Relax, I've Played One Before-It's Right Up My Alley

As cannon fodder who doubled as a substitute for someone's first love, with a hopelessly love-struck mindset thrown in,

Jian Ran had actually opened his mouth and asked to settle his payment?

He had skipped the whole pestering-and-clinging routine?

This made no sense!

If the system bound to him had still been around, it would definitely have issued an OOC warning, with an electric shock thrown in as punishment.

But because the Transmigration System had gone on a joint social outing with the Quick-Transmigration Bureau, vacationing at the beach for n months, Jian Ran was temporarily unsupervised.

And so, while playing his role, he let himself run wild.

To demonstrate its professionalism, the system, which had been single since birth, had even made a point of asking halfheartedly before leaving, "You've read substitute-romance fiction, right?"

"You understand how to be a qualified substitute?"

Jian Ran patted his chest. "Relax, I've played one before. It's right up my alley."

He wasn't bullshitting.

Before the car accident, he had indeed been just one ICU stay away from becoming a best actor award winner,

and with ten years of intensive training after joining the Mystical Sect under his belt, although he hadn't foreseen his own death, playing a cannon-fodder substitute in a brainless novel full of melodramatic, tortured romance

was still child's play for Jian Ran.

That was right. He had transmigrated into a novel.

He had become a wretched substitute kept by several powerful men, only to be kicked aside when their first love returned. The more he pestered and clung to them, the more miserable his fate became. His ultimate ending went without saying.

Being unlucky in love was one thing. Jian Ran could put up with that. After all, that stuff affected how fast he made money.

But his fucking career was a complete disaster too!

Instead of taking acting seriously, he specialized in shortcuts, either sucking up to directors or manufacturing scandals with male stars. His reputation was so awful that practically everyone wanted a piece of him.

The company was ready to abandon and shelve him, and even his base salary hadn't hit his account for months.

He could barely make ends meet and was approaching the miserable point of setting up a fortune-telling stall on a pedestrian overpass...

When the secretary called again, Jian Ran had just finished calculating how many sheets of talisman paper he had and gone down to the supermarket beneath his apartment building to buy an ice cream to beat the heat.

"Hello?"

With his phone wedged against his ear, he picked through the freezer, pulled out an ice cream, and asked the clerk, "This isn't one of those ice creams with a killer price tag, is it?"

The clerk happened to be one of his anti-fans. Recognizing him at a glance, she rolled her eyes. "Don't buy it if it's too expensive."

"I'll buy it." Jian Ran tossed the ice cream over. "I'll have money any second now."

The secretary on the other end of the line: "..."

"Hello, Mr. Jian. Mr. Yu says he can't settle the payment. If you insist on asking for money, we'll have to see you in court."

Jian Ran waved a hand. "Give the ice cream back."

Then he spoke into the phone's microphone. "Did Yu Fengyi throw away what I sent by courier?"

The secretary hesitated for a moment. "He did throw it in the trash."

"Very good." Jian Ran hung up and strode out of the twenty-four-hour supermarket.

The female clerk spat at his retreating back. "Broke-ass!"

"That face is the only thing he's got going for him!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but Jian Ran, who was just about to step outside, heard every word. He slowly turned back, an eerie look appearing on his porcelain-white face. His fingers shifted at his side, as though he were calculating something.

"What are you looking at?" The clerk took out her phone and began recording Jian Ran. "If you dare start barking, I'll post you on Weibo!"

Jian Ran suddenly smiled. "Beautiful, a word of advice. Don't touch anything live."

"Ha! Who do you think you're fooling? Can't make it in showbiz, so you've switched to being a spirit medium? I'm not buying it!" Looking excited, the clerk held her phone up in one hand and reached to open the freezer with the other. "Come on, let's livestream this fraud getting exposed! I-"

"Aah-!"

With a scream, the clerk collapsed.

Jian Ran turned away, took out his phone, and dialed 120. "Hello, someone here has been electrocuted. Yes, her life isn't in danger for now..."

He walked toward his apartment as he spoke.

Not getting his ice cream had left him in a very foul mood.

A shadow hung over his exquisite features, like the moment before a storm, ready to erupt at any second.

An occult master and top-tier best actor had actually been reduced to scheming against an idiotic store clerk?

Where was the justice in that?

But... there was no helping it.

He had transmigrated into a washed-up celebrity who hadn't landed a booking in months and had no income whatsoever. Surviving on nothing but his WeChat balance really was difficult.

He needed to find a way to make a living, or this cannon-fodder substitute would starve to death.

Jian Ran returned to his little apartment and idly switched on the television. An entertainment news rerun happened to be playing, and he keenly picked out an extraordinarily handsome face with darkness between its brows.

"According to reliable sources, Emperor Lu may appear on a travel variety show. The final guest lineup has yet to be confirmed, but..."

A travel variety show?

The one Brother Xu had mentioned?

Lucky Inn?

Looked like he needed to try for it.

As he pondered, he used a weasel-hair brush to write three large characters: "Lu Yanting."

After staying up late to finish reading the proposal, Yu Fengyi wearily rubbed between his brows, then strode straight into the elevator on his long legs.

He glanced at his phone. There were still no messages, and his expression turned puzzled.

"So quiet?"

Suddenly, the slowly descending elevator stopped with a clang. The incandescent light overhead went out as well, plunging his surroundings into darkness.

Yu Fengyi jabbed irritably at the alarm button while repeatedly assuring himself, "This is a coincidence!"

"Definitely a coincidence!"

"Yes! A coincidence!"