Dare to Take Me as a Stand-in? Are You Worthy?

Wen Xu was quite interested in hemostatic herbs, more specifically, the spiritual grass that Xie Qing had given him. After all, it was something from another world. It would be a really big surprise if they managed to grow a different plant with medicinal properties.

Wen Xu looked at the cute-looking green sprouts and began to think about the uses of the hemostatic grass after it fully matures.

With a satisfied smile in his eyes, he patted Xie Qing on the shoulder, “Let’s look forward to the results together. By the way, I noticed that Xie Ling will also be attending your show.”

“Yes, I’m going there just for him.” Xie Qing wasn’t hesitant about sitting on the ridge1 of the field. They had been having sunny days lately, so the ridge was dry. He wouldn’t get himself dirty when sitting on it. He patted the ground next to him and signalled for Wen Xu to sit down with him.

The two long-legged men sat side by side. Xie Qing picked up a piece of dead yellow grass and said in a low voice with his head lowered, “Ge, no matter how I try to persuade myself, there are some things I just can’t get over. Those people should pay the price for their actions.”

“I know.”

Wen Xu squinted his eyes, “So I’ll always be by your side.”

‘Just like how you protected me back then.

Now, it’s my turn to protect you.’

《Quickly eat, it brings happiness》 started filming a week later. Xie Qing signed up for three episodes with the program team at that time, but these episodes were in the middle of the season while other food bloggers appeared in the first three episodes. The program team would record one episode then air out one episode at the same time. Xie Qing sat on a sofa in the living room and watched the latest episode at double speed.

The format of the program group was that the three MCs, Xie Ling, Zhao Jing and Yu Shu would respectively propose the food that they want, then they would let the gourmet bloggers and chefs make it.

After watching an episode, Xie Qing had a general understanding of the three MCs.

Xie Ling was used to putting on a show. Even if he wasn’t satisfied with the food made by the guest, he would say something good about it.

Zhao Jing was more straightforward, saying ‘It’s not what I want.’ for his review.

Yu Shu was in a whole different category. He finds everything that other people made to be delicious.

This also caused almost all guests to skip Zhao Jing when choosing the dishes to make and just choose Xie Ling and Yu Shu. After all, who wouldn’t want to receive praises for their hard-made food.

Once the broadcast of the third episode was scheduled, Xie Qing was finally told that he could go to the location to film.

After Wen Xu heard about it, he drove a luxury car to the ground floor of Xie Qing’s rental house without saying a word and drove him to the TV station. When Xie Qing got out of the car, there was a silly mistake. The staff of the TV station happened to pass by and caught a glimpse of Xie Qing out of the corner of their eye and thought that they saw Xie Ling.

As a result, that ‘big star’ smiled slightly at them, “You’ve recognized the wrong person.”

That one sentence shocked the staff dizzy.

How did he recognize the wrong person?

Was he a little face blind? He shouldn’t be face blind, right?

Or did the big star think that he was some kind of fanatical fan and didn’t want to talk to him?

Countless questions flashed in that staff’s mind, so much so that after he entered the building, every time he met a colleague, he couldn’t help but babble and narrate to them what happened at the gate.

Ling Hongying brought Xie Ling to the TV station like the previous few times, but as soon as she stepped in, she heard someone shout in a puzzled tone, “Xie Ling?”

Ling Hongying and Xie Ling turned their heads almost at the same time. Finally, they spotted a man in his thirties looking at them with a strange look on his face. He had a staff card around his neck and it could be seen that he was an employee of the TV station.

In front of others, Xie Ling had always been very friendly. This made many actors and directors who had worked with him to praise him in front of the camera. It was precisely because of this that his fans could be proud, thinking to themselves that they are fans of an artist who was full of advantages.

He gave the other party a nod, “I am, what can I do for you?”

“… You’re Xie Ling. So the person who looks very similar to you just now wasn’t lying.”

The unexpected sentence made Xie Ling and Ling Hongying focus on the key point —— the person who looks very similar to you.

Xie Ling repeated these words between his teeth and for some reason, Xie Qing’s name came up in his mind.

But Ling Hongying didn’t think of it much.

There were not a few people in the entertainment industry who looked somewhat similar to Xie Ling. After all, Xie Ling’s face was quite popular. There were a few internet celebrities and 18-liners with impure thoughts who would especially get plastic surgery to look similar to Xie Ling to some extent. But it was just an imitation, so it looked disgusting.

Thinking of this, she felt a little more disgusted by the person who looked like Xie Ling from the staff’s mouth. Giving the staff a smile, the expression on Ling Hongying’s face was unclear, “I’m afraid you’ve recognized someone wrongly. Our Xie Ling just arrived. You also know how popular our Xie Ling is. Wasn’t there a hot search before? Of an internet celebrity who looks like Xie Ling?”

The staff member wasn’t someone who lived off gossip. Hearing this sentence, he could sense that Xie Ling’s manager seemed unhappy and her tone didn’t sound good. So he just smiled awkwardly, laughed and ran away immediately.

Ling Hongying scoffed and patted Xie Ling on his shoulder to comfort him, “Don’t worry, those counterfeit products can only be fakes.”

Xie Ling lowered his eyes in a thoughtful manner.

He thought that what Ling Hongying said made sense.

