After Falling in Love with a 2D Character as a Socially Anxious Person - Chapter 1

After a rain during the Insects Awaken solar term, the air in Nancheng was filled with moisture.

 

An Jing, wrapped tightly in a mask and heavy clothes, felt like retreating the moment he stepped into the warm supermarket.

 

So many people.

 

Even though it was a workday, the supermarket was crowded. Just one look made his spine tingle.

 

An impulse to turn around and leave rose in An Jing’s heart, but his feet stayed frozen in place. His heart rate quickened slightly along with the festive music.

 

If I leave right after coming in, will people think I’m strange?

 

Gritting his teeth, he walked toward the entrance. After passing the turnstile and seeing the high density of people, An Jing’s brain went blank.

 

What did I come here to buy again?

 

Oh right, some seasonings. I also need to restock the fridge.

 

It’s okay, An Jing.

 

No one will notice you, it’s okay…

 

Avoiding eye contact with anyone, An Jing cheered himself up. At the same time, he regretted coming to the supermarket himself just because the meat he ordered through a delivery service last time wasn’t fresh.

 

He regretted even more his stereotypical belief that “there are fewer people in the supermarket on workday mornings.”

 

He had miscalculated. The supermarket was having a promotion today, and it was packed.

 

An Jing wanted to finish quickly, but the layout from entrance to exit was a circle. He didn’t plan to buy dairy, yet he was forced to stop in the yogurt section.

 

A few young men and women pushing shopping carts blocked the aisle.

 

As someone with social anxiety, An Jing couldn’t bring himself to ask strangers to move. He could only lower his head and pretend to pick out yogurt.

 

” ‘The Saint Does Not Die’ is amazing; even the supporting characters are becoming famous.”

 

“Moon Qing played the fourth male lead in ‘The Saint Does Not Die.’ After the show finished, his status rose, and now he’s even endorsing this brand of yogurt.”

 

Hearing the title “The Saint Does Not Die,” An Jing, who had already memorized the ingredient lists of several products in front of him, froze for a second.

 

His ears perked up inconspicuously.

 

“You have to look at who wrote the original book. With that logical, plot-twisting writing, it was bound to be a hit.”

 

“Alright, alright, we know you’re a die-hard fan of Yannian.”

 

“I heard Teacher Yannian’s other series, ‘The Great Thief Does Not Stop,’ is also going to be filmed. As long as they don’t ruin the adaptation, it will definitely be another hit.”

 

“I wonder when Teacher Yannian will release a new book.”

 

The group praised Yannian to the skies. Although no one noticed him, An Jing’s lips pressed tightly together under his mask in embarrassment.

 

“I read the original book because of the fame, but there’s too little romance. Compared to the exciting plot, the romance scenes might as well not exist.”

 

“Yannian must be very old, right? My impression is that he’s a stiff, serious old man. It’s normal that he doesn’t like writing mushy love stories.”

 

One of the burly guys said:

 

“Teacher Yannian is my eternal god! No matter what genre his new book is, I’ll definitely buy it! I even want to marry him.”

 

An Jing: “…?”

 

His slender white fingers gripped the shopping cart. He looked down at the shiny floor tiles, trying to find a crack to crawl into.

 

Before he could find a crack, the man who joked about marrying Yannian accidentally turned his head. He froze when he saw An Jing and spoke uncertainly: “An Jing?”

 

An Jing: “??”

 

Hearing his own name, An Jing’s tea-colored eyes trembled. He was truly terrified now.

 

No way, is it someone I know?

 

An Jing took a deep breath and looked up. Before he could remember who the man was, the other person confirmed his identity by his longish hair and build:

 

“An Jing, it really is you.”

 

The man’s companion asked curiously, “Sheng Li, do you know… this person?”

 

Sheng Li?

 

An Jing blinked; the name sounded familiar.

 

“How could I not?” Although Sheng Li was smiling, there was a hint of superior mockery when he looked at An Jing:

 

“An Jing was quite a celebrity at our school.”

 

The companion’s curiosity was successfully piqued: “In the same school as you? Then he’s a top student? Is he very famous?”

 

Sheng Li glanced at An Jing with a half-smile and drawled:

 

“Oh, he’s very famous.”

 

But this fame wasn’t positive.

 

An Jing wasn’t close to Sheng Li; they weren’t the kind of acquaintances who would chat if they met outside. The stares from Sheng Li’s companions already put a lot of pressure on him.

 

He really wanted to run away.

 

Giving a stiff, polite smile, An Jing turned to leave, but Sheng Li didn’t want to let this good opportunity go. He raised his voice slightly:

 

“We finally ran into each other, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

 

“Which company are you working at now?”

 

When he said this, Sheng Li’s tone was clearly meant to mock him.

 

An Jing hadn’t received an offer from any big company. The news that he was hiding in a rental house all day wallowing in self-pity had already spread throughout the entire class group chat.

 

Graduating from a top university but achieving nothing—Sheng Li felt embarrassed just to be An Jing’s classmate.

