“Knock, knock.”
Han Tang, who was still discussing with the system how to complete the mission more efficiently, was startled by the sudden knock on the door.
Man and system instantly fell silent, even though no one could possibly hear the thoughts echoing in their minds.
He hurriedly tidied up the paper where he had casually jotted down the points discussed with the system, then gave a light cough and said aloud, “Please come in.”
Zheng Qi paused for a moment upon hearing the somewhat familiar voice, but he did not dwell on it, assuming he was simply too nervous and experiencing illusions.
He made his final mental preparations, took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and carefully locked it behind him.
Whatever followed might turn out a bit troublesome, and he had no desire to blow the matter out of proportion.
Upon seeing who had entered, Han Tang felt a surge of surprise.
For anyone outside the scope of the plot characters, Han Tang never paid them much attention, but Zheng Qi was different. In the original novel, he could practically be considered the protagonist shou’s number one fanboy.
He remembered that the other person seemed to hold a rather poor opinion of him, so why would he take the initiative to come find him? Furthermore, he had even locked the door. Could it be that he had some important matter to discuss?
Meanwhile, the moment Zheng Qi laid eyes on Han Tang, he was so shocked that he nearly crumpled the script in his hand into toilet paper.
This! The president of the company actually… actually turned out to be the young man who had rescued him?!
Looking at Han Tang, who was seated leisurely in the president’s office and gazing at him with an inquiring look, Zheng Qi felt a complicated mix of emotions.
There was embarrassment and shame, faintly laced with a sense of anger and disappointment that he hadn’t even consciously realized.
He had first met Han Tang at a business banquet. Initially thinking it was just an ordinary gathering, he had never expected that his entire life was nearly ruined right then and there, and he only escaped because he happened to run into Han Tang.
At first, he had felt immensely grateful, but looking at it now, that encounter was very likely a self-directed act of playing the hero to save the damsel in distress!
Zheng Qi was extremely reluctant to believe that such an upright and luminous young man could actually be the legendary Han family young master who changed boyfriends like clothing, yet… he could find no reason to convince himself otherwise.
As it turned out, what he foolishly believed to be escaping a sea of suffering was merely leaping from a wolf’s den straight into a tiger’s lair!
“President Han, I am sorry, but I cannot participate in the drama The World.” Zheng Qi lowered his head, set the thick, crumpled A4 pages down across the desk, and spoke in a heavy voice.
The sudden apology left Han Tang momentarily baffled.
Why on earth was he apologizing?
Shouldn’t a desire to decline a script be communicated to his manager? What good was telling him, since he didn’t handle those matters?
However…
Wait!
The World sounded somewhat familiar.
Han Tang thought for a few seconds before a sudden realization hit him.
Wasn’t this the large-scale fictional historical political intrigue drama adapted from a novel that propelled the protagonist shou to overnight fame in the middle of the story?! Had casting really started this early?
On second thought, considering that some scripts required years of preparation, starting the casting process now wasn’t excessively early. After all, Director Su was a meticulous perfectionist, and carefully vetting every single role indeed required a fair amount of time.
What puzzled Han Tang was why Zheng Qi would turn down such a golden opportunity.
Even if Zheng Qi lacked his own god-eye perspective, Director Su’s capability was common knowledge within the industry.
A production bearing Director Su’s name was bound to be a masterpiece. Although this was Su Li’s very first time directing this specific genre, his reputation alone was enough to make countless actors break their heads trying to secure a role. Why would anyone push such a chance away?
He remembered the original novel vividly describing Zheng Qi’s deep passion for acting. Faced with such an outstanding script, he had no business rejecting it. Having read the original book, he also knew that Su Li’s script had been polished over many years and was destined to explode in popularity; the protagonist shou had also managed to firmly establish his footing in the entertainment circle precisely because of this drama.
Therefore, Han Tang asked with utter confusion, “Why do you want to turn it down?”
“President Han,” seeing that Han Tang was still playing dumb at this stage, Zheng Qi struggled to suppress the surging shame and anger within him until a bit of it finally leaked out, “I appreciate your kind intentions, but I only want to try making it on my own, and even if I fail in the end, I won’t regret it!”
Han Tang was startled by the other person’s suddenly elevated and nearly piercing tone.
Watching the other person’s cheeks and neck turn bright red, and hearing the heavy emphasis placed on the word “on my own,” he belatedly realized what had happened: the other person assumed that he wanted to subject him to unspoken rules, using the resources of The World as a transactional exchange.
