Chapter 1

"Ring-ring-ring-ring..."

The phone rang incessantly from his pocket, drawn out by a hand that accidentally hit answer.

A concerned voice came from the other end: "Second Brother, Mom, Dad, and Big Brother are all waiting for you to come home for dinner. Why aren't you back yet?"

Ning Luo wore a look of utter breakdown.

Your second brother is dead.

If it's a minor thing, burn paper money; for trivial things, summon the soul; for major things, dig up the grave.

He stared at the three characters "Ning Xibai" on the phone screen, unwilling to accept the reality that he had transmigrated into a book.

He had finally won the award for Best Supporting Actor, and before he could even warm it in his hands or choke out an acceptance speech, he had been knocked unconscious by the chandelier hanging overhead.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in an unfamiliar hotel bathroom.

And that wasn't all; what was even unluckier was that he had actually transmigrated into a Mary Sue reverse-harem novel.

Recalling the mosaic-censored plots that took up two-thirds of the novel—where characters used their bodies to conquer the entertainment industry and continuously pushed the limits of human anatomy—Ning Luo plunged into a deathly silence.

This kind of Haitang literature was still far too advanced for him.

As for the master of his body, he was the cannon-fodder character with the same name in the novel, a black-bellied yet notorious minor star.

He was also the true young master of the Ning Family who had been abandoned outside, brought back and ranked by birth order to become the Second Young Master of the Ning Family, harboring jealousy toward the fake Third Young Master, Ning Xibai, and making trouble for him everywhere.

The original body's status in the entertainment industry was worlds apart from Ning Xibai's; Ning Xibai swept through the entire industry relying on his Mary Sue halo, ultimately winning the Best Actor title with the help of the male leads, inheriting the Ning Family, and reaping a double harvest in love and career.

Meanwhile, the original body's reputation was completely ruined, and even after retiring from the industry and going abroad, he was occasionally dragged out and stepped on to highlight how wonderful the protagonist's life was. In the end, he was accidentally dragged into a gunfight and lost his life on the spot.

A perfect foil.

Ning Luo clenched his fists, crawling about in the shadows.

Madness! Sheer madness!

Seeing that he didn't speak, Ning Xibai continued, "Second Brother, you aren't still mad about the director misunderstanding you, are you? I really didn't expect this to happen; I just felt that if I couldn't act it out, I might as well give it to you. I didn't mean to, so Second Brother, don't take it to heart."

How did these words sound so green-tea-ish?

Ning Luo rummaged through his memories, discovering that the pure little white flower in the original book didn't seem so pure after all.

Ning Xibai and the original body looked similar, and they were frequently compared in the industry; their fans were naturally hostile, casually mocking each other over nothing. A few days ago, it had even poked a hornet's nest because online rumors claimed that a drama scheduled to star Ning Xibai had changed its cast at the last minute, switching to Ning Luo to play the second male lead.

Hearing of this matter, Ning Xibai's fans wished they could crawl across the internet cables to tear Ning Luo to shreds, cursing him for snatching resources, playing the back door, and sleeping his way to the top shamelessly. Given that Ning Luo had countless black materials and a long criminal record, netizens also pitied Ning Xibai, stepping on Ning Luo twice whenever they passed by.

Heaven knew that this second male lead resource had been actively given by Ning Xibai himself, under the excuse: "My schedule has been too packed recently, and I really can't act in this drama. Rather than giving it to a stranger, I might as well let Second Brother do it; we're all family."

What the hell kind of family.

Translated, it meant: the leftovers I don't want anymore are sent to you.

Yet the original body believed it, thinking he was backing down and trying to curry favor with him, the true young master, foolishly accepting this resource.

Ning Xibai had brought this up on purpose.

His finger hovered over the speakerphone button, waiting just for Ning Luo to start cursing so he could "accidentally" broadcast it to Ning Father, Ning Mother, and Big Brother.

Who told this person, who was inferior to him in every way, to suddenly surpass him, turning him from the youngest son of the Ning Family into an undeserving "Third Young Master" and a laughingstock during his friends' idle chats, robbing him of everything.

How could Ning Xibai possibly be resigned to that?