He subconsciously identified the person mentioned by the staff as Xie Qing. But why would Xie Qing come to the TV station? Why would he assume that that fool could recover? That would be a funny joke.

Thinking of this, Xie Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

…

Ling Hongying and Xie Ling walked into the lounge. The door was slightly opened and the cheerful laughter and conversation coming from the inside floated out through the crack of the door and entered their ears. It seemed that everyone was getting along well. Ling Hongying didn’t take it seriously. She was a person who had experienced a lot of things and knew how people might have one thing on the surface, but another on the back. How gentle and friendly they were smiling at you in front of the camera and how sarcastic they were out of the camera.

Pushing open the door of the lounge, she gave a smile, “Everyone arrived so early——”

Before she could finish speaking, the smile on Ling Hongying’s face froze.

She saw a person.

A person who looks exactly like Xie Ling.

Ling Hongying’s eyes were full of shock and her fingers on the doorknob remained motionless. It wasn’t until a minute or two later that she turned her head to look at Xie Ling who was behind her. Xie Ling looked surprised but there was a somewhat unexpected expression on his face.

Xie Ling had always disliked fakes that looked similar to him, but he had never been this stiff, in disbelief and with hatred in his eyes like today.

This person knew Xie Ling.

Such an idea jumped into Ling Hongying’s mind.

But who was this person?

Why did he look so similar to Xie Ling?

Countless questions flew through Ling Hongying’s mind. But she was an experienced manager, so she knew she had to keep calm at this moment. She patted Xie Ling on the shoulder with her palm and continued without changing her expression, “Everyone arrived early. Teacher Yu, you’re here too.”

Yu Shu had been standing beside Xie Qing for quite some time.

When Yu Shu saw Xie Qing for the first time, Yu Shu greeted him naturally. How natural he was, was how embarrassed he felt afterwards. But Xie Qing was a kind person. After explaining the matter to him kindly, Yu Shu unexpectedly developed a good impression of him. After chatting with him a while longer, Yu Shu realized that his favorable impression was spot on.

Yu Shu just smiled, “Yes, you guys aren’t late. What are you doing standing at the door? Why don’t you come in?”

As he spoke, he pointed to the people beside him, “You don’t know these guests yet, do you? This is Yanyan, Gu Sanshun and this is Fufeng, the gourmet anchor of Jingyu short video.”

As soon as the words fell, Xie Qing’s gentle voice came, “Real name, Xie Qing.”

Ling Hongying, “…”

Is this real right now?

It’s fine to look a lot like Xie Ling, but why do they even have similar names?

Ling Hongying’s probing gaze fell onto Xie Ling.

Xie Ling’s face had already uncontrollably turned dark. His hands that were hanging on the sides of his body were clenched into a fist as his nails embedded themselves in the tender flesh of his palms. He kept telling himself to calm down. But he really didn’t expect to meet Xie Qing here in the TV station and even in the same lounge.

What did this mean? It meant that they will be on the same show later.

Their first meeting after ten years came so unexpectedly.

But the loathing in his heart and his well-hidden fear emerged from the depths of his mind like shoots sprouting out of the soil.

Back then, a voice that suddenly appeared in his mind repeatedly told him that Xie Qing’s existence would take away everything from him. He was bewitched and persuaded by it, endured the fear and panic and tricked Xie Qing into being lost. Ten years later, seeing that Xie Qing was doing well with his adoptive parents, he hired someone to run over Xie Qing to death.

But Xie Qing didn’t die.

But from then on he became a fool and his reactions slowed down.

So Xie Ling didn’t make any more moves.

He threw the name ‘Xie Qing’ deep into the back of his mind and suppressed it with many things. So this name wasn’t easy to be dug out.

Because this name was the proof and symbol of his crime.

After all, Xie Ling was a real person. After failing that attack, he didn’t dare to do it again. After that car accident, he had nightmares for a month. The bloody scene and the suffocation he felt in the dreams couldn’t be expressed with words.

So, after confirming that Xie Qing would never pose a threat to him ever again, he chose to let go.

But he never expected that ten years later, Xie Qing would once again stand in front of him, alive and say in a mocking tone, ‘Real name, Xie Qing.’

He did it on purpose.

He was telling him.

Xie Ling opened his mouth, feeling flustered and out of words. Fortunately, at this moment, a voice in his head appeared on time:

[What are you so nervous about? I’ve helped you deal with the aftermath of everything you did. No one can find the evidence. What are you so anxious about?]

Yes.

Why was he anxious?

Even if Xie Qing revealed to others that he had harmed him, the police would only think that Xie Qing was joking.

Because Xie Qing had no evidence.

Thinking of this, Xie LIng took a deep breath and finally recovered. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, a voice came from behind him——

Zhao Jing arrived.

The veteran actor had kept a low profile as always, wearing a mask and no make-up. He didn’t even bring an assistant with him and walked towards the door casually like an ordinary person, “What are you doing standing here?”

“S-senior.”

After all, there was a gap between him and Zhao Jing. Xie Ling could be considered to be a newcomer who had just entered the circle. He hurriedly stepped aside to make way for him.

Zhao Jing stepped into the room without hesitation and raised his eyes which landed on Xie Qing.

He turned his head to look at Xie Ling and said in a calm tone, “Your brother?”

Xie Ling’s expression suddenly became extremely ugly. 

like those long bumps on fields where plants are planted