Chapter 180

Chapter 180

In the afternoon, Tian Ruan continued his role as a non-player character (NPC), sitting with his calves exposed on a stone bench under a tree while eating ice cream.

Wang Weiqi mooched off him for free food and drinks, promptly forming a three oaths brotherhood with Tian Ruan in the ancient town, calling Tian Ruan "Big Bro."

Tian Ruan: "Brother Wang, who's the third member of our brotherhood?"

Wang Weiqi pointed at his broom. "This one. Call it 'Broom Bro.'"

"666."*

"Hahahaha!"

The teacher tagged everyone in the "High School Senior Summer Camp" group chat: *Assemble in front of the town’s eastern museum by 5 PM. Request leave if you need to be excused.*

[Leave Request Form]

Tian Ruan opened the applet, filled in his name, group, location, and reason for leave.

Wang Weiqi glanced over. "You're taking leave?"

Tian Ruan angled his phone away. "Yeah, got something to do."

"What? Hitting the club?"

"Going to a trampoline park."

"Trampolines are fun—wanna join?"

"Nah." The bouncing he had in mind wasn’t something he could share with others.

Wang Weiqi: "Bro, I ask you to hang out every day, and you always refuse. Now you’re going out without me—are we even brothers?"

Tian Ruan could only reply tactfully, "I had lunch with Mr. Yu earlier."

"Mr. Yu? Which Mr. Yu?" Wang Weiqi paused to think. "Wait… your husband’s here?"

"Yep."

"..." Wang Weiqi’s eye twitched, seething with envy and resentment. "Must be nice to marry young—someone always thinking of you wherever you go."

"Your parents probably miss you too."

"It’s not the same."

"Yeah, it’s not." Tian Ruan happily scooped up a spoonful of blueberry Häagen-Dazs. "I think Mr. Yu loves me even more than my parents do."

Wang Weiqi: "...Ugh, I’m single—spare me the PDA."

After finishing his ice cream, Tian Ruan noticed a rush of tourists flocking to one spot, laughing and shouting excitedly: "Is that really Yan Xx?" "They say he’s here for filming—some wuxia drama." "Ahhhh…!"

Wang Weiqi had been showcasing his primal talent—wolf howls—in front of the tourists. But the girls who had been snapping photos of him disappeared in a flash.

Tian Ruan understood. "That’s celebrity appeal for you."

Wang Weiqi fumed. "Celebrities are my mortal enemies!"

Tian Ruan casually tossed his ice cream cup into the trash, opened his parasol, and said, "Bro Wang, let’s check out this big shot." *666 (Chinese internet slang for "awesome")

Wang Weiqi, wielding a broom in one hand and an oil-paper umbrella in the other, wearing a grass skirt, strutted boldly to confront Yan Xx, who had stolen his spotlight.

The street was jam-packed, with only the area cleared by the film crew remaining relatively quiet. Unable to squeeze through, Wang Weiqi fidgeted impatiently.

Tian Ruan had a sudden idea and said, "Make way, everyone, we're extras."

Seeing their costumes, the tourists assumed they were indeed part of the production and stepped aside. Tian Ruan, slippery as an eel, slipped effortlessly through the crowd and emerged at the front.

Wang Weiqi had a much harder time. Despite his hulking build, his strength was lacking. Midway, some brat tugged at his grass skirt, and by the time he reached the front, only a few sparse strands remained around his waist, barely covering his bright boxers.

The crowd snickered around him. Wang Weiqi bashfully covered himself, exclaiming, "Eek, so embarrassing~"

Tian Ruan pretended not to know him and edged toward a camera rig to watch the scene.

A crew member, noticing his costume like a scholar's, asked, "Are you an extra too?"

Tian Ruan: "Guess so."

"Extras wait over there. The director will call you when it's time."

So Tian Ruan went to join the other extras.

On the cleared section of the street, once the set was ready, the main actors took their positions. The director shouted, "Ready—"

Makeup artists gave the leads final touch-ups, adjusted their wigs, and confirmed their looks were flawless. The camera, lighting, and sound teams were all set. The leads and extras took their marks, the clapperboard snapped, and filming officially began.

X, the lead actor, made his entrance in a lavish robe, fan in hand, every inch the noble gentleman. He approached a tangyuan stall and said, "Boss, a bowl of sesame-filled tangyuan, please."

The vendor's face changed. "Where’s the sesame from?"

X: "From the Western Regions."

"How much per pound?"

"Worth its weight in gold."