Ning Luo opened his mouth: "I'm not angry."

Ning Xibai: "Second Brother, don't... huh?"

How was this different from what he had imagined?

The development of events was unexpected, but his finger had already moved faster than his brain and pressed the speakerphone button.

Thus, at the dining table, Ning Father, Ning Mother, and the Ning Family's eldest son, Ning Yang, heard Ning Luo's cadence-filled and shocking outburst.

"I know you wanted to give me better resources. I understand your intentions, and I also understand why you used this method to make everyone misunderstand. At the end of the day, it's just that we became brothers, making you no longer dare to show your love for me the way you used to, choosing instead to guard me in silence."

"I know you're in a lot of pain right now. Back then, in order to get me, you even climbed into my bed and seduced me, saying it didn't matter how you were toyed with. But I told you long ago that there's no possibility for us."

"Xiaobai," Ning Luo called out with genuine feeling—there was a stray dog downstairs named Xiaobai, and his voice was filled with deep sorrow, carrying three parts grief, five parts desolation, and two parts loss—"forget me, and don't love me too much."

The Ning family: ???

Ning Xibai: ???

What the hell was he spouting nonsense about?!

Ning Xibai's speech quickened: "Second Brother, did you drink too much and start joking—hello? Hello?!"

The other end hung up the phone cleanly and decisively.

Leaving Ning Xibai alone to face three pairs of shocked and disbelieving gazes at the dining table.

Ning Father dropped his chopsticks in fright: "What is going on here? Third, explain yourself clearly!"

The Ning family servants all pricked up their ears.

The wrongly adopted adopted son actually harbored those kinds of feelings for his nominal brother?

Brotherly incest? Bone-chilling taboos? Too dramatic!

Ning Xibai stood before Ning Father's dark face with no way to explain himself, hating Ning Luo intensely in his heart for going suddenly crazy.

Who the fuck liked him anyway!

Narcissist!

Ning Luo, who had hung up the phone in a flash, felt refreshed and clear-headed.

It was also Ning Xibai's bad luck to run into him when he was in a bad mood.

The plot had already slammed into him and blasted him away, so wasn't he allowed to slam into and blast away the original book's gong-chasing shou protagonist?

When walking out in the world, one gave oneself their identity; today, he would simply play the part of a handsome beauty crazily chased and wooed by a stalker shou protagonist.

"Ah, not a single person understands me; you all only love my outer shell." Ning Luo got hooked on acting, wrung his hands in a sigh, and admired his own face in the mirror for a moment.

Fortunately, his face was still the original model. Ning Luo possessed a first-love kind of face with delicate features and a crisp, refined outline. Right at the upturned outer corner of his eye was a small mole, which folded right into the crease of his eyelid when he raised his gaze.

Ning Luo smiled at the mirror, a small dimple showing beside his cheek, sweet and carrying a green, soft innocence in his gaze.

When pressure built up, one ought to release it; look, wasn't he back to being a normal person just like this?

Looking at the three characters "Ning Xibai" in his phone's contact notes, Ning Luo mulled it over and changed the label.

[Edging Male Bodhisattva]

That hit the right flavor.

It completely matched the core theme of Haitang literature.

"Can't tell at all, you owe quite a bit of romantic debt yourself. Which one is Little Bai again?"

The sudden voice gave him a start. Following the sound, he saw a woman with a high ponytail standing outside the door with her arms crossed.

It was the crew's female lead, Sister Shaoyi.

Seeing him look at her, she swept Ning Luo up and down with her gaze and mocked him, "Thought you fell in and couldn't be fished out. Took you half a day to go to the bathroom and not come back."

Ning Luo took a sharp breath, completely ignoring the second half of her sentence and only hearing "Little Bai."

When did this person arrive? Did she hear everything?!

Recalling his own nonsense from just now, Ning Luo wished he could claw a hole in the floor with his toes.

Enough, his corpse was uncomfortable.

His freak-outs were aimed at the little green tea, yet he didn't want acquaintances to know, especially someone he would be spending two or three months with on the crew in the future!

[Ahhhhhh how is this any different from taking a shit in public! My image!]

