Chapter 264: The No-Name Star Beckons, the Benefactor Becomes a Simp 35

Chapter 264: A Nobody Crooks His Finger, Sugar Daddy Turns Lapdog 35

Lin Huaiqing slept for another two hours, then freshened up quickly and got ready to attend the new drama's kick-off ceremony.

Most of the clothes in his wardrobe were plain and simple—nothing decent enough to wear out, and no brands had come knocking for endorsement deals.

After digging through his closet, he finally found a jacket that looked presentable enough.

It turned out to be an affordable luxury trench coat that the previous owner of this body had bought with a month's salary.

He'd worn it to an annual awards gala—he'd gotten an invite by chance, hoping he might have the chance to appear on the same stage as Fei Xiu, and wanted to dress up for the occasion.

But it turned out Fei Xiu went to such lengths to avoid him in public that they couldn't even bump into each other, let alone appear together on stage.

After that, the original owner kept the trench coat in a dust cover, tucked away in the back of his closet.

He couldn't bring himself to wear it either.

Today was a big deal, so Lin Huaiqing decided to wear it—partly to honor the original owner's wish to wear this coat when seeing Fei Xiu.

He'd landed the second lead role in "The Vast Immortal Path," and the company took it very seriously, even assigning him a dedicated makeup artist.

Wouldn't you know it—it was his old acquaintance Xiaomin.

Xiaomin had been doing well at her old job, but once she found out she was pregnant and couldn't handle the high-intensity workload, they found excuses to let her go.

Now she had just joined his agency, Xurong Entertainment Company, as a traveling makeup artist for the talent.

Once he joined the production, there would be a set makeup team, so Xiaomin wouldn't be too busy—she could just assist when needed and earn a bit of milk money for her unborn child on the side.

Since they had previously bonded over trash-talking Fei Xiu, Lin Huaiqing was overjoyed the moment he learned Xiaomin would be his "personal" makeup artist.

Now, when he got his makeup done, he couldn't keep his mouth shut—gossiping about Fei Xiu the whole time, having the time of his life.

When Xiaomin learned that the celebrity she'd be assigned to was Lin Huaiqing, she was even less willing to take time off.

She had worked with big-name stars before—each one more arrogant than the last, harder to please than royalty.

Unlike Lin Huaiqing, who had such a good temper and great skin to boot—no need for thick layers of foundation to cover blemishes, saving a ton on makeup.

"Brother Lin, how do you keep ending up in projects with him? That's rough," Xiaomin said, referring to Fei Xiu, of course.

"Who knows? Anyway, let's keep our voices down when we badmouth him on set, so he doesn't hear us."

"Of course. But I heard Ji Jingzhao is also on this production. Aren't they a couple? Brother Lin, when you're not filming, stay far away from them—their CP fans can bite."

Xiaomin hated everyone by proxy—not just Fei Xiu, but also the extreme fans, and she wasn't particularly fond of Ji Jingzhao either, despite having no real interaction with him.

Xiaomin said it with a straight face, like she wasn't joking.

Lin Huaiqing hadn't been paying much attention to online chatter lately, so he didn't take it to heart.

He was just curious why Ji Jingzhao was on this production too—he remembered that in the original plot, Ji Jingzhao hadn't been in this drama.

Could his arrival have caused a butterfly effect?

Fei Xiu and Ji Jingzhao's CP popularity had been declining recently, so to solidify their fanbase, they'd squeezed Ji Jingzhao in at the last minute.

By the time Lin Huaiqing arrived at the set with Xixi and Xiaomin, sure enough, he spotted Ji Jingzhao in the crowd, signing autographs for fans off to the side.

Ji Jingzhao saw Lin Huaiqing get out of the car and waved him over from a distance:

"Over here, Brother Lin!"

Lin Huaiqing was wearing sunglasses, and with the crowd noise, he didn't hear Ji Jingzhao's voice at all.

He walked straight over to the director and producers, greeting them and the rest of the crew politely.