The boss served him the tangyuan, tucking a note beneath the bowl. X glanced around and suddenly spotted Tian Ruan, pausing mid-action.

Director: "Cut, again!"

The makeup artist hurried over to touch up X’s look. X smiled apologetically at the director, and they reshot the scene.

Tian Ruan: "So this is how filming works. Pretty fun."

A male extra beside him grinned, revealing buck teeth. "Yeah, I think so too."

The director called, "Bucktooth—"

The bucktoothed extra rushed forward, positioned himself, donned a black mask, and charged at X as one of the assassins: "Yan Waer! Prepare to die!"

"Yan Waer?" Tian Ruan marveled. "That’s quite the name."

X gracefully engaged in combat with the five masked assassins, his folding fan cutting through the air. The wires made him flip mid-air, while the extras screamed and scattered.

Just then, another male lead appeared—a popular pretty-boy actor—who mocked, "Yan Waer, need my help?"

X didn’t respond, his fan never stopping.

The pretty-boy actor glared at him, annoyed. "You really don’t want my help?"

X leaped onto the tavern’s roof. "You'd better check behind you first."

The pretty-boy actor turned around, only to find five or six more masked assassins charging at him, forcing him into combat.

The two male leads gradually fought back-to-back, spouting some corny dialogue. The tourists flushed with excitement, whispering excitedly—clearly all "shipping" them.

However, after four or five retakes of the fight scene, they still didn’t get the shot, and the tourists' enthusiasm waned.

One of the assassin extras sprained his ankle, and the director casually pointed at Tian Ruan to replace him, handing him a simple hat and a stinky black rag. Tian Ruan flat-out refused, then suddenly remembered he had a black silk handkerchief with him, so he folded it diagonally and draped it over his face.

His face was small, so the folded handkerchief fit just right.

"Action—!" the director shouted.

Tian Ruan, brandishing a plastic toy sword, charged forward with the others, wildly slashing at the two leads.

He provided his own sound effects: "Ha! Hoo! Ha! Hey!"

Director: "?"

Entire crew: "?"

Pretty-boy actor: "Huh? Ah!"

The blood squib on the pretty-boy actor exploded as he was "slashed" into X’s arms. X swung his fan, sending out silver needles—these would be added in post-production—while the other masked assassins acted as if struck, flailing like overripe watermelons.

Oblivious, Tian Ruan leaped up and whacked X’s head.

X: "..."

Director: "Cut!"

The pretty-boy actor burst out laughing: "We're all dead, hahaha..."

Tian Ruan cupped his hands in salute to the crowd, then picked up a chipped vegetable bowl. "Thank you for watching! Donations welcome!"

The tourists paused, then burst into applause, chucking spare coins—clinking and clattering—even a few hundred-yuan bills. After making a round, Tian Ruan had collected at least three or four thousand yuan in "tips."

Entire crew: ". . . ."

The extras were gobsmacked. What just happened? You could do that??

The director barked, "You're disrupting the set!"

Tian Ruan swiftly stuffed the cash into his robe, hiding it securely, then removed the handkerchief with an innocent look. "Who, me?"

"You didn’t? What the hell was that just now?"

"I can do it again. Director, you gave so many people retakes—won’t you give me just one chance?"

The director spluttered, then finally said, "Fine! Do it again!"

Tian Ruan got back into position, and at the director’s next "Action!", he charged out with the assassins: "Ha!"

Clink-clank, clang-clatter.

The jingling of coins on Tian Ruan was louder than the clashing of swords. With every move, he rattled like a haunted cash register.

Everyone: ". . . ."

As he moved, coins clattered to the ground all around.

Tian Ruan, while still fighting, scrambled to pick them up. "My money, my money..."

Wang Weiqi, always loyal, burst out like a wild man. "Big bro, I'll help you pick them up!"

The tourists burst into laughter, throwing in more coins.

X got hit on the head by a coin and looked skyward with a dramatic sigh. "This world really is just one giant amateur show."

The director roared furiously, "Throw them out!"

X, keeping his cool, glanced at Tian Ruan and said helplessly to the director, "He's with the Yus."

The director went still. "The Yu family?"

"Wintergreen Group."

The director's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

X nodded gravely. The biggest investor in the production was Arctic Media, which was backed by the Wintergreen Group. By extension, Tian Ruan was basically the show's owner.

The director: "..."

When the boss wants to play on set, who could say no?

