Sunlight prickled his eyelids. Lu Ren’s eyelashes fluttered before his eyes cracked open a sliver.
Dazed, he found himself staring straight into the harsh, blazing glare. He let out an immediate, agonized groan.
“…Fatty, pull the curtains,” Lu Ren mumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes as he grumbled softly. “What time is it even…”
A deep, magnetic voice sounded beside him.
“Eleven forty-seven.”
Eleven forty-seven… so it wasn’t even noon yet.
Whatever, he didn’t have any scenes to shoot today anyway. Lu Ren yanked the duvet over his head, burying his face into the pillow. “I’m gonna sleep a little…”
He froze mid-sentence, falling dead silent.
…Wait. Who the hell did that voice belong to? He’d never heard it before in his life.
The blanket wrapped around him was silky and soft not a trace of scratchiness against his skin. The pillow beneath his head was packed with some ultra-plush down that radiated a faint, delicate fragrance. Safe to say, this sure as hell wasn’t his rock-hard dorm bed…
Lu Ren’s eyes snapped open.
Then he snapped his head down to look.
A sprightly, fully erect “little Lu Ren” was cheerfully greeting his own deeply traumatized face.
Lu Ren, bunched up under the duvet: “…?!”
A hotel.
A complete male stranger.
And he was sitting there stark naked?!
Holy shit! Lu Ren’s mind went into total meltdown as a burning flush rushed straight to his face. Any lingering drowsiness vanished instantly; he bolted upright in a cold sweat.
Hoisting the blanket high to cover his bare chest, Lu Ren looked to his side in pure, unadulterated panic. The very next second, his eyes locked up completely.
Sitting a bed’s width away was a man casually leaning against the headboard.
Sunlight filtered through the crystal-clear windowpane, casting a soft, golden halo along the silhouette of his profile.
Even semi-backlit, the man exuded an indescribable, suffocating air of dominance. The sheer pressure radiating off him was overwhelming. Though they were both sitting down, the moment Lu Ren met those deep, unfathomable eyes, he felt like a tiny ant under a titan’s gaze.
Lu Ren swallowed hard, instinctively pulling the blanket up a little higher. “W-Who… who are you…?”
Even as he spoke, his eyes involuntarily drifted down to the man’s hands.
Lu Ren had a bit of a hand fetish.
This guy wasn’t just insanely handsome his hands were absolute perfection. Defined knuckles, fair, immaculate skin, with fingertips like sculpted jade. He was casually twirling a palm-sized black camera between his fingers, the movement oozing effortless charm and sex appeal… Wait.
A camera???
What in the world was going on here?
Did he just get caught up in a badger game trap?! Holy crap?!
Lu Ren’s brain was a chaotic mess. His first instinct was a toss-up between dialing 110 for the police or humbly begging the guy to tell him what he wanted.
Right at that split second, memories burst through the floodgates of his mind. A massive rush of fragmented images surged forth, bringing a pain so sharp it outdid the worst hangover of his life. Lu Ren clutched his head with a wince.
Three or four seconds later, Lu Ren lifted his head, trembling. “Y-Yin… Yin Beilin?”
Yin Beilin offered a noncommittal hum. “Sobered up?”
He turned around, closing the distance between them slightly.
His tone sounded teasing, but his phoenix eyes sharply upturned at the outer corners were ice-cold.
That single glance chilled Lu Ren straight to the bone. Every hair on his back stood on end. He forced out a dry, strained smile. “S-Sober…”
Sober didn’t even cover it he was so awake right now he wanted to jump out the window!
How on earth did he manage to transmigrate into a web novel?!
Although the memories were hazy and disjointed, Yin Beilin was no stranger to him. He was the male lead of the smash-hit Webnovel male-power fantasy Lu Ren had been binge-reading—The Male Lead’s Path to Best Actor.
Yin Beilin was built as the ultimate, all-around heartthrob lead—loaded with cash and drop-dead gorgeous.
When he made his acting debut in the cheesy blockbuster Wealthy Detective, he single-handedly elevated the garbage script. His performance as the cynical, playboy heir-turned-detective was sheer perfection, making him an instant overnight sensation.
And for one simple reason: Yin Beilin was actually rich in real life.
In the scene where the tycoon flies a helicopter over the city to shower the streets with cash, Yin Beilin had personally funded the swap from props to real US dollars.
