Since the role of “Bai Li Lian” couldn’t be reclaimed, Jiang Yin could only take on the compensation of the web drama he was offered.
On the following day, Wu Zhihua had the script delivered to them via chauffeur-driven car by the assistant assigned to them.
“Hello, Brother Chen. Hello, Mr. Jiang,” the new assistant was a young man in his early twenties. He was not tall in stature, with an honest and sincere appearance that made people feel quite favorable towards him. He introduced himself with a simple smile, “I’m Zhao Qianjin—Zhao from ‘Wei besieging Zhao,’ and Qianjin as in ‘advance forward.'”
Chen Dan sized him up with a glance, “Have I seen you somewhere before?”
Zhao Qianjin nodded slightly, “I used to study with Brother Huo’s team. I used to run errands at the company frequently and have met you a few times.”
“I remember now,” Chen Dan suddenly realized, a touch of surprise appearing on his face. Brother Huo referred to Li Huo, the only male artist among the company’s top five pillars. He had been in the entertainment industry for eighteen years. In this era where stars were all setting up their own studios, he had also become independent to some extent. However, out of loyalty, he still maintained ties with the company. His team was well-established, and even if Zhao Qianjin was just a peripheral errand runner, it was a pleasant surprise for them.
Chen Dan rose from his seat, shook hands with him, and gestured for him to sit.
Jiang Yin also had a positive impression of Zhao Qianjin, but how things would go depended on their interactions over time.
The pleasantries were temporarily handled by Chen Dan and Jiang Ai. As an intern assistant, she would need to communicate with Zhao Qianjin on many matters.
Jiang Yin, on the other hand, focused on his primary task and began reading the new script.
The script was titled “Late Discovery of Good Fate,” which sounded like a period drama. Jiang Yin first looked at the synopsis. It told the story of a woman in her thirties, considered past her prime, and a young delivery man’s romantic comedy.
The male lead being an idol drama delivery guy…
Seeing this premise, Jiang Yin was slightly taken aback.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to marvel at the screenwriter’s unique imagination or to sigh that web dramas indeed took unconventional routes.
And there was more to it. At the beginning of the script, the female lead went to the hospital for a routine checkup, only to be diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Jiang Yin: “…”
Continuing on, the female protagonist is deeply struck and distressed. In a state of panic, she goes to find her boyfriend, only to witness a scene of her boyfriend and her best friend in bed as soon as the script transitions.
Jiang Yin: “…”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Ai noticed his abnormal expression and asked in confusion.
Jiang Yin moved aside, gesturing for her to come over and watch together.
Jiang Ai picked up the Doraemon plush from the sofa and held it close, leaning in. “Let me see…”
“Starting with cancer? What’s going on?” She widened her eyes, a puzzled expression on her face, “Terminal illness romance? A sorrowful love song?”
Jiang Yin turned to the first page and showed her the classification: “It’s a comedy.”
Jiang Ai understood, “Then it’s definitely fake. Either there was a mistake in the hospital, or she picked up the wrong test results. It’s a cliché, but still quite interesting.”
Interesting? Jiang Yin felt a bit skeptical, especially as he followed the plot to find the scene of the boyfriend and best friend in bed. Novels written nowadays didn’t usually go this way anymore; it felt a bit outdated.
“Great, well done!” Jiang Ai suddenly exclaimed, “This is exactly how you deal with a scumbag!”
Jiang Yin continued reading. After the female protagonist’s shock, she immediately took out her phone to capture photos and videos, posting them on her social media. Then she grabbed her purse and hit the scumbag in the face. According to the script, the female protagonist had practiced taekwondo, so she beat up the scumbag before throwing him out of the house with only a thin blanket around him. She then cut off the bracelet she had bought together with her best friend and severed ties with her. Once she was dressed, they were both thrown out together. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Swift and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing this, Jiang Yin’s interest was piqued. At his age and career stage, he would inevitably take on roles in idol romance dramas, as he didn’t have the qualifications for major productions or deeply profound plots. Movies were even further from his reach. Therefore, he had recently watched all the trending idol dramas on the market, including Korean, Japanese, and Thai dramas.
He realized that the idol dramas that were popular in China mostly fell into the historical category, while contemporary dramas could only manage one successful piece per year at best. The scenes of Meteor Garden, the Taiwanese drama that everyone once watched had become history, and even the once immensely popular Korean dramas were gradually declining.
