Morning light lingered over this emerging city. The newly awakened sun slowly climbed into the sky, its light shining through the screened window onto the floor.
Shen Xuanrun opened his eyes again and found himself in the same unfamiliar bedroom. The calmer the person on the bed looked, the more panicked he was inside.
After two or three days, Shen Xuanrun finally believed he had entered a book-the very book his younger sister had tricked him into finishing.
He had become a supporting character with the same name.
Finding amusement in his misery, Shen Xuanrun declared that at least he wasn't cannon fodder.
After grieving, Shen Xuanrun decided he couldn't keep being sad. He would live a brilliant life in this world!
A true warrior dared to face a bleak life head-on!
Shen Xuanrun threw back the covers and got out of bed in one burst of energy.
Hmph, how could these little difficulties defeat me!?
Until...
He stepped on a trash can.
Uh, this bedroom really was a little messy, huh.
Like a deflated balloon, Shen Xuanrun found places to put his feet amid a heap of unidentified things and moved away from the bed one step at a time.
Shen Xuanrun entered the bathroom. He couldn't say the person in the mirror bore no resemblance to his real-world self-only that they were identical.
His clothes hugged his tall, slender frame, and his exposed skin was fair and smooth. Under the soft light, his crimson lips made people want to kiss him even more, and his voice was gentle and mellow.
But faced with a figure and appearance countless girls envied...
Shen Xuanrun: Actually, all I wanted was a broad, double-door build and a tough guy's deep voice. Would you believe me?
Because...
What good was making girls jealous?! I wanted the kind that made guys jealous!
A slender figure-one shove and I'd fall over. Fair skin and pretty looks-one pinch and I'd turn red. Red lips and white teeth-made me look feminine. A gentle voice-attracted guys...
What did I need any of that for!
I wanted big abs! I wanted a V-shaped torso! I wanted long legs!
What I needed was a build that let me easily carry a girl bridal-style, not one that let a girl easily carry me bridal-style...
Yet no matter how much he worked out or how much sun he got, his figure stayed slender and his skin stayed fair. This had frustrated Shen Xuanrun for a long time.
Let it all burn!
Shen Xuanrun had been single for all twenty-six years of his life. Though fair-skinned and beautiful, he was absolutely straight.
He wanted to find a girlfriend, but the other girls only wanted to be sisters with him.
The girls Shen Xuanrun had pursued: After all, we didn't want to date a guy prettier than us either. What could we do? We only wanted to find him a boyfriend.
After repeatedly failing to confess to girls and repeatedly receiving confessions from guys, he took his younger sister's advice and started reading romance novels.
His younger sister, Shen Xin, confidently said that sharing a hobby with girls would give them more to talk about, and then girls would be willing to get to know him and date him.
But what girl would want to date a guy who read romance novels? They would only want even more to be sisters with him and introduce him to boyfriends.
But Shen Xuanrun hadn't thought of that.
Shen Xin: Who knew my older brother was so easy to fool? What could I say? I was actually a boys' love fangirl too. Hehe.
Shen Xuanrun: Haha, once I finish this one, I'll find a wife in no time!
As it turned out, he had only just finished one book when, after being thoroughly tortured by the heroine's excessive compassion, his intolerance for stupidity flared up.
He had merely complained once in his head, and in the blink of an eye, he had arrived in this unfamiliar place.
Shen Xuanrun: _(:з"∠)_
Actually, I didn't want to complain that badly. Actually, I could have put up with it. Surely there was no need to make me come here and experience it myself!
Shen Xuanrun recalled the book's plot. The body he now occupied belonged to the heroine's older cousin, who had only just turned nineteen, while the heroine was only five.
The Shen Extended Family was a renowned aristocratic family in City H. The original owner's father was the second brother in the family. The original owner also had an older uncle and a younger uncle. His older uncle had two sons, while his younger uncle had only one daughter-the heroine.
The heroine was the only girl in the family, so her older brothers had doted on her since childhood. They raised her in a greenhouse, turning her into the sort of person who would leave her umbrella for a little snail to shelter from the rain.
Shen Qianxin had never seen scheming or intrigue growing up and developed a saintly personality. Even later, when the cannon fodder sold her out, she still helped them count the money.
Only with the help of the male lead and her older brothers could the cannon fodder be successfully written out, and they still had to make everything look peaceful for the heroine.
Shen Xuanrun still remembered one of the original owner's classic lines.
"Xinxin, Aunt Liu, who loved you most (the nanny who gave the heroine abortion drugs), went home to farm (she was working a sewing machine in prison)! So we won't be seeing her for a while."