Mao Qi, flanked by two bodyguards, finally managed to push through the crowd, looming protectively beside Tian Ruan. He whispered, "Ma'am, sir says to stop fooling around."

Tian Ruan blew the dust off a coin. "Oh, drinks are on me. My treat—I made money today!"

Wang Weiqi brown-nosed loudly, "Boss is the best! A real money-maker!"

The director's eye twitched as he forced out a compliment, "Actually... you weren't half bad."

Tian Ruan brightened. "Do I have a talent for acting?"

"Somewhat. If you're interested, I have a minor role—a scholar."

"How much does it pay?"

"Two thousand a day."

"I just made more than that in ten minutes."

"..."

After some thought, Tian Ruan politely declined. "Better leave skilled work to the professionals. While I may have some acting talent, my heart's not in it. I’ll have to disappoint you, Director."

The director: "...No, no, you're too kind." His greatest wish was simply never to see this little troublemaker again.

With a wave, the little troublemaker left without fanfare: "Thank you all for your support today, and for the tips. What goes around, we’ll meet again!"

The director suddenly felt a twinge of regret. This little troublemaker was actually quite polite... and good-looking too...

Tian Ruan, pockets jingling with coins, headed home triumphantly.

True to his word, he treated the bodyguards to ice cream and bought popsicles for the entire crew, announcing in the group chat: *Everything at Yueke Mini-Mart is on me. Crew in vests, help yourselves.*

A flood of "Thx ❤️" followed.

The afternoon flew by productively. Tian Ruan had taken leave early, changed into his own clothes, and walked out of the ancient town to find the Porsche Cayenne Yu Jingmo had mentioned in the parking lot.

"Mr. Yu, I earned a few thousand. Let’s go deposit it at the bank." Tian Ruan showed Yu Jingmo the stacks of cash stuffed in his backpack pocket.

Yu Jingmo chuckled. "Give it to Assistant Xu. He’ll handle the deposit for you."

"Alright."

The car drove toward the hotel where Yu Jingmo was staying—more of a mountain resort than a hotel. The modern Chinese-style decor radiated luxury, with artful floral displays and fragrant incense at every turn, perfectly matching Yu Jingmo’s quiet, detached demeanor.

The suite was on the third floor, neither too high nor too low. Opening the window revealed a lush garden of jagged rock formations and babbling streams, with dappled bamboo shadows lending a crisp coolness.

Tian Ruan slumped on the couch, which was neither too soft nor too firm, enjoying the cool breeze from the air conditioner mixed with the fresh air outside. "Isn’t this kind of a power drain?"

Yu Jingmo: "The accommodation costs three thousand a day. You think they care about wasted electricity?"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Forget running the AC all day—even leaving the window open while the AC ran all day, the hotel would still rake it in.

"Go take a shower," Yu Jingmo said.

Tian Ruan remained slumped. "Too lazy to move."

Yu Jingmo hung his removed jacket on the coat rack, now wearing only a light blue shirt that clung coolly to his frame. He bent down and picked the young man up, his shirt buttons threatening to pop from his chest.

Tian Ruan stared intently, happily nestling into Yu Jingmo’s arms. "Damn, those pecs. I’m obsessed."

Yu Jingmo: "Just the pecs?"

"And the abs, back muscles, leg muscles... Oh no, now I’m starving for some chicken."

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

While bathing him, Yu Jingmo teasingly fed him bites of chicken.

Tian Ruan coughed. "Not what I meant by chicken!"

Yu Jingmo wiped his mouth. "Just a teaser. The good stuff comes later."

"..."

After Tian Ruan had a proper dinner and another shower, he was treated to something far tastier.

Indeed, the real feast came after.

Tian Ruan: "...I’m stuffed."

Yu Jingmo splayed a broad hand over his flat belly. "Hmm, definitely packed to the brim."

With a sudden movement—

Tian Ruan let out a yelp as he was hoisted up and pressed against a firm chest.

Yu Jingmo nibbled at his ear. "Look."

Tian Ruan lowered his eyes, couldn’t bring himself to look, and turned his face away. "I’m beat..."

Yu Jingmo: "Sleep in a bit longer."

This "a bit longer" ended up being three hours.

Tian Ruan slept deeply, missing the 8 a.m. gathering. By the time he woke up, it was already 8 in the morning. In a panic, he hit Yu Jingmo, "It's all your fault."

Yu Jingmo caught his fist, "I got you excused. You can go in the afternoon."

"Summer camp is a group activity. What will people think if I keep skipping out?" Tian Ruan grumbled, "I'm going now."