Approaching this with an exploratory and research-oriented mindset, he summarized the reasons behind this trend. There were primarily three points: First, the plot. The hottest IPs were overwhelmingly historical dramas, which had fewer constraints and allowed for more imaginative storylines. As long as the plot wasn’t overly melodramatic, it was less likely to go wrong. Contemporary dramas, on the other hand, were different. They needed to be relatable to the general public in terms of common sense and storyline, making them easy targets for criticism.
Secondly, there’s the matter of acting. Idol drama audiences undoubtedly want to see handsome men and beautiful women, but these good-looking actors often lack acting skills. Some manage to get through an entire drama with just a few facial expressions, leaving people speechless. Jiang Yin couldn’t help but lament that in his previous life, the palace maids and concubines with stunning looks had been born in the wrong era.
Thirdly, and most importantly, it’s about attitude.
A perfunctory attitude has become the norm. Actors are perfunctory, hastily completing their work for the paycheck, without bothering to proactively understand and learn the basic characteristics of their characters. Actors who once starred in idol dramas would even go to upscale restaurants to carefully observe how the upper class behaved. Nowadays, stars couldn’t be bothered to even study piano fingering techniques.
Writers, directors, set designers, and the entire production crew followed suit with this perfunctory attitude. Illogical and absurd plotlines, dragging and lengthy scenes, and attire that had nothing to do with the character’s personality all contributed to a string of lackluster productions.
Audiences aren’t fools; they can tell whether there’s sincerity or not. It’s just that fans, in order to save face, pretend to enjoy these dramas even when they know they’re not up to par.
So, Jiang Yin didn’t have high hopes for this drama, especially given its initial setup, which didn’t seem much different from the dramas currently on the market. However, after seeing how the female protagonist dealt with the scumbag, he found it somewhat intriguing.
Having studied idol dramas extensively, he understood that the era of the innocent and naive female lead was long gone. A straightforward, revenge-driven approach was something new and refreshing. The recent popularity of palace intrigue dramas proved this. While some of the plot elements in those dramas were criticized as absurd, it didn’t matter. What was important was that the audience found them enjoyable.
“I think this drama has the potential to be a hit!” Jiang Ai’s eyes sparkled the more she read.
The character of the female lead was absolutely to her liking!
Finally, there was an idol drama female lead who wasn’t innocent and naive or a Cinderella type. She was independent, strong, beautiful, owned a car, a house, and savings. She was everything Jiang Ai aspired to be.
Most importantly, her character wasn’t wishy-washy. Female leads who were willing to live and die for a man made Jiang Ai cringe.
“Really!” She held Doraemon close, her eyes gleaming, “The pairing of a young and handsome guy with a mature woman is fantastic! Jiang Yin, you have to act seriously!”
Jiang Yin carefully read through the entire script and began to believe in Wu Zhihua’s words. Although the beginning was a bit unconventional, overall, the plot was quite remarkable. There had been few dramas in recent years in China with the theme of an older woman-younger man relationship, especially in the idol drama genre, which tended to focus more on creating male idols than female ones.
Although the male lead being a delivery guy was a quirky choice, it wasn’t necessarily a drawback. He was young, good-looking, ambitious, loyal, and, from what he understood, delivery workers in real life didn’t earn a low income either.
Jiang Yin had begun to consider whether he should really become a delivery guy for a few days to experience it. It definitely wasn’t because he wanted to assess which restaurant was more authentic. Definitely not!
He tentatively mentioned this idea and was surprised to receive unanimous approval from Chen Dan and Jiang Ai.
“Go, go, go! As long as you’re willing, I can arrange it for you right away!” Chen Dan’s face was filled with the joy of being struck in the waist by happiness.
“Jiang Xiaoyin, you’ve grown up,” Jiang Ai said with contentment, as if she had seen her unassuming son earn some respect for himself.
Jiang Yin retorted, “Jiang Xiaoai, are you looking for trouble again?”
“Jiang Xiaoyin, you’re already a mature adult. You need to learn to control your temper,” Jiang Ai replied.
Jiang Yin: “…”
As if fearing that Jiang Yin would change his mind, Chen Dan immediately contacted the food delivery company that day. Their response was swift. By evening, all the necessary equipment had arrived, and they even sent a delivery guy responsible for their area to provide personal guidance.