Shen Xuanrun, who left his own younger sister entirely to her own devices: (ーー゛) Sorry, I didn't understand.
This clueless little heroine really put me through the wringer.
He still vaguely remembered that the original owner had been on the toilet, talking to Old Master Shen on the phone, when he heard the little heroine tell Eldest Brother Shen,
"I love my eldest brother most!"
The original owner, who had always competed with the other two older brothers for her affection, died of rage.
At the time, Shen Xuanrun had arrived here utterly bewildered, sitting on the toilet with a phone still in his hand.
There was a faint, intermittent stench around him, and Shen Xuanrun had happened to be eating river-snail rice noodles before entering this world.
Shen Xuanrun nearly flung the phone out of his hand.
"Xuanrun, Grandpa's going to check on Xinxin. It's raining! She's run out again to give little umbrellas to the little snails!"
The call ended.
Shen Xuanrun was completely dumbfounded.
The memory was truly painful to revisit.
The original owner was a third-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry, getting by entirely on his looks.
Even with resources invested by the Shen Company, he barely scraped by. His favorite thing to tell his fans was that if he couldn't make it anymore, he would go home and inherit his father's company.
But the original owner's dream was to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. He was merely putting on a tough front.
His haters also cursed at him, telling him to hurry home and inherit the family fortune instead of ruining things for people in the entertainment industry, lest he embarrass himself by squandering the entire fortune in the end.
Shen Xuanrun pondered. Based on the overpowered-protagonist scripts I'd read before, protagonists who entered novels always helped the original owners fulfill their wishes. Should I follow the trend too (●-●)?
If I didn't follow the trend, would I kick the bucket? (Actually, this last point was the main reason.)
After quickly washing up, Shen Xuanrun walked out of the bathroom without hurry. Since he was already here, he could only take things one step at a time.
Put plainly, he had given up trying.
Shen Xuanrun's grandfather was a master calligrapher who had always valued poetry, literature, and etiquette, making him study manners from childhood. Inside, however, he was extremely restless.
Thus, he developed a personality that was refined and courteous on the outside, singing and dancing wildly on the inside.
Shen Xuanrun (ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻: That wasn't singing and dancing wildly. I was only a teeny-tiny bit restless.
Shen Xuanrun's father had gone into business and achieved fairly good results, establishing a publicly listed company. When his father and mother decided to travel around the world, he inherited his father's company and became its CEO.
Shen Xuanrun: That's right, I was the domineering CEO himself.
His personality also gave him an advantage in this regard. No matter how shocking something was, he remained outwardly unshakable, refined, and courteous.
Shen Xuanrun left the bedroom. For work, the original owner hadn't lived at the Shen Family Ancestral Residence, instead renting a small apartment so he could travel between the two places whenever work required.
Approaching the sofa, he found his manager sitting there. His manager, Sister Chen, was someone trustworthy.
Of course, the original owner wasn't the only person Sister Chen managed. She only dropped by his place occasionally.
He seemed to remember that Sister Chen had thought highly of him before, but for some unknown reason, she had suddenly stopped bothering with him later.
Moreover, from what Shen Xuanrun knew of the book, the original owner was gentle and quiet, so he wasn't too worried about being exposed.
Though I was a little restless inside (in my own opinion), my acting was still pretty good.
"You're awake? Though you haven't landed any decent scripts or variety shows lately, you still need to keep an eye on your figure. Sleeping this late without eating or drinking, like you did today, won't do."
Sister Chen looked at Shen Xuanrun's red-lipped, white-toothed face and spoke with distress.
"Mm," Shen Xuanrun replied mildly. It seemed Sister Chen hadn't actually given up on the original owner completely.
He suddenly thought sorrowfully, Actually, just to be able to sit here and talk right now, my heart had already endured twice nine-eighteen trials.
Who could be full of life right after entering an unfamiliar world? Boohoo, tough guy crying.
"Oh, right. Old Master Shen from your family called me today and asked you to go home. He said he hasn't been able to reach your phone these past few days."
"All right."
Actually, he had switched off his phone because he was afraid of giving himself away.
"But don't forget, filming for 'Battle in the Sea of Commerce' starts in half a month. Be ready to join the cast at any time. I'll come pick you up that morning."
"Mm, all right."
"It wasn't easy for me to land this script. Do a good job."
Sister Chen gave her instructions, going on and on.