 

With such a loser attitude, he wondered how An Jing had gotten into their school in the first place.

 

An Jing opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Sheng Li slapped his own forehead: “Sorry, I forgot. Have you still not found a job?”

 

“If you really can’t find work, I can help get you an internal referral when my company needs people.”

 

“You know my company. Good positions are highly competitive, but since you’re my schoolmate, you can find a job earning 4,000 a month if you work hard.”

 

An Jing: “…” That’s really not necessary.

 

An Jing had a good memory. When he saw the class group notifications before, he had seen Sheng Li post his internship badge.

 

The company where Sheng Li interned wasn’t the top in the industry, but 32% of it was owned by the “Yan Group.” Backed by that Yan family, it was no wonder Sheng Li posted his badge in the group chat so many times.

 

But An Jing didn’t care which company Sheng Li worked for. He just wanted to escape:

 

“Thanks… I don’t need it.”

 

Sheng Li let out a fake sigh: “No need to be polite. We’re classmates; if you’re having a hard time, I’ll definitely help.”

 

An Jing didn’t like talking to people, but he could tell whether someone was being kind or kicking him while he was down.

 

The man had been praising Yannian just moments ago. At this moment, An Jing felt extremely awkward and strange. After quickly saying “no need to trouble yourself,” he hurried away from their sight.

 

“Hey, An Jing…” Sheng Li hadn’t finished showing off yet. He reached out to pull An Jing, but his companion pulled him back first.

 

“Where are you going? Let’s go check out.”

 

Today was the first time Sheng Li had received his internship pay. He was a face-saving person, so he had invited several friends to his rented apartment for a party. Of course, he was paying for this full shopping cart of items.

 

At the checkout, Sheng Li felt a sting in his heart seeing the nearly four-digit total. Not wanting his companions to notice, he turned his attention back to mocking the “useless” An Jing.

 

“He rejected my offer now just for the sake of his pride, but he’ll probably regret it once he gets home. His family isn’t well-off; he probably lives a very stingy life.”

 

“Really?” A girl recalled the scene from earlier. “Your classmate should be quite rich?”

 

Sheng Li sneered: “He doesn’t even have a job, where would he get money?”

 

The girl said, “I just saw it. Those strawberries that cost over 500 yuan a box for less than half a kilo—he had two boxes in his cart.”

 

The others were shocked by the price:

 

“For real? Do those strawberries make you immortal if you eat them?”

 

“Are those strawberries made of gold?”

 

“You call that level of spending ‘stingy’? Am I a beggar then?”

 

Facing his friends’ suspicious looks, Sheng Li: ???

 

Impossible. Isn’t An Jing’s family very poor and isn’t he jobless? How could this be?

 

 

Returning home and closing the door, the familiar environment allowed the tension in An Jing’s heart to completely relax.

 

Too terrifying.

 

Just going out to the supermarket for a bit made him feel so tired.

 

Sigh, communicating with people was indeed too difficult for him.

 

Changing into soft, comfortable home clothes, An Jing tied the hair covering his eyes into a small bun.

 

As a person with severe social anxiety, eye contact and small talk which are perfectly normal to others were a burden to An Jing. Every time he went to the barbershop, he had to prepare himself mentally for a long time. Only when it was truly too long would he carefully choose a quiet, inconspicuous shop to get a haircut.

 

This resulted in his hair always being slightly longer than that of average boys.

 

Once his hair was tied up, An Jing’s entire face was fully revealed.

 

It wasn’t that he was “ugly” and afraid to be seen, as his classmates imagined. On the contrary, An Jing had fair skin, red lips, and white teeth. He had a small face with large, delicate features, looking both refined and gentle.

 

Those big eyes, usually hidden by his hair, were classic “fawn eyes.” His pupils were a beautiful tea color, lively and bright.

 

A face that was already an eight out of ten was pushed to a twelve because of such eyes.

 

An Jing, with a face that elders would love, entered his study. After opening his laptop, notification sounds chimed. Many people had left him messages, including the Green River editor, Jianjia:

 

[Good morning, Teacher Yannian. How is the preparation for the new book going?]

 

[Cat with starry eyes emoji]

 

An Jing poured himself a glass of water, thinking about how to reply to Jianjia.

 

It had been nearly half a year since “Lonely Moon” ended. His editor, Jianjia, was closely following the progress of his new work.

 

He had spent this half-year preparing a martial arts story with high martial arts and low magic. According to the original schedule, starting the serialization at the end of the month would be no problem. But on the way back, Sheng Li’s words kept echoing in his head—

 

Yannian is bad at romance. He’s old now and doesn’t like writing romance scenes.

 

An Jing had heard similar things many times over the years.

 

The rumors were distorted, but romance was indeed his weakness.

 

He had been single for all 22 years of his life and had severe social anxiety. He couldn’t imagine a scene where he was mushy all day with a completely independent person who could speak and move.

