As it happened, the dark cloud blocking the sun drifted away. A warm beam of sunlight streamed through the window, casting a fuzzy golden path over Wen Feiran.
His eyes were exquisite, every line of his features favored by the Creator. Even the shifting light and shadow were especially gentle with him. Sunlight turned his eyes amber, his long lashes cast faint shadows, and a small mole on the left side of his nose gleamed like obsidian.
Li Tao fell for him at first sight. So dazzled was he that he failed to notice Wen Feiran's soft, loose, shapeless white T-shirt and black pants. He was dressed as casually as if he couldn't be bothered to change and had only gone downstairs to take out the trash.
"W-w-who are you?" Li Tao stammered, finding his voice again.
Wen Feiran: "..." There's something wrong with this guy's brain.
Meeting Wen Feiran's questioning, mocking gaze, Li Tao felt a tap at his temple and a stabbing pain. "You really are Wen Feiran? How did you end up looking like this?"
All Wen Feiran wanted to do was sneer.
Three years ago, he had been forcibly bound to a
system
and completed more than a dozen quick-transmigration missions. He had only returned to his original world half a year ago, only to discover that his life had long since been turned upside down.
He had somehow signed with a talent agency and debuted with "deformed aesthetics" as his gimmick, making himself ugly to draw attention. After a wave of online abuse, the company had told him to take a good rest under the pretext of looking after him. In reality, they had shelved him.
To this day, he couldn't forget the reflection he had seen in the mirror when he returned half a year ago.
He had been nothing but skin and bones, his face sickly, his cheeks deeply sunken, and his dark circles severe. He had been so thin that his chin looked like a sharp cone. It had taken him a great deal of effort to nurse himself back to health.
This was what he had looked like all along. Li Tao, the one who had started it all, had squeezed every last drop of blood and flesh out of him to make money, ruining his health and leaving him looking like a ghost. Yet now Li Tao was the one questioning him.
Sometimes Wen Feiran really hated being a well-mannered good person. At most, he could manage a "fuck." He had no real talent for cursing people out, so all he could do was say coldly, "My contract is up. I'm terminating it."
"No!" Li Tao was used to ordering people around, and his attitude was overbearing.
"There's only a week left on the contract. If you force me to take the variety show, you'll be restricting my personal freedom. I can sue you." Wen Feiran refused to back down, standing up for his legitimate interests.
Li Tao shot him a sidelong glance. "Someone will take you to the variety show recording in two days. The contract expires on the very day it ends."
Wen Feiran: "..."
The world really is a makeshift operation. A variety show with so much invested in it is being put together this hastily—they're only deciding on the guests two days before recording.
Are you kidding me?!
Li Tao looked at the speechless Wen Feiran. Though he had gained the upper hand, his brows were still tightly furrowed, and he looked even more troubled than Wen Feiran.
There had been a problem with the guest the production team had originally scheduled, so they had no choice but to find a last-minute replacement. Li Tao had only obtained this opportunity by constantly currying favor with the assistant director.
Under the contract, the company could take 95 percent of Wen Feiran's pay. Li Tao had chosen him because he thought there was money to be made.
But looking at him now, this absolutely wouldn't do.
The production team needed a passerby with no presence, someone who could serve as a stepping stone and help create atmosphere, and who definitely wouldn't steal the spotlight.
In the looks-obsessed entertainment industry, if someone as good-looking as Wen Feiran could only play an unremarkable passerby A, the other stars wouldn't stand a chance!
But the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be fired. Choosing another artist would not only bring no profit; they would also obediently play a persona like this. Wen Feiran was the best choice.
Li Tao looked him up and down, not thinking himself unreasonable. "Can you go back to looking the way you did before?"
Wen Feiran was so angry he nearly laughed. "You want to be a murderer?"
Recalling how Wen Feiran had starved himself to his last breath to maintain his "deformed aesthetics" persona, Li Tao could only swallow his words.
"I'll arrange a makeup artist to make you look uglier." Something occurred to Li Tao, and he pointed a finger in Wen Feiran's face. "Don't get any extra ideas or pull any tricks behind the scenes. Don't say I didn't warn you—you can't afford the penalty for breaching the production team's contract!"
"If you're worried, you can pick someone else." Wen Feiran had a half-dead sort of beauty.
That stifling feeling came over Li Tao again. The blood vessels at his temples throbbed, and he had no choice but to put on a forceful front and put Wen Feiran down. "This is an opportunity I'm giving you. You think I really don't have anyone else..."
A man's voice interrupted him. "What opportunity?"
Wen Feiran: "..."
So familiar. I think I've heard it somewhere, and just now, too... Isn't that the guy from the hallway?!!!!
He whipped his head around so sharply that he nearly sprained his neck, staring at him in shock.
Liu Fengyuan was proud and arrogant, never sparing an unrelated person a glance. But when he accidentally caught sight of Wen Feiran's face, he suddenly felt threatened. His tone was thick with hostility. "Why are you looking at me like that? Never seen a star before?"
Chapter 2: The Disappearing Passerby
It would have been too hasty to identify someone by voice alone. Wen Feiran thought for a few seconds, then asked, "Are you Liu Fengyuan?"
Liu Fengyuan took it as a provocation. "What are you pretending for? How could you not know me?! The drama I starred in just started airing, and its numbers are great!!"
"Which drama?" Wen Feiran was taken aback.
Liu Fengyuan proudly gave him the title.
Wen Feiran narrowed his eyes slightly. He had watched a few episodes too, so how had he missed Liu Fengyuan?
Oh, he seemed to be the fifth male lead, with a few shots. From Liu Fengyuan's tone, Wen Feiran had thought he was the lead.
Though both were artists under him, Li Tao showed his favoritism without the slightest restraint. "Wen Feiran, watch your attitude!"
Hearing the name, Liu Fengyuan froze.
For a star, good looks were a precious asset. Liu Fengyuan thought highly of himself, believing he had excellent qualities and that he had only failed to become popular because the timing hadn't been right. But Wen Feiran's appearance was a stinging slap in his face.
The man who had been half-dead from starvation back then was actually so good-looking!
Alarm bells rang in Liu Fengyuan's mind, and he put Wen Feiran down. "I was the one who introduced you to Brother Li back then. Otherwise, would you be where you are today? You'd better remember what you owe me. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a pretty face. The waters run deep in this industry, and people without brains can't survive."