Chapter 83 - My Costar Is Impressive

The bachelor is a handsome guy, tall and trim with the kind of painstaking good looks that take a lot of effort and time to put together. 

His name is Jiang Zhan and he radiates smugness, overly conscious of his appearance, of the cameras on him, chasing the best lighting like a preening sunflower.

Like the female contestants, it's clear he's not happy about having to share his thunder with three actors all of a sudden, but unlike them, he's better about disguising his annoyance.

Jiang Zhan thinks it's only a matter of time until he becomes a star.

Yao Shen admires his confidence, maybe even envies it. He wishes he could feel that at ease in his own skin, so full of himself that it takes up the whole room. It's not a quality, but in an artist, it doesn't look out of place. It's even expected.

Yao Shen always feels as if he has 'just happy to be here' written all over his face.

He still doesn't know how he managed to land the role of Yan Shuyi.

Oh...

That's right, it was Xin Hulei -- Xin Hulei noticed him.

It feels significant somehow, even if Xin Hulei claims to have no memory of seeing his performance in the actor survival show, that he was the one who thought Yao Shen was right for the role of Yan Shuyi.

Jiang Zhan is saying some bullshit about how all the remaining contestants are so wonderful, and he has such a difficult decision to make, but Yao Shen is barely listening to any of it, hyperaware of Xin Hulei's presence at his side.

Compared to Jiang Zhan's blatant peacocking, Xin Hulei's confidence wafts off of him like good cologne, suffusing the air around him and turning heads with his mere presence.

Maybe that's why Yao Shen has a hard time imagining someone like him being hopelessly addicted to dating shows. 

It's much easier to compartmentalize whatever he's feeling if Xin Hulei is some flawless superstar ascended straight from the Underworld to conquer the masses, instead of Yao Shen's gorgeous, funny, costar with terrible taste in daytime tv.

"Everything alright, Yao laoshi?" Tan Liansi asks, her smile straining her rouged cheeks.

Yao Shen nods, arranging his features into a mask of bereavement. "I'm just overwhelmed by how hard a choice Jiang Zhan must make." He sighs and looks off camera, to where the contestants are seated. "I just hope that the two contestants who aren't chosen remember how special and talented they are, and that they will definitely find love, one day."

Jiang Zhan nods solemnly in understanding, while Yao Shen bites the inside of his cheek not to laugh. 

Maybe this isn't so bad if you just lean into the ridiculousness and stop caring.

"Yao laoshi is right, but I must make a choice," Jiang Zhan closes his eyes as a tense music rises up on the set.

After milking his closeup for as long as he can, Jiang Zhan finally sighs and hands Xin Hulei a heart shaped pen drive, resembling the 'Missing Piece of Love' logo.

Since they're special celebrity guests, one of them is supposed to go up to a stage and fit the pen drive into a heart-shaped monitor at center stage, that will then play the winner's favorite song -- which they will have revealed at some point during the show.

The pen drive Xin Hulei takes up to the statue might be a gimmick, but the computer is very much real, and connected to the large screens set up around the stage.

It was very easy for them to sneak in with an actual functioning pen drive with footage from the hidden camera. -- in fact, it was much harder to buy a pen drive in the first place, since these days no one really uses them that much.

Yao Shen holds his breath the entire time Xin Hulei is up there. Afew paces away, Tan Liansi's hands are clenched tightly into fists.

No one notices when Xin Hulei takes something out of his pocket and fiddles with the gaudy computer.

Everyone does, when instead of some song and cutesy visuals a black and white video starts playing, blown up huge on the monitors behind Xin Hulei.

In the audience, a lone figure in the back shoots up from his seat. Yao Shen watches his every move as he tries to make it to the emergency exits only to find them blocked.

Xin Hulei addresses the confused audience, as well as the befuddled contestants. 

"Quite by accident, me and my costars found a hidden camera in one of our hotel's empty rooms. That footage, which you're seeing now, altered to respect the victim's identity, has been shared in full with the police, who have already mobilized. We ask for your help in identifying and reporting the location of the remaining three men, since one of them has already been identified."

