"Hiss..." His manager suddenly drew out the sound. "Something seems different about you, kid."
That devil-may-care tone...
It was worlds apart from the way he had meekly endured everything before.
Had Mr. Lu driven him insane?
Was this one last rally before the end?
Showbiz was too damn messy. Better not overthink it.
His manager, Li Lu, only knew that Jian Li needed money, and all he could do was give him as many opportunities as possible.
After all, he had discovered this promising talent himself.
If the kid really got ruined, that face that appealed to men and women of all ages would go to waste!
"Don't celebrate too soon. Before filming starts, all the guests have to pass a fitness test. Get training. Don't get yourself eliminated," Li Lu said anxiously.
Jian Li's voice remained flippant. "Relax. They can cut anyone from this show except me."
After all, Lu Siqi had already laid meticulous plans, determined to drag the original owner's reputation through the mud on this show so he could pin him down and do whatever he wanted with him.
The original owner was already a sitting duck. Even if he didn't walk into the trap himself, they would tie him up and stuff him inside...
After hanging up and returning to the apartment, Jian Li stripped and went straight into the bathroom.
He planned to wash up and get himself back on his feet.
As he passed the mirror above the sink, he instinctively stopped and turned.
A face identical to his own came into view.
Amber eyes shimmered beneath a watery sheen. His nose was straight, his lips full and enticing, his sharply defined features softened just enough. The slightly upturned corners of his eyes gave him a faintly amused look. Under the warm yellow light, it was as though a filter had made his features even more exquisite...
He was so pretty he hardly looked like a man.
Those had been his teammate's exact words.
He remembered losing his temper on the spot, turning around, and punching his teammate. "Who the fuck are you saying doesn't look like a man?!"
Mercenaries got into fights all the time, so nobody thought much of it.
But Jian Li took it to heart and became a man possessed.
Not only did he come first in every performance assessment and earn the title of the year's most feared mercenary, but a movie was even made with him as its inspiration-the first gunfight film about peacekeeping troops, intended to create China's own superhero...
In his previous life, he had proved through his actions that he was a hard-as-steel tough guy with abs and defined serratus muscles.
And what had that gotten him?
He had trained himself into the ground, only for one transmigration to wipe it all away.
Deeply frustrated, Jian Li poked his waist, which was as thin as a sheet of paper, and started swearing again. "Looking like this, who else would get pinned down and fucked if not you?!"
With that, he suddenly raised his arms and threw punches at the mirror.
Professional combat moves.
He lacked power, but his technique was still there.
Jian Li nodded in satisfaction and straightened up. "Fine. I'll build it back up slowly."
That hellish training regimen was deeply etched into his brain. Even faced with a scrawny weakling whose arms fluttered like butterfly wings during push-ups, Jian Li was confident he could quickly whip him into the MVP of the nine princes' fight for the throne.
After a quick shower, Jian Li picked up his phone, intending to order a couple of grilled kidneys for a boost. But just as he settled into the couch, someone began hammering on the apartment's metal door.
"Jian Li, get out here."
"Stop playing dead. I know you're in there!"
"I told you to obey Mr. Lu, but you just had to cause trouble. Now look! He's suing you for intentional assault and demanding a million in compensation!"
"You haven't even paid off the old debts, and now you've added more! Jian Li, you money pit, do you have a death wish?!"
The racket made Jian Li roll his eyes.
He had almost forgotten that, as the protagonist of an angst novel, he not only had to endure that fucking idiot male lead tormenting him physically and emotionally, but also a whole pack of awful relatives and assorted scumbags popping up at every turn.
And the man spewing abuse outside was the original owner's biological father, a compulsive gambler buried in debt who had personally delivered his son to Lu Siqi's bed to be toyed with in exchange for money...
Before the man could curse any more, Jian Li yanked open the door and kicked him in the stomach without a word.
What he lacked in strength, he made up for in technique.
"You-"
Jian Jingfeng lost his breath and staggered back several steps.
It felt as though the kick had landed right in his solar plexus. The pain was unbearable.
Only after a long moment recovering did he lift his head and glare viciously at Jian Li. "You fucking dare kick your old man? Tired of living?"
As he spoke, Jian Jingfeng charged at him, teeth clenched, and raised his hand to strike.
His domestic abuse moves were impressively practiced, as though he had trained for years. There seemed to be no openings.
But before he could get close, Jian Li caught him at a pressure point just above his wrist, sending a wave of aching weakness through his whole body.
"Ow, ow, ow-"
"Let go!"
Jian Jingfeng's face twisted with pain. Thoughts churned through his head, but he could not understand how the son he had beaten since childhood, the boy who could practically piss himself at a raised voice, had suddenly turned into such a vicious demon.
"What? Can't figure it out?" Jian Li patted Jian Jingfeng's face with his free hand. "The spineless little coward is actually fighting back?"
He bared his white teeth in a brazen grin. "Sorry. I'm Niohuru Jian Li now."
"If you don't want an early trip to an urn, behave yourself!"
After delivering that threat, he gave him another hard shove.
The original owner's father landed on his backside. His face was vicious, but he dared not approach again. "You... just you wait!"
With that, Jian Jingfeng scrambled away.
Having dealt with the scumbag father, Jian Li shut the door and began drawing up his weakling rehabilitation plan.
Time flew by.
After twenty days of secluded training, the audition date finally arrived.
He pressed the accelerator of his secondhand car, a proud product of a domestic brand, drove into the underground parking garage of the hotel hosting the show's preparations, and took the elevator straight to the fitness testing hall.
The moment he stepped inside, strange looks came his way from every direction, including the camera livestreaming the entire event.
The live comments started flooding in.
[LMAO, Jian Li actually dared show up for an adventure survival show with real guns and live ammo?]
[Look at that sickly body. Even I could throw him over my shoulder!]
[Does his sugar daddy Lu Siqi know? He's letting him appear in public? Won't he break his legs?]
[I heard he's already been fucked into the ground. His body's completely shot. He'll definitely get eliminated in the fitness test!]
Jian Li walked over to the registration desk, collected his number, and sat down in a waiting chair.
When he looked up again, a sudden commotion broke out at the entrance, as though someone important was about to arrive.
Once the livestream viewers saw who it was, they went wild.
[Best Actor Huo is here? Isn't he filming abroad? His schedule is completely packed. How is he here for the test?]
[CCTV never disappoints. They went straight for the trump card! With Best Actor Huo on board, how could the ratings not be guaranteed?!]
[Does this count as Best Actor Huo's variety show debut?! They're really pulling out all the stops for the hype!]
[I love Best Actor Huo so much! I'll happily be his devoted lapdog and camp in this livestream for thirty-six hours!]
[...]
Jian Li withdrew his gaze, lifted his bottled water, and took a sip. Then his lips curled disdainfully.
"What good is a flashy entrance? These showbiz weaklings probably can't even train their abs properly..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a tall shadow fall over him.
Jian Li froze and instinctively looked up. An arrestingly intense face filled his vision, followed by a cool, resonant voice beside his ear.
"You think I trained my abs wrong?"
"Care to give me some personal pointers?"
"Heh." Jian Li's smile turned mechanical. "...I'd rather not."
After all...
Hiring the year's strongest mercenary as a coach...
Would cost extra!
Before you continue