"Are you sure you want to stand guard all day in your state?"

"Absolutely." Tian Ruan tried to push himself up but immediately collapsed, stunned. "I wasn’t like this before."

Yu Jingmo apologized, "After you fell asleep, I went again."

"...You jerk!"

Tian Ruan was taken to get cleaned up, ate, and rested a bit, but still insisted on going to his post. Yu Jingmo had no choice but to escort him to the ancient town.

Without a teacher to get him in, even after explaining he was there as an NPC, Tian Ruan still had to buy a ticket.

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Jingmo directly purchased a year pass, saying, "This way, even if you’re late the next few days, you won’t have to buy tickets."

Tian Ruan: "I don’t plan to be late every day. Just this once, no exceptions. Mr. Yu, you should go to work now. Don’t mess with my summer camp."

Yu Jingmo lowered his phoenix-like eyes, gazing at him. "Am I interrupting you?"

Tian Ruan had just said it casually, but Yu Jingmo took it seriously. He quickly corrected himself, "Not interrupting—more like the icing on the cake."

Yu Jingmo’s lips curved slightly. "Mm."

"Then I’ll head in now. Goodbye, Mr. Yu."

Just like every other school day, Yu Jingmo said, "I’ll pick you up in the evening."

Tian Ruan waved and entered the ancient town.

He hurried to the neighborhood committee to change into his costume—not a scholar’s robe, but a swordsman’s outfit, with bare calves that looked perfectly natural. The neighborhood committee lady even found a plastic broadsword as an accessory for him.

Tian Ruan was delighted. "Wow, so this is where the film crew gets their props wholesale."

The auntie said, "I picked this up on the street yesterday. Thought it looked nice, so I kept it."

Tian Ruan took the broadsword outside, playfully showing it off at anyone he met. Of course, he didn’t actually swing at people—scaring off tourists wouldn’t be good—so he stuck to standard NPC moves.

"Tian Ruan!" Wang Weiqi called out.

Tian Ruan drew his broadsword, twirled it dramatically.

"So cool!" Wang Weiqi cheered. He was still in his savage costume, though now with extra seashells adorning his upper body—probably taken from wind chimes and reused.

Thus, the two of them—one with a broadsword, the other with a broom—became a perfect pair, like martial arts heroes.

On the way, they met up with other NPCs who seemed upset. Tian Ruan asked what was wrong.

The girl who had performed sword dances the day before said, "The film crew are hogging all the attention. We can’t draw any crowds, and we’ll get our pay cut."

Upon hearing this, Tian Ruan's inner hero flared up: "What the hell? Let's take it up with the neighborhood committee."

"Ah, please don't! I still want to work here for the whole summer. My tuition for next semester depends on this."

Tian Ruan knew everyone's got their struggles—otherwise, these college students wouldn't be baking in the sun as NPCs. He thought, then said, "Then let's just take back the spotlight."

The girl smiled bitterly, "How? That's *Yan Xx* we're talking about."

Tian Ruan: "No, he's *Yan Y* now."

"...Boo. Not funny."

"I'll treat everyone to a popsicle to cool off. Let's strategize carefully."

The glum NPCs nodded, unconsciously deferring to Tian Ruan's suggestion since they couldn't think of a better plan.

Wang Weiqi, amped up, declared, "That celebrity and I are mortal enemies! I'm joining you!"

Tian Ruan bought everyone popsicles.

The sword-dancing girl asked, "What's our plan to take back the spotlight?"

Tian Ruan tapped his fingers as if calculating, chanting like a mystic, "As the saying goes, 'cut the problem at the root'—take down the boss first. The biggest spotlight in the crew is X. So, if we just snatch X away, the spotlight will follow."

"..."

One male student said, "That's impossible. How do you kidnap a huge celebrity? And what would we even do with him?"

Tian Ruan replied matter-of-factly, "Everyone has weaknesses. Exploit them, and you can pressure or bribe them. There's no reason we can't pull it off."

"You know Yan Xx's weakness?"

"Of course. He's my minion."

"...Minion?" Their eyes widened in horror, as if stumbling into a bizarre new world. "Y-you're his master?"

"Master is too strong a word. More like his creditor."

"Creditor..." They sighed in relief, glad they hadn't entered that new world after all. "How are you his creditor?"

Tian Ruan: "He owes me 50 million yuan."

"!!!"

Even Wang Weiqi was stunned. "Damn, bro, why didn't you say so earlier? I'd have charged in, guns blazing, raging with fury to make him pay!"