Sister Shaoyi's head hurt fiercely from the high-decibel screaming. She wanted to tell him to shut up, but suddenly realizing something, she slowly widened her eyes.

Wait a minute, Ning Luo hadn't opened his mouth just now, right?

Ning Luo met her frowning, indescribable expression, his eyelashes trembling. He tugged his cuffs tight with his fingertips, attempting to change the subject. "Uhm... Sister Shaoyi, why are you here?"

[Why are you looking at me with that kind of gaze? Why are you still looking? Don't look! My smile won't last another second! I'm Guccing while stir-frying bananas, stir-frying bananas while Guccing, because banana peels are the crystallization of Sun Wukong and Tang Seng's love, the victory of the arrogant x aloof younger-man trope, but seagulls cannot stand on tables and slap things, and I know this will cause Bali to be invaded by kangaroos and turn me into the big boss of Gotham City!]

Ning Luo's internal bullet-screen comments rolled like a roaring sea, and Sister Shaoyi's expression surged along with them.

She saw it clearly; Ning Luo simply hadn't opened his mouth!

"Ning Luo, did you... speak just now?"

"I spoke," Ning Luo said, blinking as he found her reaction strange. "I asked why you'd be here."

This was the entrance to the men's room, right? With her blocking the way here, several guys behind her were holding their bladders so hard they didn't dare come in.

"Not that sentence... Never mind."

Sister Shaoyi felt this whole affair was too bizarre; perhaps she was just too exhausted lately and hallucinating.

Even if Ning Luo opened his mouth, he couldn't possibly utter such insane nonsense. He was the best at putting on an act, especially in front of fans, maintaining a pure and shy appearance.

It must be a hallucination.

She would see a doctor when she got back.

She replied to Ning Luo, "Of course I came to look for you. Don't forget we're out here accompanying the investors for dinner, not for you to get constipated in the toilet. Hurry back."

She didn't like this parachuted actor who lacked strength and had a terrible temper one bit, but she hated the murky, smoke-filled private room even more, which was why she came to call him.

Seeing her glance at the few men behind her and then walk away with clacking high heels, Ning Luo hurried to follow.

[Such strong psychological resilience; for a moment I even thought you weren't the one blocking the men's room door.]

[Sister's coldness, minus eight degrees; sister's confidence, radiant and bright!]

The moment Ning Luo raised his head, he saw Sister Shaoyi's back stumble.

[How can sister fail to even handle mere high heels?]

The sound of the high heels striking the floor grew louder, as if she wished to poke a hole through it with her heels.

She'd see a doctor the moment she got back!

Ning Luo pushed open the door to the private room, choking on the plume of smoke that hit him, and coughed repeatedly.

Everyone in the room looked over.

Director Wang Lin reacted first. "You're here? Come on in."

His attitude wasn't particularly warm.

As a character forced in through the back door, Wang Lin utterly despised Ning Luo's existence, and by extension held quite a few complaints about Ning Xibai as well.

If Boss Li hadn't explicitly stated he wanted to bring him along this time, Wang Lin wouldn't have wanted him to come at all.

Upon first seeing Ning Luo, Li Zhigang's eyes lit up.

He really did look the part, and he looked even more refined in appearance than Ning Xibai.

Ning Xibai was someone the Ning Family couldn't afford to play with, but finding a cheap substitute to fool around with was still fine; this kind of minor celebrity was the easiest to manipulate.

Thinking this, Li Zhigang beckoned to Ning Luo, smiling amiably. "How come Little Luo was gone so long? Come, sit over here."

Ning Luo's radar went wild; he had seen this kind of covertly appraising look too many times—they were all scum whose brains were in their pants. Before his brain could turn and figure out how to refuse, he was grabbed by Sun Shaoyi and seated on the other side.

With a cold face, Sun Shaoyi reprimanded, "Is the seat next to Boss Li somewhere you can sit?"

Li Zhigang was dissatisfied. "Shaoyi, what do you mean by that?"

Sun Shaoyi's tone was somewhat stiff. "Boss Li, please excuse him. He has a bad temper, speaks without thinking, and I'm afraid he might offend you."