As Xin Hulei falls silent, the audience becomes aware of the sound of someone furiously tugging on the emergency exit's handlebar. Almost in unison, dozens of heads turn towards the source of the sound, finding a man wearing an expensive suit desperately trying to make his way out of the room.

One by one, cellphones start raising in silent judgement, their cameras aimed at the man and his sweaty, red face.

---

The last thing Xin Hulei does before walking backstage is addressing one of the cameras to thank 'Missing Piece of Love' for helping the victims get justice. He disappears behind a black curtain after that, and Yao Shen and Tan Liansi follow silently after him.

Everything is a blur afterwards.

Yao Shen faintly remembers Bi Jialu's shocked face, a volley of questions directed at the three of them, and Xin Hulei calmly answering everyone that the issue was now an ongoing police investigation, and that the three of them wouldn't be able to answer any questions.

After that he makes the decision of escorting the three of them towards the studio's garage, so they can leave as soon as possible, and before the media swarms in on them.

"We should try to arrive in Hengdian today," he says, looking at his watch.

It's prohibitively late, Yao Shen's mind reels when he looks at the time.

He can't believe they did it, his blood feels like it's running backwards. 

"It's a good thing that we'll be going back by train," Tan Liansi says, tapping away at her phone. "They'll be trying to ambush us at the airport."

"It pays to be environmentally conscious," Yao Shen says, looking at Xin Hulei's sculpted profile, still dazed.

He doesn't know if it's a good thing that they aren't alone, because if they were he would be climbing all over Xin Hulei.

The wild rush of adrenaline pumping under his skin makes Yao Shen lightheaded.

Suddenly, a voice Yao Shen hasn't heard in some time whispers up from the corners of his mind.

[That's what delivering justice feels like. Host used to do it all the time when he was a Ghost King. Rewarding the righteous and punishing the sinners.]

Yao Shen goes immediately still. Why is the System talking with him after such a prolonged silence?

He asked it questions directly several times and didn't get an answer, and now suddenly it's feeling chatty.

The System doesn't comment on Yao Shen's recriminations, instead it continues whispering into his mind.

[Host should forget the ambitions of his mortal life, and take back his position as Ghost King. Capturing Xin Hulei will give Host the necessary edge to win over the Ghost Kings trying to manipulate him.]

Ah, so much for saving the mortal realm and all that.

Yao Shen needs to work hard to school his features into neutrality, or he might give away the outrage he's feeling.

'What about you? Aren't you trying to manipulate me too?'

[This System has been trying to return Host his ghostly powers. All of the System rewards are nothing but the abilities all Ghost Kings have access to, but since Host is now human, they need to be awarded in the form of 'rewards' for surpassing bottlenecks.]

So, Yao Shen was right. 

He's in the middle of an Underworld power struggle with two sides trying to use him to their advantage.

Which only means that Yao Shen can't trust either of them.

[This System has never done anything to harm Host, nor will it ever.]

The car is quickly approaching the train station. Xin Hulei is staring at Yao Shen from the corner of his eye, aware of his odd behavior.

Yao Shen wants to put an end to the conversation, but he just has one more question for the System:

'What is going to happen if I 'capture' Xin Hulei? What will happen to him?'

[After capturing his spirit stone, Host will be able to send him to the Underworld, where he'll be used as a bargaining chip to force the demons attacking Youdu's walls to stand down.]

Yao Shen is speechless, in the two times he went to Youdu, he never got the impression that it was a city under siege.

He wonders if Xin Hulei knows. He wonders what he's doing in the mortal realm instead of helping the other demons conquer Youdu.

The System's voice grows frantic, as if afraid his big reveal isn't enough to sway Yao Shen -- and why would it? If Yao Shen has no memory of Youdu, no loyalty to a city he doesn't remember.

[Host doesn't need to kill him! After taking control of the spirit stone Host can do whatever he wants with the demon king.]