Yuan Wei stared silently at the green costume in front of him.
Even Chang Lun was speechless for a moment. He shook the clothes out in his hands and clicked his tongue.
“The costume… really isn’t great. But you’re just a stunt double anyway. They won’t even show your face directly, so just endure it.”
Yuan Wei turned his head and glanced at the bustling group of extras in the distance, clearly meaning that he’d rather wear their sour-smelling costumes than this green monstrosity.
Chang Lun said awkwardly, “Brother, I already promised them, so I can’t back out now, right? How about this, try it on first. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll talk to the director again.”
Yuan Wei accepted the clothes, nodded, and entered the changing room.
Thanks to Chang Lun, he actually had a private place to change clothes.
Chang Lun leaned outside the door, watching the busy film set and the pretty young actors powdering their faces. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow.
“You know, with your looks, if I put in a word with the director, I could probably get you an actual role. Why suffer here as a stunt double?”
Rustling sounds came from inside the fitting room, but Yuan Wei did not answer.
Chang Lun continued:
“Your Brother Chang doesn’t have much ability these days, but I can at least say a few words on a film set. Once you enter the entertainment industry, I’ll be your manager. When you become famous, we’ll split the money fifty-fifty. What do you think?”
Yuan Wei still said nothing, seemingly completely uninterested.
Chang Lun knocked on the door in frustration.
“Whether you become famous or not isn’t guaranteed, but while you’re still young, earning what you can is still better than suffering here as some thankless stunt double, right?”
The doorknob clicked, and Yuan Wei pushed the door open and walked out.
Chang Lun had just been about to continue speaking, but the moment he saw Yuan Wei dressed like that, he suddenly lost his voice.
Yuan Wei was tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. The fitted female martial arts costume looked unexpectedly heroic on him, carrying a dashing elegance that ordinary girls could not replicate.
Especially his waist. Cinched tightly by the narrow belt, it somehow looked even slimmer than the waists of the actresses passing by.
Chang Lun’s eyes lit up, but when he looked lower, he fell silent for three whole seconds.
Yuan Wei’s height had always been an advantage.
But here, it had become a disaster.
She looked at Yuan Wei’s bare arms and calves and twitched the corner of her mouth.
Looks like the outfit really didn’t fit. There was no way he could be a stunt double in this.
But then she thought about it again, and suddenly felt it was a good opportunity instead.
“Perfect, I’ll talk to the director and see if he can give you a small role.”
“No need. I’ll be an extra.”
Yuan Wei tugged at his collar and turned back into the changing room.
Chang Lun froze for a second, then sighed in frustration.
“You really came all the way here just to be an extra? Is there something wrong with your brain?”
Yuan Wei changed quickly. From inside the room, he said, “Get me an extra’s costume.”
Unable to argue with him, Chang Lun tossed in a relatively clean Japanese soldier uniform.
“Being an extra is exhausting and pays next to nothing. Why are you doing this?”
After Yuan Wei changed and stepped out, Chang Lun clicked his tongue. Yuan Wei looked much more natural in this outfit, but somehow it still felt off. He just couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong.
Right then, Chen Rui’an walked past with a script tucked behind his back. The moment he saw Yuan Wei, he frowned.
“He’s playing a Japanese soldier?”
Chang Lun knew the director well, so he immediately handed him a cigarette.
“He was originally set to be the female fourth lead’s stunt double, but the costume didn’t fit. He insisted on being an extra instead, no matter how much I tried to persuade him.”
Chen Rui’an took a drag from the cigarette and circled Yuan Wei twice.
“This won’t do, kid.”
Yuan Wei lifted his eyes.
Chen Rui’an continued, “With your face, wearing a Japanese soldier uniform makes you look like an undercover agent or something. More importantly, what Japanese guy is this tall?”
Chang Lun suddenly understood.
“No wonder something felt weird. Should we switch him into a Communist army uniform instead?”
Chen Rui’an blew out a ring of smoke and narrowed his eyes.
“You’re a good-looking kid. Interested in playing a role in the drama?”
Chang Lun was overjoyed.
“You idiot, the director’s asking if you’re interested! Say something!”
Yuan Wei replied, “Being an extra is enough.”
Chang Lun was so angry he practically started smoking from the head.
“Why are you so stubborn? You don’t even treasure the opportunity when it’s handed to you! Tell me, what exactly did you come here for?”
Chen Rui’an waved a hand.
“Enough, enough. His heart’s clearly not in it. No point forcing him.”
With that, he walked away with his hands behind his back.
Chang Lun sighed.
“Fine, fine. I’ll take you out and find you another job. Anything’s better than being an extra!”
Yuan Wei shook his head.
“No need.”
Chang Lun was helpless.
“What kind of obsession do you have? I knew something was off that day. No matter how I tried to persuade you, you wouldn’t speak. But the moment I mentioned the entertainment industry, you immediately wanted the job. So tell me already, what are you really here for?”
At last, Yuan Wei raised his eyes.
“To see… someone.”
“See someone?” Chang Lun was dumbfounded.
Su Youtian had never imagined that one day she would become an actress, and she definitely never imagined she would almost quit because of a costume.
When the assistant Shen Haolin had arranged for her brought the outfit over, she was stunned.
“What is this? Turtle shell armor?”
Assistant Xiao Hu: “……”
Trembling, Su Youtian shook the costume open.
“Why is it green?! Wouldn’t fighting the Japanese in this make me a walking target?”
Xiao Hu said, “This one’s actually not bad. There are also red, orange, yellow, cyan…”
“Stop, stop, stop!” Su Youtian clutched her chest and cut her off. “Fine, I already know the next colors are blue and purple. What exactly am I acting in? A Rainbow Flower Anti-Japanese Legend?”