Feeling his face had been slapped, Li Zhigang let out a hum.

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Wang Lin hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. After several rounds of toasts, Li Zhigang's expression cleared up slightly. "Director Wang, I know your crew is in urgent need of funds. If it were anyone else, there's no way I'd invest, but you were referred by Old Zhang, and I've looked over the project proposal—it's not bad."

Wang Lin laughed along. "It's my honor to catch the Blue Eye of Boss Li and Boss Zhang."

Li Zhigang said, "I originally told you we'd sign the contract tomorrow, but I have matters to attend to tomorrow and have to fly back. Why don't we just sign the contract right here to save the trouble?"

This was far too sudden. Wang Lin hesitated. "This... Boss Li, is it really this urgent?"

"I'm a straightforward person without that much beating around the bush." Li Zhigang motioned for his secretary to hand the contract to Wang Lin. "The contract was already drawn up when we met last time. Director Wang can take a look."

Wang Lin took the contract.

The contract indeed matched what both parties had discussed last time; it had been reviewed by lawyers, the clauses were finalized, and there were no problems.

It was just that there was supposed to be a very formal signing ceremony tomorrow, and signing it now was far too sloppy. Li Zhigang hadn't told him in advance either.

"Director Wang doesn't want to sign now? This is my fault, but I really do have a minor trouble to deal with tomorrow. If it really won't work, we'll push it to next time, after I'm done handling my affairs." Li Zhigang calmly took a sip of alcohol, and his gaze landed on Ning Luo once again, though it was unclear what scheme he was brewing.

Hearing this, Wang Lin grew anxious.

Li Zhigang could afford to wait, but he couldn't.

Done handling his affairs? When would that even be?

Thinking of the crew's meager funds, Wang Lin wavered, his hand moving toward the signing pen.

The one giving money wasn't hesitating, so why should he, the one receiving money, hesitate?

Keeping his head down, he naturally ignored the sharp gleam in the depths of Li Zhigang's eyes.

As soon as he sat down, Ning Luo acted like a transparent person on the side, eating and drinking. Seeing the two of them fall into a deadlock, he glanced at Wang Lin.

His superior vision of 5.0 allowed him to clearly see the signature on the contract.

Li Zhigang.

This name was damnably familiar.

The original book contents he had just received immediately surfaced in his mind.

Wang Lin was just about to sign his name to finalize the cooperation when he suddenly heard Ning Luo's piercing shriek.

Ahhhhhhh why sign a contract without doing a background check?! Director Wang, is your mental state okay? This investor is a habitual money launderer!

Wang Lin's movement paused. "...Ning Luo, what nonsense are you spouting?"

That voice felt like it had exploded right beside his ear, stirring up a hurricane inside the crown of his head.

And what about that sentence he said—what did it mean?

What money laundering?

Ning Luo said, "Huh? I didn't say anything, Director Wang."

Wang Lin looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him in confusion, and only Sun Shaoyi wore a bizarre expression.

Did he hear wrong?

How was that possible?

He picked up the pen again, though his gaze remained fixed on Ning Luo's face.

Ning Luo didn't look at him, staring instead at that pen.

This crew is done for and I won't survive either, humph humph hahaha. If I'm going to die, don't drag me down as a cushion; I'm going to go find another employer!

"Ning Luo!" Wang Lin's materialistic worldview instantly collapsed, and he hurriedly interrupted Ning Luo's words. "What on earth did you just do to me?!"

Ning Luo hadn't moved his mouth!

It was as if he had heard Ning Luo's inner voice!

How could such an absurd and bizarre thing exist in this world?!

"...Huh?" Ning Luo blinked slowly.

That sounded as if I slept with you and had a round, old man—you're not on my list of targets for hunting beauties, so how did you get so stimulating right off the bat? (Takes off pants) (Can't get hard) (Lights cigarette)

Sun Shaoyi: "!!!"

Wang Lin: "...?"

He stared dead at the innocent-looking Ning Luo.

The other party didn't understand, and tentatively smiled at him. The smile was bashful, his ruddy mouth glistened with grease, and dimples faintly appeared beside his cheeks.

Fuck! What a ghost!