Han Tang felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Having heard rumors linking him to the other person earlier, he had once considered going with the flow to boost his playboy persona. However, upon discovering that the other person had no such inclinations, he abandoned the thought entirely, never expecting that a misunderstanding had still occurred.
Besides, having already encountered the protagonist shou, he was bound by his persona to stick close to the protagonist shou every day, meaning he naturally wouldn’t engage in any such sugar-daddy arrangements.
Even if he hadn’t intended to pull anything—which he certainly didn’t—he wouldn’t be stupid enough to meddle with this particular script!
The World was the foundational production that solidified Shen Kui’s career as the protagonist shou. Was he out of his mind or suffering from amnesia to tamper with the casting of this specific project?!
He still wanted to complete his mission and return to his own world, thank you very much!
“Um, I think there might be a misunderstanding here. This has nothing to do with me.” Since he couldn’t reveal anything regarding the mission, Han Tang could only push the documents back across the table toward Zheng Qi and offer some sincere advice, “Since you received an audition invitation, the production team must believe you possess the capability. Please do not let go of this opportunity.”
How could a pre-judging Zheng Qi possibly believe him? If there wasn’t capital manipulation operating behind the scenes, how could he have possibly obtained these thick character background notes so early?
Especially since he had also learned that Han Tang was going to participate in the project himself.
This was Han Tang’s habitual tactic for pursuing people, except previously he only frequented film sets as a visitor, whereas this time he was actually going to act in it personally! That alone demonstrated his firm resolve!
Assuming that Han Tang simply hadn’t given up on his underlying intentions, Zheng Qi hardened his heart and pushed the documents back once more.
“President Han, regardless of whether it has anything to do with you, please forgive me for being unable to accept such kindness.”
Realizing that no amount of persuasion would convince the other person, who would only assume he still harbored illicit designs, Han Tang had no choice but to accept the documents and say with a helpless sigh, “Alright. Since you’ve already made up your decision, I won’t force you.”
The moment those words dropped, the man who had previously been strung as tight as a bowstring instantly relaxed. Han Tang felt a mix of relief and guilt.
He felt relieved because his persona acting was clearly turning out successful; he felt guilty because his rash intervention had indirectly caused the other person to miss out on such a magnificent opportunity.
The original novel mentioned that Zheng Qi was someone who truly viewed acting as his lifelong pursuit, and his mental state had only collapsed due to an unspeakable incident. Later on, following an unexpected turn of events, a heartfelt conversation with Shen Kui helped untangle Zheng Qi’s inner knot while simultaneously awakening Shen Kui to a deeper understanding of the acting profession, pushing Shen Kui’s acting skills to an entirely new level.
For someone capable of inspiring the protagonist shou, Han Tang never doubted that Zheng Qi possessed the talent to secure a role under Su Li. It was truly a pity for the other person to miss out entirely because of him, but seeing the intense anger directed at him and the look of a shattered worldview, Han Tang decided he had no choice but to let the matter rest for now.
Perhaps he could have his manager step in later to explain? Or perhaps think of some other method.
However, all of that was a matter for later.
After Zheng Qi departed, Han Tang’s curiosity was piqued regarding the script that launched the protagonist shou to overnight fame in the original novel, prompting him to flip through the pages casually.
He thought to himself that since he would be joining the cast later anyway—and though he had no idea what role he was slated to play—taking a peek at the script beforehand shouldn’t hurt, right… Ah!
Not looking until he flipped through it, but one glance gave him a fright.
“Ah, ah, ah! Did I remember things wrong? Isn’t the role of Baili Yan supposed to belong to the protagonist shou? Why did Zheng Qi receive an audition invitation for this role?!”
Could it be because the plot had been advanced?
Upon reflection, Han Tang realized it wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, in the original novel, The World only surfaced as a mid-stage plot development; right now, the protagonist shou Shen Kui was still a minor nobody suppressed by his agency, so how could he possibly catch Su Li’s eye?
Su Li probably didn’t even know that someone named Shen Kui existed!
Han Tang patted his chest as if surviving a disaster. Fortunately, Zheng Qi had taken the initiative to withdraw after misunderstanding the situation.
Given the special nature of the role, Han Tang dismissed any thoughts of persuading Zheng Qi further, resolving to compensate him properly if the opportunity arose in the future.
The system was similarly shocked, but as a system equipped with only scoring functions and partial auxiliary features, it could only respond to the host’s inquiries with silence.
Knowing that no answers would come from the system, Han Tang stopped dwelling on it.
With auditions looming ahead, the primary priority right now was ensuring that the protagonist shou secured the role of Baili Yan!