Chapter 44

In June, the weather at Zhudian Film and Television City was scorching hot like fire.

At the entrance of the film and television city, numerous extras wearing various costumes were sweating profusely, seeking shade in corners when there was no filming, feeling dispirited. But as soon as they saw the assistant director from any production coming to select extras, they all seemed to come alive again, crowding around eagerly.

Among this group of people, one man seemed somewhat out of place. He was still wearing the costume from the previous scene, a tattered long robe covered in mud and bloodstains, the red now tinged with black, probably from just finishing a life-and-death battle in the previous scene.

With a tall and slender figure of 1.8 meters, even with half of his face covered in mud and blood, his sharp and handsome features were still discernible. His bright eyes exuded a gentle and indifferent aura, nothing like an ordinary extra.

As the surrounding gazes subtly fell on Xie Fuyi, he also discreetly observed his surroundings. He hadn’t even had a chance to carefully read the script; he had just arrived here, indicating that this might be set in the modern world.

Xie Fuyi simply closed his eyes to rest, slowly digesting the synopsis of the script he had received.

It was a romance novel set in the entertainment industry, featuring a protagonist named Mu Ziming, who came from a poor background and entered the entertainment industry due to his good looks being discovered by talent scouts. He then became entangled in love and hate with three big shots, gradually rising to become a movie emperor.

Xie Fuyi now felt a bit psychologically shadowed by the fact that the protagonist in the previous world didn’t follow the script, let alone now, with three protagonists. He glanced at the introductions of the three characters—

Ye Yunshen, the CEO of the entertainment empire; Bai Wuluo, the founder of a top foreign group; Ye Baixiao, and Xiao Yuanxi, the prince of the Beijing circle…

At first glance, Xie Fuyi sensitively recognized why these three surnames sounded so familiar.

Ye, Baixiao…

Could it be?

He took a deep breath. Actually, these three surnames were very common in novels, and there was nothing special about them. It should be a coincidence, definitely not like the previous world!

Moreover, the protagonist in this world was not the innocent and naive type but rather had a scheming and resourceful personality.

Mu Ziming had clear goals from the beginning. How could he survive in the entertainment industry without a background? So he seized the opportunity to save Ye Yunshen, get close to Bai Wuluo, and be kept by Ye Baixiao… letting these three men escort him on his path to becoming a movie emperor.

Xie Fuyi liked this kind of resourceful protagonist! It just happened to push the plot forward briskly!

Just as he was about to check the details of his cannon fodder role, a carefree voice had already sounded in front of him.

“Isn’t this the high-and-mighty Young Master Xie from the Xie family? How did you end up in such a situation, coming out to make money as an extra?”

The relaxed male voice rang out slowly.

Xie Fuyi paused for a moment. He hadn’t received information about his current role yet, but from these few sentences, he probably knew his current identity. So, when he raised his head, he had already quickly adjusted his expression, pursing his lips, his handsome face somewhat cold, silently staring at the person in front of him.

Two men stood in front of him. The one speaking wore a floral shirt, holding sunglasses in one hand, exuding a sense of elegance, probably some wealthy playboy.

Behind him was another man, half a head taller than him, dressed in an expensive light gray casual suit. His features were extremely handsome, with bold and unrestrained brows, and casually swept-back hair, exuding an arrogant yet steady aura.

His pitch-black eyes were now sizing up Xie Fuyi without speaking.

This person’s image, Xie Fuyi could guess with just his toes, should be the main character.

But he just returned the same faint look, not speaking. First, he wasn’t sure of the other party’s identity, so it was better to say less to avoid mistakes; second, regardless of what his previous character was like, his current silence could give the other party plenty of room for imagination.

The man who spoke first seemed to recall something with a touch of regret, “Oh right, I remember now, the Xie family has nothing left…”

He had one hand in his pocket, the other swinging his sunglasses, his eyes shamelessly roaming up and down Xie Fuyi, full of interest and… astonishment.

He hadn’t noticed before, but how could the useless Young Master Xie from the Xie family turn out to be so good-looking? His features were as dark as a painting, even with his whole body covered in dirt, his aura still as clean as the snow-capped peak of a mountain, yet not making people feel cold, only an untouchable cleanliness, like a breeze under the scorching sun, making ripples in people’s hearts involuntarily.

From his subtle expression, Xie Fuyi could tell that they weren’t actually familiar. He glanced at him again, his shallow expression carrying a hint of doubt, “I’m sorry, do we know each other?”

The man paused. In fact, he had little interaction with Xie Fuyi before, and had only seen each other from a distance at gatherings. So seeing him in his current shabby state, he couldn’t help but come over to mock him a few times. But he didn’t expect that the other party didn’t even remember his name.

The man hesitated for a moment, his teeth almost bitten sore, and even had to force out a smile, saying, “The Luo family in City A can still have a say, but Young Master Xie naturally doesn’t know us small people. But now, he can only be with these actors…” His gaze fell on Xie Fuyi’s ragged and muddy clothes, the unfinished words obviously implying that now, he was no longer the same as before.

Looking for trouble?

Being mocked by the other party, Xie Fuyi’s plain expression flashed with a hint of embarrassment, his thin lips pursed, he clenched his fists and looked at him, saying, “What exactly do you want to say?”

