After dinner, Lu Xingchen went to the supermarket to buy some pet supplies.
He had just finished putting his purchases away when urgent knocking came from the door.
Lu Xingchen frowned. Who could it be this late?
He opened the door to find a slightly chubby man wearing a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans.
The man had an honest, good-natured face. Bent over with his hands braced on his knees, he was panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. Clearly, something urgent had happened.
Lu Xingchen called out tentatively, "Brother Fei?"
At the sound of his voice, Wang Pengfei looked up and visibly froze.
The young man before him was tall and stood straight, with fair skin, a rosy complexion, and a high nose bridge.
His slightly upturned foxlike eyes were especially striking, as though they held countless stars that could draw someone in before they knew it. Yet the lively little black mole at the corner of his eye gave him a bold, unrestrained air.
"You're Xingchen?" Wang Pengfei straightened up and couldn't help rubbing his eyes.
As if to confirm his guess, Wang Pengfei took two steps back and checked that the apartment number was 1501. "I shouldn't have the wrong place."
Lu Xingchen looked at Wang Pengfei, caught between laughter and tears. "Brother Fei, it's me, Lu Xingchen."
"Holy crap, you... you really are Lu Xingchen?" Wang Pengfei studied him in wonder, circling him as though he were a treasure. "You look like yourself, but at the same time, you don't."
Wang Pengfei was the original owner's agent and had once been a veteran agent at the entertainment company under the Lu Corporation.
But he had never given up on developing Lu Xingchen's career, always believing that he would become an overnight sensation someday.
Lu Yichen had resented this and put plenty of obstacles in his way behind the scenes. Just a week before Lu Xingchen transmigrated into the novel, both Wang Pengfei and Lu Xingchen had been fired outright, let alone receiving any compensation.
The original owner had acted in a few domineering CEO short dramas, but the company had always assigned him roles such as pretty faces and scheming phonies.
Combined with the thick, heavy makeup he always wore, his reputation had remained poor.
Viewers had therefore criticized the original owner for looking plain and acting with a timid, hunched posture, looking out of place no matter how he performed.
Lu Xingchen explained, "My old makeup was too ugly, so I've stopped wearing it. What do you think? My posture's pretty good now, right? I've been practicing at home lately. Seeing how surprised you are, it looks like my hard work paid off."
"Surprised? I'm blown away! You should have styled yourself this way ages ago. So fresh and clean, and with that gorgeous face, how could you not make it in the entertainment industry?"
The more Wang Pengfei looked, the more pleased he became. That face was precisely why he had never given up on developing Lu Xingchen's career.
He had managed plenty of stars, but not one of them could match Lu Xingchen's looks.
Whatever a star in the entertainment industry lacked could be made up for through hard work, except their face.
Today's viewers all had incredibly sharp eyes. One look was all they needed to tell whether someone had had work done.
Lu Xingchen invited Wang Pengfei inside and poured him a glass of water.
"Sorry, Pengfei. You lost your job because of me." Lu Xingchen handed him a bank card apologetically.
"There's five million in this account. Consider it my thanks for all the years you've spent helping me."
"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly acting like we're parting forever? Keep your money. I've been in the entertainment industry for years, after all. I have some savings. I'm not short of money right now."
Wang Pengfei pretended to be displeased.
"I came today because I've landed you a variety show. A new director is putting it together, and it's called Run Faster. I looked into it, and it'll be livestreamed."
"The concept is really fresh, too, something like The Hunger Games. Each episode will invite twelve celebrity guests, who have to complete missions while evading hunters."
Partway through, Lu Xingchen couldn't resist asking, "Hunters?"
"The director explained that they'll specifically invite world-class or national-level track-and-field athletes to play the hunters."
"They'll essentially be playing capture robots on the show. Whenever a celebrity appears in front of them, they'll chase them at full speed until the target disappears."
"Any celebrity who gets caught will be eliminated on the spot and locked in the elimination room. Each episode lasts ninety minutes, with fifty Speed-Up Coins added every second."
"Eliminated celebrities receive one-tenth of the Speed-Up Coins accumulated at that point. Only those who complete the missions and survive to the end can receive the full amount."
"The director will donate the Speed-Up Coins earned by all twelve celebrity guests in each episode to charity, with the donations made publicly and transparently."
After explaining at length, Wang Pengfei took a sip of water and asked, "Well? Interested?"
The more Lu Xingchen heard, the more excited he became. He clenched his fists, eager to give it a try.
"This show sounds fun and meaningful. So if I complete missions and survive for ninety minutes, I can get 270,000 to donate to charity?"
Wang Pengfei confirmed, "That's right."
"The hunters are all world-class or national-level athletes, and I have to complete missions while avoiding them." A troubled look crossed Lu Xingchen's face before he smiled, letting it go.
"It'll be difficult, but it's worth a try."
"But Brother Fei, with such a great concept, why would they invite a nobody like me?"
Given the original owner's past performances, Lu Xingchen genuinely couldn't understand why the production team would send him an invitation. This show looked like a major production.
"Hey, your Brother Fei has connections in the entertainment industry, too. The director went to the same school as me, a few years below me."
"Her family's pretty well-off. She used to help run the family business, but now that her younger sister has matured, she's handed the company over to her. She said she wanted to come into the entertainment industry and fulfill her dream of becoming a director."
"So I recommended you to her."
Lu Xingchen nodded in understanding. "When does filming start?"
"In three days. We'll fly to H City the day after tomorrow."
"Okay."
Lu Xingchen picked up Tofu, who had eaten and drunk his fill, and stroked his fur. Wang Pengfei was terribly envious. He wanted to pet him, but a cat had scratched him before, so all he could do was watch longingly.
Seeing his pitiful, yearning expression, Lu Xingchen handed Tofu over. "Tofu's very well-behaved. As long as you don't approach him with bad intentions, he won't mind."
"Meow!"
Tofu meowed at Wang Pengfei in a sweet little voice and even rolled over as though seeking affection, making the sight almost impossible to resist.
Utterly charmed, Wang Pengfei gathered Tofu into his arms and planted several hearty kisses on him before he was satisfied.
Lu Xingchen watched them play with a smile, then picked up Xiao Huang, who had been nestled quietly beside his legs. He checked the bandage on his leg first, then smoothed his fur.
There was a small notch missing from Xiao Huang's right ear. It didn't look like damage caused by a person, but rather something he had been born with.
Xiao Huang's round eyes always held a watery gleam, looking moist as he watched Lu Xingchen quietly and obediently.
Lu Xingchen kissed him tenderly and stroked his ears.
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