From then on, just like the author’s hilariously straightforward title suggested, Yin Beilin launched straight into his unstoppable march toward becoming a legendary film king.
Granted, this kind of overpowered setup was common enough in male-centric web novels.
After all, the classic “underdog seeking revenge thirty years later” trope was way out of style. Plus, the author, Dongfang Zhuzhi, loved padding the word count with ridiculously juvenile subplot drama about industry feuds and backstabbing.
So why did this novel explode in popularity? It all came down to the male lead’s characterization!
Yin Beilin’s persona managed to carve out a brutal path of glory through a sea of generic, overpowered protagonists!
Even though The Male Lead’s Path to Best Actor was a typical male-oriented power fantasy reeming with stunning beauties, top-tier actresses, and alluring older women Yin Beilin broke the harem mold completely. He took the “stoic, celibate monk who lets readers bet on romantic stocks” route.
Still, how could a male-power web novel survive without a little romance?
So, even though Yin Beilin was practically asexual, the women in the story threw themselves at him nonstop!
Yet no matter how hard rising starlets, second leads, female leads, TV queens, or film queens tried to seduce him, the male lead remained completely indifferent. Unbothered by earthly desires, he focused entirely on building his acting empire.
In the end, amidst the adoring, smitten gazes of a whole roster of beauties he calmly, coldly walked up the steps to claim the ultimate acting award.
It was all about the flex!
It was all about that top-tier angst!
When Lu Ren first started reading the novel, he was just a college freshman. By the time he was a junior running around film sets as an extra, the massive web novel was closing in on seven million words and finally nearing its end.
The comment section was packed with readers placing heavy bets on various female characters, but even after Yin Beilin officially became the Film King, the author stubbornly dragged his feet, refusing to reveal who the endgame female lead would be.
Because of the shameless stalling, the comment section had long since turned into a dumpster fire. The top-voted comment read:
“Dongfang Zhuzhi is definitely a eunuch and a closeted gay guy. Case closed.”
Right below it, the second top comment:
“If you don’t pick Luo Jiuge as the final female lead, I’m literally going to reach through the screen and ruin your day. Just you wait.”
With so much vitriol spewed his way, the author likely developed a spiteful streak. He started dropping subtle rumors in the text that Yin Beilin had no interest in women because he was actually gay.
Then, just last week, Lu Ren read the latest chapter with absolute, soul-crushing agony a side character had popped up with the exact same name as him, character for character!
This side character was a sissified gay guy on the same film set. Driven by malicious intent, he drugged Yin Beilin and snuck into his room with a camera, intending to violate the male lead.
Naturally, his ending was utterly horrific.
Although Yin Beilin usually seemed detached and aloof, as a true male-fantasy protagonist, his methods for crushing cannon fodder were ruthlessly brutal.
And to rub salt in the readers’ wounds, the author deliberately wrote a mind-numbingly absurd scene just to piss off his hater base.
In the end, this cannon fodder named Lu Ren was stripped stark naked, drugged out of his mind, and forced to face a camera while getting thoroughly wrecked, sobbing out lines like: “Yin Beilin isn’t gay! Yin Beilin isn’t gay! I was wrong, I’m a brainless idiot, I’m the gay one, I’m the gay one!”
Lu Ren: “…”
What kind of sick freak writes that?! Who could possibly understand the pain of getting caught in the crossfire like this?!
It was an utterly toxic plot point—so vile it turned the entire comment section into a toxic wasteland, with countless readers threatening to drop the book.
Lu Ren couldn’t stand it either.
Yet out of pure habit, he kept reading the next few dozen chapters anyway.
Turns out, there was always a lower rock bottom.
The author went full brain-dead lazy mode, randomly introducing a brand-new side character who barely even shared screen time with Yin Beilin, only to have them sign a fake marriage contract.
At that point, Lu Ren truly couldn’t take it anymore.
He hadn’t even backed the popular film queen, Luo Jiuge his personal favorite was the gentle and elegant TV queen, Su Xi but the author’s outrageous stunt left him thoroughly disgusted.
Who could have guessed he’d actually transmigrate into the damn book?
And into this worthless cannon fodder, of all people!
Looking at the situation now, Lu Ren stared at the camera Yin Beilin was casually twirling, shivering uncontrollably… Had he already drugged Yin Beilin?
Had he already filmed it?
Was it already over?!