Xiao Hu burst out laughing.
“Sister Xia, you’re really funny.”
Su Youtian sighed, clutching the outfit in her hands as she called out to the system in her head.
“System, why haven’t you assigned me a mission yet?”
【……What mission?】
“A costume mission! Like making me put on the costume within one minute. Or take it off within five seconds. I can accept any mission as long as it’s a mission!”
【I’m not wasting missions on something this trivial.】
“How is this trivial?” Su Youtian said righteously. “If I don’t wear the costume, I can’t act. If I can’t act, I can’t enter the entertainment industry. If I can’t enter the entertainment industry, how will I meet the heroine? And if I don’t meet the heroine, then how will I…”
【Shut up! Electric shock!】
Su Youtian shrank her neck and reluctantly pulled the costume on.
But when she tied the belt at the end, it felt oddly tight.
Lowering her head to look at the waistline that had thickened quite a bit recently, she fell silent.
“Did I gain weight?”
Xiao Hu hurriedly said, “No, no! Your figure looks perfect.”
Su Youtian was very pleased to hear that. She nodded, just about to head out, when a props assistant knocked and entered.
“Almost forgot your weapon.”
With that, he handed the prop to Xiao Hu.
Xiao Hu accepted it and froze for a second. Hesitantly, she passed it to Su Youtian.
“Sister Xia, your prop.”
Su Youtian took it and looked.
It was a shield.
A green shield.
The green was fresh and natural. When she flipped it over, there was a mesh pattern on it, perfectly regular hexagons evenly distributed across the surface, making it look even more fashionable.
Su Youtian: “……”
She collapsed on the spot and slammed it down.
“I’m still a fairy-like young lady, okay?! Why would you do this to me?!”
By the time she came out, Shen Haolin had already been waiting. The moment he saw her, his eyes lit up.
“So beautiful!”
Su Youtian seriously suspected he had gone blind from looking at her. Saying something like that while looking at her current appearance, didn’t his conscience hurt at all?
Shen Haolin spared no effort praising her enthusiastically. From her styling to her props, he was already envisioning her explosive rise to fame. She would definitely overpower the other rainbow-colored sisters in the same production.
Su Youtian was getting annoyed from all his chatter, but since she owed him a favor, she had no choice but to play along politely.
She did not know if it was just her imagination, but whenever she talked to Shen Haolin, she felt a gaze stabbing into her back. Yet every time she turned around, all she saw was a crowd of extras.
Su Youtian awkwardly rubbed her back and slung the shield behind her. Only then did she feel a little better.
She exchanged a few polite words with Shen Haolin. Since he still had things to do, he left first.
Su Youtian drooped her brows and wandered over to a corner wall, found a shady spot, put the shield under her butt, and sat down.
“System, do you have some kind of cheat ability? Something that could instantly make my acting skills explode and let me amaze everyone?”
【I’m only a plot system. I don’t provide cheats.】
Su Youtian curled her lips.
“Heh, useless trash.”
She sat on the shield bored out of her mind, spinning left and right with her butt as the axis. After turning around for a while, she got bored again and started sighing.
“What sin did I commit in my past life…”
She had thought she would shine brilliantly in the entertainment industry, but before she even began, her spirit had already died. If she became famous in the future, how was she supposed to face this dark green chapter of her history?
She kept sighing.
Then suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a foot.
Su Youtian jumped in fright and leaned forward. A man wrapped head to toe like a mummy silently stared back at her.
Su Youtian: “……”
Man: “……”
Startled, she nearly fell flat onto the ground, luckily the man caught her hand.
Su Youtian gave an awkward smile.
“Thank you. Did I disturb you?”
The man withdrew his hand and slowly shook his head.
Looking at his outfit, Su Youtian guessed he was an extra. It was her first time coming into contact with this profession, so she was extremely curious. Seeing how tightly he was wrapped up, with even bloodstains splattered across the bandages, she could not help asking:
“Are you playing a Communist soldier?”
The man nodded. Only a tiny slit was visible on his face, she could not even see his eyes clearly.
Seeing how much more heavily covered he was than herself, Su Youtian could not help saying:
“You guys must have it hard. Especially in weather this hot…”
The man shook his head, indicating it was not hard.
Su Youtian knew there was no such thing as an easy job in this line of work. Suddenly, she remembered that she herself had entered through connections. Didn’t that mean she had squeezed someone else out of a spot?
Being an extra was already tough enough. What if the person she displaced was a young girl who had finally clawed her way up from being an extra?
What a sin.
She poked at the dirt mound on the ground with her finger.
“If I had the choice, I’d rather not come at all. Being an actor may be a lot of people’s dream, but after coming into contact with it, I realized nothing is easy. I shouldn’t have only looked at the glamorous side of it.”
The man silently looked at her without speaking, yet he somehow had the ability to calm people down.
Su Youtian could not help curiously sizing him up.
“You’re pretty tall. Why are you in this industry? Is it because of a dream? Or love?”
The man remained silent, his gaze shooting straight at her through the narrow slit.
Seeing that he still had not said a word after all this time, Su Youtian assumed he was shy, so she stopped pressing him. It was the first time she had talked to a stranger for this long, and she could not help feeling more relaxed.
She looked up at the blazing sun overhead, then lifted the turtle-shell-like shield from under her butt and placed it on top of her head.
“This feels cooler. Oh right, my name’s Sheng Xia. What about you?”
The man tilted his head slightly, as if sizing her up. After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Mung bean.”