Then he found a seat and sat down.

But then, Ji Jingzhao pushed through the crowd and plopped down right next to him, his voice sweet and clingy:

"Brother Lin~ I was calling you just now, why didn't you even acknowledge me? We've shared a bed before, haven't we?"

Hearing Ji Jingzhao's words, Lin Huaiqing froze up. He thought:

Don't say stuff like that in front of your fans.

"Haha, really? I didn't hear you. Long time no see, you've gotten even more handsome, you."

"You know, when my agent told me the second lead was you, I immediately knew I had to get a role in this drama. And it ended up being the third lead! Perfect! I've been wanting to film with Brother Lin for ages."

During the time waiting for the ceremony to officially begin, Ji Jingzhao could talk up a storm.

But Lin Huaiqing wasn't born yesterday—he knew Ji Jingzhao was just being polite.

Everyone knew about his CP with Fei Xiu; he took the third lead role to make it easier for them to play up their ship.

Strangely, he didn't think Ji Jingzhao was being fake.

Because when the kid said those things, his eyes and tone were so sincere.

It didn't feel like he was lying at all.

After all, the two had spent time together on a live-streamed variety show, and Lin Huaiqing chatted casually with Ji Jingzhao for a while.

It wasn't until just before the ceremony was about to begin that Fei Xiu finally arrived in his luxury car, surrounded by bodyguards, fashionably late.

Lin Huaiqing kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

After all, he was a Best Actor winner—it was only natural he liked to make a grand entrance. But he also noticed Director Lu's darkening expression.

Starting off by causing trouble—this guy was going to be a pain later.

Amid the fans' cheers, Fei Xiu took off his sunglasses and waved back at them.

Lin Huaiqing turned to glance at Ji Jingzhao standing beside him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He thought:

Your man's here—why haven't you gone over yet? What are you still standing here for?

Next, the actors lined up in order of their billing for group photos with the director and crew.

As Fei Xiu passed by Lin Huaiqing, he only gave him a contemptuous glance before walking straight over to Ji Jingzhao standing next to him.

In a caring tone, he asked: "Jingzhao, how are you? Has your cold gotten better?"

"Much better already. What about you? I heard you just wrapped up your last drama not long ago, and now you're back on set—can your body handle it?" Ji Jingzhao said with a teasing grin.

Lin Huaiqing had no desire to be part of their little love fest. While the two were chatting away and the camera flashes were going off behind him, he just wanted to slowly sneak away.

It was probably the fans who wanted to photograph the two of them that were about to glare daggers at him.

But just as he had moved half a meter away, Ji Jingzhao pulled him back with surprising strength.

"Fei Xiu, do you know who the second male lead of this drama is? It's Brother Lin! Great, the three of us can finally film together!"

The smile on Ji Jingzhao's face looked sincere. Meanwhile, Fei Xiu beside him looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

As if he had encountered some kind of plague, he avoided Lin Huaiqing in front of everyone.

"We'll talk more over dinner. I'll go say hello to Mengmeng first." Fei Xiu left these words and hurried away.

"Who's Mengmeng?"

"She's the female lead of this drama! Brother Lin, have you read the script? You have quite a few scenes with the female lead. Why don't you go say hello too?"

Qiao Mengmeng was also the female lead of "The Vast Immortal Path," playing Lin Huaiqing's senior sister in the drama.

Strictly speaking, he should go over and say hello.

But since Fei Xiu had already gone, he wouldn't. Going over separately like this keeps things from being too awkward or too much.

It also spared certain narcissists from thinking he was trying to get someone's attention.

"The Vast Immortal Path" was adapted from the most popular male-targeted web novel of the moment, telling the story of how a nobody rises to become the supreme master of the immortal path.

The original was a male power fantasy about cultivation, leveling up, and revenge. After adaptation, some romantic elements were appropriately added to attract female viewers.

And the complex romantic entanglements were added to the male lead, female lead, and second male lead.