"All right," Shen Xuanrun answered gently, while the little person inside his head said, *Actually, this was my first time acting too, |･ω･｀)*
The book wasn't entirely right either. Sister Chen was still very responsible toward the original owner.
Chen Wei continued,
"I've already looked over this role for you. He has a lively personality. When the time comes, keep your back to the camera more, show less of your face, move your limbs more freely, and jump around a bit. That'll do."
Shen Xuanrun: (●-●)?
Huh? What?
How was this different from what I knew about filming?
Looking at the puzzled Shen Xuanrun, Sister Chen said sorrowfully,
"What else do you want? Do you want the audience to curse at you a few more times? Even if you aren't upset, I am."
Shen Xuanrun froze briefly, then suddenly realized that the original owner was just a pretty face with terrible acting skills.
"Oh, all right."
Sister Chen was already accustomed to Shen Xuanrun's quiet manner and said nothing more about it.
"Also, I'll arrange another personal assistant for you once you join the cast. Xiao Wang went home to build a house. I'll find you a replacement before you go to the set."
"All right." Shen Xuanrun was utterly steady on the outside, but inside: Oh my god, thank goodness Xiao Wang went home to build a house. Toss the confetti, toss the confetti~(￣▽￣~)~.
The more people the original owner knew who left, the better. That way, I wouldn't go out of character so soon!
"I'll probably send you the full script tomorrow or the day after. All you'll need to do then is memorize your lines."
Shen Xuanrun: ...I didn't even need to study the character's psychology? Was there any need to give up that completely?
"Mm, all right."
Still worried, Sister Chen said,
"Act properly, and whatever you do, don't try to analyze the character's personality."
After all, the last character you carefully analyzed was clearly a devoted, caring man, but after your analysis, you actually played him as a sleazy middle-aged man...
Though he didn't understand why, Shen Xuanrun quickly agreed.
"All right, there's nothing else to tell you. Pack your things first. I'll take you to the Shen Family Ancestral Residence this afternoon."
Sister Chen followed the muddled Shen Xuanrun into the bedroom and stood amid the mess, completely baffled.
Shen Xuanrun was crying inside.
Where did the original owner keep all his things? I didn't know either!
I'd been so busy being miserable these past two days that I forgot to properly scout the terrain (ಥ_ಥ).
Seeing Sister Chen frown, he instantly grew nervous!
Oh my god, had I given myself away?
"Honestly! Though you're a young master of the Shen Family, with money and power, you still need to learn to tidy up after yourself. You rely on your personal assistant every time. What will you do when you're alone?!"
Shen Xuanrun relaxed. So the original owner was clueless about everyday life.
Judging by the original owner's ways, it was actually understandable that the little heroine was a saintly, innocent flower.
Sister Chen pointed at the heap of trash.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Xiao Wang only went home three days ago, and you've already turned this place into a kennel!"
Though I really wanted to pin the blame on the original owner, I had to admit that I had indeed done this myself.
The table was piled with the takeout he had ordered at random, clothes tossed carelessly about, socks scattered everywhere...
Although... but... Sister Chen, hear out my excuses first!
Deeply distressed, Sister Chen rolled up her sleeves. If she relied on this young master to clean up, she could wait three days and three nights.
Shen Xuanrun was too embarrassed to let a woman clean up for him, so he hurriedly rolled up his sleeves and began helping too.
Sister Chen immediately pointed toward the door.
"Just go out and rest."
Shen Xuanrun said awkwardly,
"I'd feel terrible about that, Sister Chen. How could I let a girl like you clean up for me? I can help a little too."
Without the slightest hesitation, Sister Chen continued pointing firmly at the door.
"Actually, leaving would be the greatest help you could give me."
Shen Xuanrun: Ah... well...
Then I'd better go out...
After a quick tidy-up (which took a full three hours), he got into the car heading back to the ancestral residence.
Shen Xuanrun silently watched the scenery outside the window. He was so quiet that he seemed out of place in this world.
Sister Chen looked at the flawless face beside the car window. Its owner wore a sorrowful expression.
Shen Xuanrun seemed separated from this world, with no ties or attachments, as though the wind might blow him away the very next second.
Sister Chen instantly grew even sadder.
Boohoo, if you'd shown an expression like that while acting, you wouldn't have been harassed online for three whole months!
Shen Xuanrun was even going for the sad, broken look now. I was the one who was sad, okay!
Shen Xuanrun quietly watched the shadows of trees sweep past the car window. An unfamiliar city-this was a new beginning.
I really wanted to recite a poem to match this sorrowful atmosphere of mine. What a shame my mind was completely blank right now.