 

As someone who only loves fictional characters, his biggest wish was to move to an isolated island.

 

The kind where he didn’t have to talk to anyone face-to-face.

 

His resistance to building an intimate relationship with a person more or less affected the characters he wrote.

 

Writing was a perfect job for him, so he had to fix his weaknesses.

 

After much consideration, An Jing finally decided to reply to Jianjia:

 

[Sorry, the original one can’t start. I have other plans QAQ]

 

Jianjia: [Huh???]

 

[Teacher Yannian, you have a different plan?]

 

Yannian: [Yes, I want to practice writing a romance-focused story.]

 

He wanted to try a completely new genre—a political intrigue BL (Boys’ Love) novel with mpreg elements.

 

Jianjia was shocked: [Danmei? Mpreg?]

 

[Teacher, this genre jump is quite big.]

 

Jianjia was surprised by An Jing’s decision but chose to respect it:

 

[I believe that no matter what you write, the readers will love it.]

 

Yannian: [That’s the other thing I wanted to tell you. For the new book, I plan to use a completely new pen name.]

 

Just as Jianjia said, the pen name “Yannian” had too many fans—so many that readers would support him no matter what he wrote.

 

This wasn’t the result An Jing wanted.

 

By publishing under a new name, without the bonus of the “Teacher Yannian” title, he could get the most honest feedback from readers.

 

An Jing knew this was a risky move, but it wasn’t a decision made on a whim.

 

This story had been circling in his mind for a long time; he just hadn’t put it into action yet.

 

He only made up his mind today.

 

Jianjia: [Teacher, have you really thought this through?]

 

After getting a definite answer, Jianjia didn’t interfere with An Jing’s writing plan. She only told him to contact her if he had any problems so they could solve them together.

 

After talking with the editor, An Jing stretched his neck and got up to select some reference books from the bookshelf.

 

Even a practice story couldn’t be treated sloppily. There was still a lot of preparation he needed to do.

 

 

The clock moved to “11”; the night was deep.

 

“Whew—”

 

An Jing, who had been sitting in front of the computer for over ten hours, stretched and yawned. A bit of moisture seeped from the corners of his eyes.

 

So sleepy.

 

An Jing checked the time. Fighting back his sleepiness, he focused on organizing the character design for the male lead in a blank document—

 

Yan Qili. Height 192cm, age 26. Born into the royal family. His mother was a beauty sent as tribute from the Western Regions.

 

Yan Qili, who had foreign blood, was not liked by his father. After his mother lost favor, the mother and son suffered through cold treatment and torment in the inner palace. Even palace maids and eunuchs could bully them at will.

 

Later, while his mother’s bones—who died from palace intrigue—were still cold, he was discarded by his father and exiled to the Northern Border.

 

Rejected by family, betrayed by friends… the path ahead was a dead end.

 

Yet Yan Qili not only survived the layers of schemes but also became a legend through battle.

 

From then on, the world lost a pitiful prince who could be bullied by anyone and gained a terrifying “Living Yama” of the battlefield.

 

Yan Qili became famous at the Northern Border at age sixteen. He led the army with an iron fist and a cold heart, making those who had once offended him unable to sleep peacefully day or night.

 

An Jing wanted to write a beautiful story of mutual healing. He was determined to make readers go crazy over his romance scenes. Therefore, he made Yan Qili’s backstory as miserable as possible.

 

The focus was on the “beautiful, strong, and miserable” trope.

 

As for Yan Qili’s other half and their child, a sleepy An Jing typed two words:

 

To be decided.

 

I’ll do it tomorrow.

 

After washing up, An Jing lay on his bed. In his daze, his mind was still constructing Yan Qili’s partner:

 

To be worthy of Yan Qili, an outstanding appearance must be the most minor trait. The protagonist ‘shou’ must be kind and intelligent, well-versed in classics, with a gentleman’s integrity. His aura should be like a lotus or bamboo, like a celestial being from the heavens.

 

The bedroom window wasn’t closed tightly. The night breeze blew the sheer curtains, and the faint white moonlight that sneaked in was quiet.

 

An Jing’s sleep quality was never good. It was hard for him to fall into a deep sleep. He would easily be woken up by even a tiny sound in the house.

 

This time, however, was different.

 

Even though there was no sound, An Jing felt strangely uneasy in his sleep. In his hazy state, he actually felt a ridiculous sense that he was being watched and scrutinized.

 

This makes no sense, the half-asleep An Jing thought.

 

He lived alone all year round. The security in his high-end neighborhood was excellent; it was basically impossible for any accident to happen.

 

An Jing rolled over hugging his blanket, but the feeling of being observed did not disappear.

 

Falling into a gap in his dream, An Jing suddenly woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard a clash—the sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air.

 

An Jing: “!”

 

Terrified, An Jing instinctively propped himself up from the bed. In the next second, a long sword with a cold, sharp gleam was pressed against his fragile neck.

 

A cold, thin male voice fell beside his ear:

 

“Don’t move.”