Even if his temper was mild, being targeted like this made him a bit angry. However, being seriously looked at by those eyes, he felt inexplicably itchy and warm in his heart.

The man tugged at the corner of his mouth as if he had just been joking, “Oh, I don’t mean anything else, it seems that Young Master Xie is really short of money? But Young Master Xie’s…” He paused, smiling as he changed the words he wanted to say, “…talent is being wasted here. I happen to have a job that can earn a lot of money quickly, and I’d like to recommend it to you.”

Xie Fuyi was a little surprised by his words, but his expression gradually relaxed. He smiled slightly and his clean black eyes became gentler, “Really? What job is it?”

Thanks?… The man who had been silent all along couldn’t help but furrow his brows and look at Xie Fuyi carefully again. Was he being naive or pretending to be stupid? Did he really think Luo Hong was kindly helping him?

Just as Luo Hong was about to say something, he suddenly felt a pain in his buttocks, “Ouch!” He stumbled and knelt on the ground.

Xiao Yuanyan inexplicably couldn’t stand Luo Hong’s teasing of this man’s appearance, and he himself was an uninhibited person, so he directly kicked Luo Hong in the buttocks.

“Damn!” Luo Hong grimaced in pain, his face twisted with pain. Just as he was about to get angry, he remembered the other party’s identity and forcibly swallowed his anger, instead forcing out a smile, “Xiao Ge, why did you kick me?”

Xie Fuyi also froze, looking at the man who had been standing by the side all along.

He stood with his hands in his pockets, his handsome features slightly raised, impatiently saying, “Didn’t you say you’re taking me to see something interesting? Why are you dawdling here?”

Luo Hong suddenly remembered that he had brought Xiao Yuanshi here for a set visit. Recently, the little star he was pursuing was on this set. However, now, he was more interested in the former Young Master Xie in front of him.

But, there’s always another day.

“Yeah, Xiao Ge, since you just arrived in City A, let me introduce you to someone, quite interesting…” Luo Hong got up, patted his butt, grinned, and led the way to another direction.

Before leaving, he looked back at Xie Fuyi, squinted his eyes, waved his hand to bid farewell to Xie Fuyi, and smirked meaningfully, “Young Master Xie, let’s talk about the job next time. I’ll treat you then, and we can chat slowly.”

Xiao Yuanshi paused for a moment as he left, glanced back deeply at Xie Fuyi. His aggressive pitch-black eyes swept over, and when they landed on Xie Fuyi, he felt as if he was being stared at by a fierce beast.

Xie Fuyi clenched his fists, only watching the backs of the two men leave, slowly lowering his eyes—surnamed Xiao, and also having this arrogant protagonist appearance, Xiao Yuanshi? So they must be going to see the protagonist, right?

Hopefully, the protagonist would perform well, allowing him to smoothly complete his cannon fodder role this time!

Xie Fuyi raised an eyebrow in secret, and rechecked his information—

His role was indeed a competitor who schemed against the protagonist on his way to fame.

His current identity was the bankrupt Young Master of the Xie family. His parents died in a plane crash, the family went bankrupt and owed debts, leaving only Bai Wuluo, who grew up with him from childhood and depended on each other. Bai Wuluo was the son of his father’s friend. When Bai’s parents died in a car accident, and there were no other relatives, Xie’s father brought Bai Wuluo back to the Xie family to raise him.

A few days ago, Bai Wuluo, who had been studying abroad, had to return because he had no money.

With Xie Fuyi’s keen sense from years of reading novels, he basically guessed the tricks inside.

Sure enough, there was a connection between the deaths of Bai Wuluo’s parents and the bankruptcy of the Xie family, so the Xie family’s bankruptcy was also manipulated by the other party. Bai Wuluo had already established his own business empire abroad and came back for revenge on the Xie family, to reclaim what was rightfully his.

Xie Fuyi had been targeted all along and couldn’t find a suitable job, so he could only become an extra. But even as an extra, with a face that was no less attractive than that of a popular celebrity, he couldn’t even get slightly easier roles among the extras. Every day, his roles were either stunt doubles crawling in the mud or background boards being tormented and insulted… This was Bai Wuluo’s doing.

As for the protagonist, Mu Ziming, who was also acting for the first time, came from a poor family background and had no connections. Yet, he played the male lead right after his debut. Naturally, Xie Fuyi, who could only suffer as an extra every day in this drama, felt jealous of the protagonist. So, he sabotaged the protagonist while pretending to be innocent, seduced the male protagonists while pretending to be pure-hearted, wanting to become the movie emperor himself.

In the end, he was collectively suppressed by the three big shots and had his dark secrets exposed, forcing the cannon fodder to commit suicide by jumping off a building.

According to the synopsis, this time, Mu Ziming arranged for Luo Hong to introduce him to Xiao Yuanshi, and the jealous cannon fodder Xie Fuyi, knowing Xiao Yuanshi’s identity, wanted to seduce him.

Xie Fuyi recalled the conversation he had just had with Xiao Yuanshi—fortunately, there were no flaws.

However… he was a bit afraid to seduce the protagonist again, fearing that the plot might go wrong again!

He needed to think about how to not only maintain his character but also maintain the plot—maybe just a shallow flirtation?

Just as Xie Fuyi was contemplating with lowered eyes, a commotion erupted not far away—

“Snap, snap, snap, you sneaky photographers, what are you secretly filming? Get lost!”