The stand-in

Whenever Sun Zhe returned to Golden Bay Waterside Pavilion, he never used the door code. He liked the feeling of knocking and having that omega open the door to welcome him.

"Knock, knock."

"Coming!"

The omega opened the door, only to have a towering figure bear down on him, enveloping him in shadow. He barely had time to take one step back before a large hand clamped around his throat!

The door slammed shut. His body was forcibly spun around, his back crashing hard against the door, and he gave a muffled grunt of pain. But the man's grip kept tightening. Soon, he could no longer make a sound and could only stare fearfully at the tall man before him, trying to plead for mercy with his eyes.

Sun Zhe met his gaze and was distracted for a moment.

The nearly uncontrollable pressure on the omega's neck gradually eased, turning into a caress.

Starting at his neck, Sun Zhe slowly stroked upward to his face, from which the bandages had already been removed, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"After this surgery, you look even more like him."

The omega lifted his eyes in terror, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face. That face bore an eighty-percent resemblance to Wei Zisu!

Those eyes in particular gave Sun Zhe the satisfaction of already possessing Wei Zisu with just one look.

He tipped the omega's chin up slightly with his fingers. As he gazed at those rosy lips, his eyes gradually grew hazy, and he could not resist leaning down to kiss him.

At first, it was only a gentle touch. Then, as their lips pressed together, they became increasingly difficult to part. Next, Sun Zhe's breathing grew heavier and heavier, his kisses becoming more forceful, as though he wanted to swallow him whole.

The omega timidly accepted it all. Orange-flavored Heart-Tied Su wafted out, mingling with Sun Zhe's cedarwood scent.

Sun Zhe's hand closed around his slender but soft waist, while the omega trembled all over and fearfully squeezed out a few words. "Mr. Sun..."

Sun Zhe stopped moving. His ragged breathing began to even out. A moment later, he looked at the omega again, his gaze much clearer, though still tinged with coldness.

"I've told you many times," he said very slowly, every word frighteningly cold. "Don't call me Mr. Sun."

Suppressing his fear, the omega hurriedly corrected himself. "Big... Big Brother Sun."

Sun Zhe raised a hand and tucked the hair at his temple behind his ear. "From now on, remember every word I say and know your place. Since you're his stand-in, you need to act more like him. I went through countless difficulties to make your face look this much like his. Naturally, I don't want to see a trace of anyone but him in you. Do you understand?"

The omega hurriedly nodded. "Y-yes."

Sun Zhe smiled in satisfaction and said gently, "Zisu, call me Big Brother Sun."

The omega raised his head and called softly, "Big Brother Sun."

Sun Zhe shook his head slightly and added, "Say it with a smile."

The omega took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his lips. "Big Brother Sun."

"That's right." Sun Zhe kissed his lips, brushing against them gently over and over. "Zisu, did you know? Grandma said I wasn't good enough for you, so all I can do is wait. When you fall from your pedestal covered in filth, I'll be good enough for you."

The omega tilted his head up slightly, his eyes squeezed shut, not daring to move a muscle.

"Zisu, every day I pray that you'll be cyberbullied, forced out of the industry, unwanted by any alpha, deserted by everyone, and left out on the streets. Then all I'll have to do is reach out, and you'll come to my side..."

"Achoo! Achoo!!!"

On set, Wei Zisu let out two loud sneezes in succession.

The director asked, "What's wrong? Caught a cold?"

Wei Zisu rubbed his nose. "I don't know. I don't think it's a cold. My nose is just a little itchy."

At that moment, Xiao Ai, who was sitting beside Wei Zisu, said, "My grandma said the number of times you sneeze in a row means something. One means someone's thinking of you, two means someone's cursing you, and three means a cold. Zisu, you just sneezed twice. Someone must be secretly cursing you behind your back!"

Wei Zisu laughed. "Why would they need to curse me in secret? Wouldn't they find it more satisfying to openly come curse me in my Weibo comments?"

Hearing that, Xiao Ai indignantly pulled out her phone. "Don't worry, Zisu. I'll go online right now and trade insults with them!"

Before leaving Hengdian, Yin Zhengchuan had sent Xiao Pan away, leaving Wei Zisu without an assistant. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached Shandong, he immediately found him a new assistant remotely: Xiao Ai.

Xiao Ai was only nineteen that year, a young omega girl working as an assistant during her summer vacation to earn money for her tuition.

She was cheerful and lively, and good at arguing online. Over the past few days, she had done plenty of cursing people out on Wei Zisu's behalf.

Of course, Wei Zisu sometimes logged into an alternate account to join her in cursing them out, just to relieve his boredom.

The director flipped through the later pages of the script and said, "We've been making fast progress lately. We might even finish filming ahead of schedule."

Great! Wei Zisu gave a little inward cheer.

They were setting up the scene just then, so the director had some free time. He moved his chair closer to Wei Zisu. "Zisu."

"Yes? What is it, Director?" Wei Zisu put away his dialogue sheets and asked.

The director seemed a little hesitant. "I wanted to ask whether you'd be willing to go on a variety show to help promote our drama."

Wei Zisu answered without hesitation, "Of course I would!"

He really wanted to go on variety shows. He could earn money, raise his profile, and promote the drama. Who wouldn't want to kill three birds with one stone?

Unfortunately... just as Sister Qian had said, no variety show wanted him.

Hearing his ready answer, the director seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Good, good. I was worried you wouldn't agree. After all, you used to refuse to appear on variety shows."

"Me?" Wei Zisu pointed at himself. "When did I ever refuse?"

He couldn't get a spot even if he fought for one, yet he had supposedly refused! Wouldn't that be like a beggar throwing away someone's charity? Any beggar with the slightest professionalism wouldn't do that!

Hearing this, the director also felt something was wrong. "When we first started filming, I mentioned to Xiao Qian that she should find you a few variety shows after we wrapped. But she told me you refused to appear on any variety show."

Because of that, the director had privately cursed Wei Zisu for putting on airs. Now, judging by Wei Zisu's reaction, there was definitely a problem with the person passing the information between them.

As for where the problem lay, the director already had a pretty good idea.

Wei Zisu immediately understood what had happened and said frankly, "Sister Qian doesn't like me, and she isn't willing to give me opportunities. Besides, my contract with the company expires this year, so she's even less likely to send good opportunities my way. I brought up wanting to film variety shows before, too, but she said I wasn't qualified."

She preferred artists like Yuan Zizhen, who were sweet talkers and good at flattery, so she would give the good opportunities to Yuan Zizhen first.

Director Zhang had spent so many years in the entertainment industry. What hadn't he seen? There were countless minor actors like Wei Zisu who were shelved by their companies until they were forced to terminate their contracts and pay hefty penalties.

Often, he could hardly bear to watch, either, but there was nothing he could do. In the eyes of capital, they were nothing, and directors were no different.

Still, when he came across someone he could help, he was willing to lend a hand. After all, this matter was also closely tied to his drama's popularity.

"How about this, Zisu? Shall I help you find a variety show?"

"Of course! Thank you, Director! Can you give me a hint about what kind of variety show it is?"

The director said, "A reality show. They're very popular lately. I just recommended Wu Hao for a dating reality show. As for you, you're already married, so a dating show wouldn't be suitable. But an old classmate of mine is currently putting together a marriage reality show that will invite real married couples to participate. Why don't you and Xiao Yin give it a try?"