Lu Ren’s vision went dark. Getting dumped yesterday on top of having his acting roles cut was already a grim prospect for his future.
Now, it wasn’t just grim—he was looking at an active death sentence, damn it!
He couldn’t even force a fake smile anymore. Drenched in cold sweat, he didn’t dare move a single muscle.
Yin Beilin’s expression remained cool and composure-laced, looking every bit as impossibly handsome and unfathomable as described in the book.
Lu Ren had been plastered last night, leaving him with zero recollection of what he’d done.
Besides, he couldn’t even tell if it was him or the original host who had been in control…
If it was the original host…
The more Lu Ren thought about it, the deeper he sank into despair, his face slowly freezing into a numb mask.
…Honestly speaking, was it too late to just drop to his knees and beg for mercy right now?
Yin Beilin let out a low chuckle at the sight of Lu Ren’s soul-less expression.
That quiet laugh scared the daylight right back into Lu Ren, who snapped out of his daze and looked at the male lead in pure terror.
Yin Beilin had shifted postures at some point. Where he had been leaning sideways earlier, he was now sitting cross-legged, resting his chin on one hand anchored against the headboard.
The movement caused his already loosely tied bathrobe to gap open even wider, exposing a deep, daring V-neck. The contrast between the rich, dark fabric and his pale skin was striking.
Positioned so close, the moment Lu Ren caught sight of it, his eyes felt instantly scorched by the sultry view. He slammed his head down without missing a beat.
The very next second, the bed dipped slightly as a camera was dumped right into his line of sight.
Lu Ren’s face turned deathly pale.
Yin Beilin’s deep, magnetic voice echoed in the quiet room.
“Didn’t you go out of your way to film this?”
His tone was as cold as ever, but if Lu Ren had risked looking up, he might have caught the subtle trace of wicked amusement dancing across his face.
Unfortunately, Lu Ren was frozen like a timid chicken, head glued downward, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself at the fantastic mess you made yesterday.”
Lu Ren’s face drained of what little color it had left, the hairs on his arms standing straight up in sheer terror.
…Can I please not watch it? I’m begging you on my knees, big guy!
Lu Ren wept tears of despair in his heart, but on the outside, he didn’t dare refuse.
Under the crushing weight of Yin Beilin’s piercing gaze, his pale face remained utterly submissive as he reached out to pick up the camera—though his hands were trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.
The original host must have spent a fortune on this camera; it was a high-end foreign brand that looked insanely expensive.
Lu Ren fumbled with the buttons, following the prompt icons until he reached the video gallery page.
For a moment, he didn’t know whether to curse the original host for being an idiot or blame the author for writing such a brain-dead plot.
If you’re going to secretly record someone, fine, but couldn’t you at least use a pinhole camera these days?
Insisting on dragging in a full palm-sized camera if you don’t end up six feet under, who else would?!
Before long, Lu Ren found the “fantastic mess” Yin Beilin wanted him to see.
Mainly because it was impossible to miss the video cover thumbnail alone was outrageously explicit:
It was a thumbnail of his own stark-naked body.
The room lighting had been dim, but the high-performance camera clearly proved that you get what you pay for, capturing his image in crystal-clear detail.
It was hard to say if it was a weird coincidence, but this cannon fodder shared not only his full name, but his exact face as well.
The moment the video audio started playing, a rustling, intensely suggestive sound of clothes being stripped off filled the air.
Lu Ren’s face flushed bright red first, but soon devolved into a full-blown “disgusted old man checking his phone” expression, unable to bear watching “himself” seductively stripping down right in front of Yin Beilin.
In the video, Yin Beilin lay on the bed with his eyes shut, looking genuinely unconscious.
Fake. It was all an act.
Lu Ren’s hands shook as he held the camera. Don’t go over there…
Yet the original host did it anyway.
And if going over wasn’t bad enough, the next second, Lu Ren watched in utter agony as “himself” crawled onto the bed, knelt in front of the “unconscious” Yin Beilin, and began unwrapping a condom to put on his own tool.
Lu Ren: “…”
Lu Ren’s eyes went completely dark, his face morphing into a look of sheer, unadulterated horror.
Holy mother of god! The author didn’t write this part in detail back then… Was the original host actually trying to top Yin Beilin?!
Look at your own scrawny, unexercised body do you honestly think you could top a guy like him?!