Tian Ruan: "Maybe stop using idioms. Wouldn't want you to bomb your writing test."

Wang Weiqi grinned like a villain, "No worries, I bomb them all the time."

Tian Ruan gave a thumbs-up, then mused, "If kidnapping doesn't work, then we'll go with Plan B—cut off their food or water supply. Force them to buy from us. Then all eyes will be on us."

Everyone: "Yeah, right."

Tian Ruan: "Let me make a call."

He stepped aside—

"Mr. Yu, I miss you, mwah mwah~ kiss kiss~ smooch smooch~ So, here's the thing, I need a favor..."

Three minutes later, Tian Ruan returned and said, "Alright, from now on, the entire ancient town will refuse to sell anything containing water to the crew—ice cream, popsicles, mineral water, fruits, and more. The only exception is water for flushing toilets."

The sword-dancing girl asked in surprise, "Who exactly are you?"

Tian Ruan replied sheepishly, "Just someone with modest means."

Being able to cut off the crew's water supply with just a word was far beyond "a little money"—this was serious clout.

Tian Ruan continued, "Now it's showtime for us NPCs."

So they sang and danced in the streets, chipped in to buy a whole box of popsicles, and Tian Ruan grabbed a megaphone to announce, "Step right up! Free popsicles here! First come, first served, limited stock!"

The tourists were skeptical at first, but once they actually got free popsicles, word got around fast. Soon, everyone knew about the free treats. The crew, dying for something cold, came to take a chance.

But the moment they reached out, Tian Ruan said, "No popsicles for the crew unless Yan Xx comes in person."

"Wait, what?" When this was reported back, the crew initially shrugged it off and kept filming. But once they ran out of water and couldn’t find any to buy—let alone ice cream—they realized something was wrong.

The director asked X, "Did you offend that little troublemaker again?"

X replied, "...No. I haven’t seen him since we wrapped yesterday."

"Then why does he insist you go personally to get popsicles for the crew?"

X had no idea. Confused, he went to find Tian Ruan. As expected, tourists had already swarmed the area, and within a minute, all the popsicles were gone.

With his assistant shielding him from the crowd, X asked Tian Ruan, "What’s going on?"

Tian Ruan grinned. "Just stand here for a bit, and I’ll get you a popsicle."

Seizing the opportunity, the NPCs started performing. X found himself surrounded, unable to leave, and had to keep smiling while signing autographs for fans.

Tian Ruan and Wang Weiqi brought over another box of popsicles for X.

X ate one. Tian Ruan handed him another, and since he was thirsty, he ate that too.

By the time Tian Ruan offered a fifth popsicle, X’s face was turning slightly green. "What did I do to you?"

Tian Ruan played dumb. "Nothing! Just looking out for you."

"The whole crew is overheating. Can I take this box back with me?"

Tian Ruan said, "One box isn’t enough. Take ten! Here, NPC friends, help carry them—and put on a little show while you’re at it."

Having been in the entertainment industry for years, X was no fool. He caught on immediately. "You want extras? I’ll recommend them."

Tian Ruan grinned. "One box costs a thousand. Don’t forget to pay me."

"..."

Not only had he made money, but he’d also helped his fellow NPC college students. Tian Ruan was satisfied. As for the director cursing him behind his back for being a money-hungry weasel, he remained completely oblivious—except for a single sneeze.

Tian Ruan bragged to Lu Qiuyan about his earnings. "Look, I raked in another ten grand today!"

Lu Qiuyan sighed. "...You've got the magic touch."

Tian Ruan said, "Even the smallest supporting role pulls in two grand a day. The entertainment industry is full of easy money. This is a rare opportunity—I’ll bring you tomorrow to get in on the action."

Lu Qiuyan yawned. "Pass. I need my beauty sleep."

Tian Ruan took a Haagen-Dazs from his bag, "I only treated them to popsicles, but you're different. I went out of my way to get Haagen-Dazs for you."

Lu Qiuyan: "..."

Yu Shang looked over when he heard, frowning tightly: "Have you ever bought any for my dad?"

Tian Ruan: "?"

Wang Weiqi peeked out from behind a pillar, muttering jealously, "If you love him, treat him to Haagen-Dazs."

Tian Ruan suddenly turned his head and looked around, shouting, "Brother Mao, don’t hit send!"

Mao Qi, lounging in the shade, said, "Already snapped it and sent it to Mr. Yu."

Tian Ruan: "..."