Cheng Lang

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Cheng Lang (程浪)
Alias(es)	Mission Executor 008 222
Species/Race	Original-Work resident; a consciousness born from purified negative energy in the System Space 223
Gender	Male
Affiliation	System Space; Forest Style Milk Tea; White Jade Capital; X University
Occupation/Role	Mission executor; finance student; entrepreneur; singer and crosstalk performer
Status	Active; returned to the System Space with Qin Mu after completing his mission 222 226
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Background / History

Cheng Lang was born in the System Space from negative energy purified after mission executors fulfilled clients’ wishes. Finding the System Space dull, he voluntarily became a mission executor. Unlike ordinary executors, he can radically alter an Original World’s plotline without being expelled by its Original-Work Consciousness, provided he preserves the required ending and resolves the client’s resentment 223.

He entered The Domineering CEO’s Substitute Lover as Cheng Lang, the “evil cannon fodder” assigned to provoke the official couple’s development and push Lu Chengxuan toward recognizing Shen Huaiyu as his true love 1. The identity he assumed was publicly known as an orphan raised in an orphanage, a gifted finance student at X University, and a sweet-talking schemer who had learned to survive through manipulation 1.

The world had repeatedly failed because Shen Huaiyu’s despair and suicidal resolve prevented standard executors from completing the plot. Cheng Lang was specifically sent to save the collapsing worldline, but he chose to protect Shen, build his career, and reverse the original power dynamic rather than follow the script literally 110 214.

Appearance

Cheng Lang is an exceptionally handsome young man with a relaxed, roguish charm. Even White Jade Capital’s standard waiter uniform appears tailored for him, while his stage presence combines striking looks with an easy, sensual confidence 2 13.

• Bright, lively eyes and an expression that often seems to smile before he speaks 32.
• Long, dexterous fingers suited to guitar performance 13.
• A black suit emphasizes his elegant but playful image during Old Master Qin’s birthday banquet 32.
• His appearance is frequently described as handsome enough to attract attention before he demonstrates his talent 13 60.

Personality

Cheng Lang presents himself as shameless, money-minded, and theatrically self-serving. He openly prioritizes wages, commissions, and business opportunities, yet he refuses to confuse legitimate profit with exploiting vulnerable people 3 11. He uses exaggerated self-praise, jokes, and apparent frivolity to control conversations and disarm opponents.

Beneath that persona, he is fiercely independent and protective. He repeatedly intervenes when Shen Huaiyu, Meng Tianye, and others are being exploited, but avoids making them dependent on him. His support usually takes practical forms: recovering money, arranging opportunities, teaching business skills, or redirecting public opinion 11 40 118 221.

He is highly results-oriented. Cheng Lang seldom bothers to explain himself to critics; he prefers to secure evidence, achieve the desired outcome, and let the result speak for him 116. Qin Mu recognizes a “wolfish” nature beneath Cheng Lang’s harmless, smiling exterior—someone willing to bare his fangs when a target threatens those he protects 63.

Abilities & Skills

Mission Execution

Cheng Lang is an unusually capable System Space executor whose methods differ sharply from standard procedure.

• Can depart from assigned character settings and plot events while still fulfilling the required ending 223.
• Specializes in helping original protagonists establish independent lives before arranging an outcome compatible with the worldline 110.
• Possesses exceptionally strong mental power and can expand or compress his private System Space without limit 224.
• Is not immune to consequences: Original-Work Consciousnesses frequently reject him and may retaliate after he disrupts their preferred plot progression 110.

Music and Stage Performance

Cheng Lang is White Jade Capital’s star performer, combining guitar skill, singing, audience control, and improvisational comedy.

• Replaced Meng Tianye as the venue’s main resident performer after transforming an emergency set into a crowd-wide dance party 2 3.
• Plays guitar proficiently and can adapt his singing to the band’s chosen key without rehearsal 13.
• Uses paid requests, provocative song choices, and direct audience banter to increase drink sales and engagement 8 39.
• Developed an effective crosstalk style despite treating it as a hobby rather than his primary profession 34.
• Successfully performed after established masters at Old Master Qin’s birthday banquet and won the guests’ approval 32 63.

Verbal Sparring and Negotiation

Cheng Lang uses humor, legal awareness, and psychological pressure as weapons.

• Deflected Wang Liu’an’s attempts to intimidate him by turning criticism into praise and redirecting every discussion toward pay 6.
• Pressured Shen Chengan into issuing a 5.6-million-yuan check by recording their exchange and threatening his public reputation 29.
• Controlled talent-agency negotiations for Meng Tianye through research, data analysis, and deliberate pacing 68 71.
• Turned hostile crosstalk performers and hecklers into material for his own act, winning the audience rather than confronting opponents physically 20 39.
• Regularly uses recordings, police reports, and public scrutiny to counter intimidation by wealthier adversaries 41 109.

Finance and Corporate Strategy

As a finance student and entrepreneur, Cheng Lang combines market knowledge with aggressive operational instincts.

• Built Forest Style Milk Tea with Shen Huaiyu, developing products, patents, trademarks, a processing plant, and a themed headquarters 52 86.
• Shorted First Milk Tea after its representatives insulted him, establishing a reputation for being both financially capable and vindictive 75 97.
• Mobilized approximately two billion yuan from Zhao-family associates and business allies to attack Lu Group’s stock position 115.
• Exploited Lu Group’s internal succession conflict, shareholder dissatisfaction, scandals, and falling valuation to weaken the company from within 112 115.
• Accelerated Forest Style Milk Tea’s listing so Shen Huaiyu could secure the protagonist role required by the original ending 117 119.

Business Management

Cheng Lang’s entrepreneurial approach prioritizes practical value, customer engagement, and staff incentives.