When Jiang Yin saw the person, he smiled. He recognized him; he had been the one delivering his food for the past month. He remembered that the guy’s last name was Yu. Read this novel at novelping . com for the best experience.
The delivery guy was also surprised, “So it’s you. Hello, just call me Xiao Yu. Tomorrow at ten, I’ll come to find you. You can follow me then.”
Jiang Yin extended his hand, “We’re already familiar, no need to be so polite. We’re about the same age, so you can call me Xiao Jiang, and I’ll call you Xiao Yu.”
Xiao Yu smiled.
Jiang Yin was quite looking forward to his temporary career as a food delivery guy. He wanted to continue being an actor, and an important aspect of that was experiencing various industries. Even though it was just pretending, for him, who in his previous life only had the Emperor’s job as an option, this was quite intriguing. He was very eager to experience different lives.
If it weren’t for the fear of exposing his identity, he even wanted to try being a street performer with a flute, even if he wasn’t particularly skilled at playing it.
To the point that the next morning, he woke up before six. After breakfast, he enthusiastically put on the uniform, donned a hat and mask, and hurried downstairs. He intended to practice riding the delivery bike for a while.
With his stance, he turned the small delivery bike into a grand gesture, as if he were riding a luxury car.
In reality, Jiang Yin had always been interested in driving. However, the original owner wasn’t interested, even to the extent of not bothering to get a driver’s license. So he hadn’t brought it up, planning to wait for a suitable opportunity in the future.
Excitedly riding the delivery bike, he spun around on the roadside, passing by Jiang Ai and Zhao Qianjin back and forth.
Jiang Ai pulled out a pack of Wangwang crackers from Jiang Yin’s bedside table and shared them with Zhao Qianjin. “You’ve worked hard. In the future, please keep a closer eye on my brother. If he acts like this in front of the camera, make sure to rein him in.”
Zhao Qianjin nodded deeply as he watched his superior’s exuberant figure happily flaunting a video call with a friend. “Understood.”
The two of them crouched on the roadside, munching on Wangwang crackers, observing someone’s foolish antics.
When the actual day of work came, it was inconvenient for Jiang Ai and Zhao Qianjin to accompany him, and Jiang Yin didn’t want them to tag along either; it would be too exhausting. Waving goodbye, he began his day of apprenticeship with Xiao Yu.
On his first day, he couldn’t work independently. He mainly assisted Xiao Yu, observing his actions and the different reactions he encountered from customers. After all, he wasn’t really aiming to become a delivery guy; the most important thing was to observe.
In first-tier cities, food delivery workers rarely had breaks from morning till night, even meals were rushed. Moreover, it was July, and the midday temperatures were almost reaching forty degrees Celsius. Just moving a little would result in sweat, let alone spending most of the time exposed to the sun.
Jiang Yin’s initial excitement turned into exhaustion. By the end of the evening, his notion of leaving the entertainment industry silently was quietly put aside. If Xiao Yu, who had gone through university, was working this hard, then he, who hadn’t even attended university, could forget about it.
After delivering food for three consecutive days, his determination grew stronger.
On the fourth day, they finally had overcast weather. Jiang Yin was initially delighted at the cooler temperature, but around noon, heavy rain began pouring down, resulting in a surge of orders.
Even though Jiang Yin was taking orders assigned to Xiao Yu, he still had his share. After completing delivery for one restaurant after another, he looked like a drenched rat. When a passing car splashed him head to toe with water, Jiang Yin suddenly felt that his past self had been overly dramatic.
Whether it was in his previous life or his current one, he had always lived in comfort and lacked for nothing. Compared to the ordinary people, his struggles and sufferings were insignificant. He realized that his perceptions were shallow; he had thought the commoners were foolishly swayed by the regent, yet he had never understood their hardships or experienced their difficulties.
Jiang Yin was overwhelmed by emotions. Carrying a pizza box, he entered the residential complex. When he saw his disheveled appearance reflected on the elevator wall, he burst into laughter.
After a quick tidy-up, he knocked on a door.
Moments later, the door opened, revealing a surprised face.
Zhao Dashao?
Author’s Note:
Jiang Yin: Your food delivery guy is here for a delivery.
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