem was … the person didn't have a face.

Su Yan pursed his lips. Alright. This was creepy. He needed to think of something as fast as possible. His male lead had to be handsome, though. Someone like Nie Chang …

Su Yan smiled wryly. Alright, this Special Dimension worked too fast. Just when he had thought of Nie Chang, that male lead actually started to look like his best friend. Ah, no, like his boyfriend.

This probably wasn't good? First of all, which cultivator had short hair? It needed to be long! Guys with long hair were cool! He tried to ignore that this person looked like Nie Chang now and imagined him with long hair.

Alright, much better! Now he just needed to change the face a bit. It shouldn't be a problem if his character resembled someone he knew, right? Nie Chang was really handsome, after all.

Su Yan looked at that familiar face and pursed his lips. Hmph. How was Nie Chang so good-looking even with long hair and in ancient garments? This face of his was not scientific at all!

"Honestly, Ah Chang, have you ever thought about becoming a model? Or maybe an actor? I bet the women would all go crazy about you."

The cultivator-like Nie Chang actually smirked in response.

Su Yan leaped back and clutched his chest. Oh my god! Could the System not scare him so much?! He nearly would have thought the real Nie Chang stood in front of him!

"I guess I thought a bit too much before." Indeed, when imagining Nie Chang in front of him earlier, he had actually thought of that slight smirk. It seemed like the Special Dimension had picked up on that and made it part of the male lead's personality.

"Ah, but it's not too bad. If I can fall for you, then other people would also recognize how great you are. I guess you're really suited to become the model for a male lead." He grinned at the Nie Chang look-alike and finally went to work with remodeling him a bit.

Those sensual thin lips he had had the pleasure of feeling for himself became a little more curved, that long and straight nose ended up slightly crooked and since it was supposed to be a cultivation story those dark eyes lightened up and were adorned with golden specks. He also made them a bit thinner and narrower.

Honestly, Su Yan had always hated that cliche of the peerless martial arts genius. Why couldn't those guys look like normal people and had to be some celestial beauties instead? Sure, they would shed impurities thanks to their cultivation but that was the inside of their body, not the appearance they had been born with!

This version of his boyfriend was something he felt would make a great character in a cultivation story. He was handsome but not overly so. In fact, he had a slightly evil charm about him that might be able to lure people in.

Su Yan actually felt his heart thump while looking at this character.

He hurriedly turned away and pressed a hand to his chest once more. Nie Chang had looked at him like this, too! Ah, it seemed he had really crafted the perfect male lead. Thanks to his boyfriend.