• Secured a factory lease for the milk-tea business while revising the contract to avoid taking unfair advantage of the owners 86.
• Converted a rented photography studio into a combined headquarters, office space, publicity venue, and semi-enclosed milk-tea restaurant 86.
• Promised future stock dividends to strengthen employee morale and investment in the company’s growth 86.
• Declined repeated recruitment offers from Lü because he did not want to surrender his independence or accept obligations he could not control 39 42.

Career and Enterprises

Organization / Venture	Position	Notes
White Jade Capital	Former waiter; resident singer; star performer	Promoted after an impromptu performance and later became known for guitar, singing, crosstalk, and crowd interaction 3 8 20.
X University	Finance student	Maintains his studies while working nights and managing businesses; his repeated absences nearly jeopardize his enrollment 42 52.
Forest Style Milk Tea	Founder and business leader	Built the brand with Shen Huaiyu and pushed its development, manufacturing, publicity, investment, and eventual public listing 86 107 221.
Entertainment industry	Informal strategist for Meng Tianye	Refused a subordinate artist-director role but negotiated and planned independently to prove Meng’s commercial value 53 60.

Equipment / Assets

• Black card — accepted from Qin Mu as compensation for saving his life, while remaining cautious not to become dependent on Qin’s wealth 38 39.
• Villa and luxury car — given by Qin Mu; Cheng Lang initially delayed formal transfer and had the car delivered directly to the villa garage 38 39.
• Wuling vehicle — purchased for commuting after late-night work and transporting milk-tea-shop supplies 29.
• Voice recorder and multiple phones — routinely carries evidence-gathering tools and uses them against Lu Chengxuan and Shen Chengan 17 80 109.

Relationships

• Qin Mu — Lover and eventual System Space companion. Qin first rewards Cheng Lang for saving his life, then becomes openly protective and romantically direct; Cheng Lang later brings him into the System Space and encourages him to train as an executor 38 88 119 222 226.
• Shen Huaiyu — Classmate, business partner, and closest protégée. Cheng Lang protects Shen from Lu Chengxuan, recovers his inheritance, helps him build confidence through business success, and eventually trusts him to lead Forest Style Milk Tea independently 4 17 80 117 121.
• Meng Tianye — Former workplace rival turned friend and client. Cheng Lang protects Tianye’s voice, advises him to pursue talent shows, and stakes his own reputation on proving Tianye’s popularity 8 40 53.
• Wang Liu’an — White Jade Capital entertainment manager. Initially hostile toward Cheng Lang’s promotion, Wang becomes a respectful ally and entrusts Tianye’s future to him 6 40.
• Lü — Qin Dynasty Records executive and professional adviser. Lü repeatedly tries to recruit Cheng Lang, later becomes his counterpart in a wager over Meng Tianye’s career, and advises him on pricing his variety-show appearance 39 53 101.
• Zhao Chenxu — The Zhao family’s raised son. Cheng Lang refuses to treat him as a rival, recognizing that Zhao Chenxu was not responsible for the family’s circumstances 106 107.
• Mr. and Mrs. Zhao — Biological parents confirmed by paternity testing. Cheng Lang acknowledges the relationship but refuses to allow blood ties to control his career, relationship, or inheritance decisions 107.
• Lu Chengxuan — Original male lead and primary antagonist. Cheng Lang counters Lu’s coercion of Shen Huaiyu through legal action, public pressure, and financial warfare, ultimately dismantling Lu Group’s power structure 109 112 115.
• Cheng Yan — Friend and photography-studio landlord. Cheng Lang helps preserve Cheng Yan’s studio sets during its conversion into Forest Style Milk Tea’s headquarters 85 86.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• White Jade Capital rise: Cheng Lang enters the novel world as a waiter, subverts the System’s expectations by helping Meng Tianye, and earns promotion to star performer through his guitar playing and crowd control 1 2 3.
• Saving Shen Huaiyu: Rather than humiliating Shen as the original plot demands, Cheng Lang protects his dignity, investigates Shen Chengan’s exploitation, and recovers the withheld proceeds from Shen’s family home 4 11 17.
• Crosstalk breakthrough: Cheng Lang turns White Jade Capital into a platform for his improvised crosstalk, defeats Grand View Stage performers in verbal contests, and gains an invitation to perform at Old Master Qin’s birthday 20 23 32.
• Relationship with Qin Mu: After saving Qin Mu, Cheng Lang receives extravagant repayment and gradually becomes Qin’s first romantic partner, though he initially attempts to keep emotional and financial independence 38 39 50.
• Meng Tianye’s career campaign: Cheng Lang challenges Lü’s belief that capital alone determines success and bets that he can make Tianye a major social-media figure through talent, strategy, and public support 52 53.
• Forest Style Milk Tea expansion: Cheng Lang develops the business from a student venture into a major company, using Shen Huaiyu’s tea-whisking expertise and his own marketing, finance, and operational planning 80 86 107.
• Conflict with Lu Group: When Lu Chengxuan again endangers Shen Huaiyu, Cheng Lang gathers evidence, initiates legal action, exploits Lu-family infighting, and coordinates a sustained market attack against Lu Group 109 112 115.
• Completing the worldline: Cheng Lang prepares Shen Huaiyu to become a capable CEO, arranges for the fallen Lu Chengxuan to become Shen’s contracted subordinate, and preserves the required ending through a complete reversal of the original relationship 117 121.
• Return to System Space: After the mission, Cheng Lang reveals the truth of the novel world to Qin Mu, introduces him to his executor friends, and invites him to grow into an equal partner in future worlds 222 226.

Notable Quotes

“Arrogance requires capital. Youth is capital. Being handsome is capital. Having talent is even more capital.” 68

“This isn’t naivety. It’s confidence.” 53

“I’m super reliable. I never drop the ball.” 28