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

Meng1 Jie, Yu Kaize’s manager, hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep for a while. He thought that the matter would be over after they got in touch with the people on Liao Yu’s side. 

The results? They ignored the second recording.

Meng Jie’s head buzzed as he leaned on the sofa in the studio. He looked at the ceiling above his head blankly, as if a little villain2 who looked exactly like Yu Kaize appeared right in front of him. He stretched out his hand to slap the illusion that came out of nowhere.

The assistant Xiao Xu couldn’t take it anymore. He took a glass of water and handed it over to Meng Jie.

Meng Jie took a sip of water and sighed, “I’ve told him before, ‘Since Xie Ling doesn’t like you, you should just accept it. Otherwise, something big will happen sooner or later.’ Yu Kaize just never listens, thinking that Xie Ling would be moved by him sooner or later. How disgusting!”

Xiao Xu didn’t know why but despite their current bad situation, he still laughed inexplicably when he heard Meng Jie’s last two words. Fortunately, his sanity was still there and the corners of his mouth soon fell right after being raised.

He asked, “So, in that recording, who was Yu-ge talking about?”

Meng Jie rolled his eyes.

Now here lies the problem.

Meng Jie also didn’t understand why Yu Kaize would say such things when he was drunk. He still had to mention it to the same person. The most troublesome thing was that in the first leaked audio, Yu Kaize directly named the other person’s identity, making it easier for them to deal with the matter. The second one though, was different. He had been talking to himself the whole time, turning over everything upside down. He talked about all the bad things he did but he didn’t mention who the target was.

When he asked Yu Kaize, Yu Kaize didn’t say anything.

Based on his understanding of Yu Kaize after working with him for five years, there’s a high possibility that Yu Kaize had already long forgotten that he had said such a thing. He probably didn’t even remember who he was talking about.

After all, as soon as someone in the circle showed even a little different thought for Xie Ling, pursued Xie Ling a bit more aggressively or Xie Ling responded to the other party a bit more, Yu Kaize would act as anxious as a cat with fried3 hair.

Netizens might not know, but Meng Jie was well aware——

People like Liao Yu who were targeted by Yu Kaize couldn’t be counted even with both hands.

Meng Jie gulped down his large glass of water and said with a blank expression, “Play dead. After a while they’ll forget about these things. Aren’t all netizens like this? We’ll be fine.”

Xiao Xu just gave out an ‘ah’ twice, thinking what Meng Jie had said made sense. However, five minutes later, he held up his mobile phone and smiled awkwardly at Meng Jie, “Meng-ge, this matter… it seems that it can’t be resolved by playing dead!”

Meng Jie stretched his neck to look and his vision went dark.

“You’ll eventually have to pay for what you said, that’s it.”

…

…

Shortly after the second audio was mentioned, several well-known and lesser-known artists in the circle popped up to claim that they were the people Yu Kaize mentioned in the audio.

A kind person helped to count and the number of those claiming to be victims reached eighteen people.

Although there might be some people that were fishing in troubled waters4, it was still enough to show that Yu Kaize wasn’t really a good person.

Seeing this miraculous development, the black fans of Yu Kaize and passers-by almost fainted from laughter. The ex-fans who removed their fan titles didn’t care anymore about the sourness they initially felt in their hearts after loving Yu Kaize for several years and finding out that he was scum, instead they were all stunned.

[This magical reversal really made me laugh to death. How could this be so funny?]

[This move, this move is definitely Xie Ling trying to act as a mediator to save the relationship between Yu Kaize and Liao Yu. Who knew that Yu Kaize would turn out to be an absolute pig teammate5.]

[Eighteen people came out to claim that they were victims… There’s still an actor among them whom I like very much. Is this real?]

[Let me present an award to Xie Ling, you’re now the new Daji6!]

[What the hell? Hahahaha! The clarification statement was posted on the front foot that stripped fans off of their fan status and now eighteen people claim to be the victims on the back foot. My God, Yu Kaize, you really are a treasure-gege7!]

[Since everyone is scolding Yu Kaize, then let me say something else. Liao Yu, are your eyes covered with sh*t8? Yu Kaize had plotted against you like this and you can still shake hands with him? His thoughts, Laozi can see them from here!]

[Poster upstairs, everyone knows that the power of love is the most powerful thing there is.]

[A small gossip. It’s because Liao Yu hasn’t caught up with Xie Ling, that’s why he agreed with this arrangement. This is to leave a good impression in front of Xie Ling.]

For three days in a row, the entire internet was discussing what type of person Yu Kaize was in private. At the same time, the love and hatred between Xie Ling, Yu Kaize and Liao Yu, along with those artists that came out, attracted many people. There were endless streams of ridicule.

Someone summed up the situation that was happening at the moment.

Yu Kaize: Wants to be cold9.

Xie Ling: The calamitous beauty of the entertainment industry.

Liao Yu: A humble licking dog. Maybe he won’t have anything left after licking (a question mark needs to be added here)

Other artists that were targeted by Yu Kaize: Pitiful little flowers10.

Xie Qing watched the battle on Weibo that went on for three days at home. During this period, he had also received a call from Liang Hong’s studio. Liang Hong had kindly asked him if he would like to go and work in their studio. After being rejected by Xie Qing without hesitation, he quietly asked if there were any other revelations. This time he had conscientiously offered that he would buy it with money.

Xie Qing didn’t give him a definite reply but said meaningfully, “Depends on the future opportunities.”

These simple five words made Liang Hong immediately stand in awe.

‘What does this mean? Does it mean that this enthusiastic netizen has a lot of material in his hand?’

Liang Hong immediately replied, “Okay, okay! You can find me if you need anything in the future.”

Xie Qing hung up the phone and smiled. He wasn’t talking casually. Xie Ling’s group of suitors that couldn’t obtain him11 would always come to him12, thinking that he was a fool who didn’t understand anything and dared to say everything in front of him. Unfortunately for them, those scenes were all recorded by 034 and it just so happened that Xie Qing had asked 034 for those recordings before he returned.

‘You can all come one by one, there’s no need to rush.’

In the evening, Xie Qing continued to record videos of himself cooking as soon as dinner time came, the same as the past few days. Fans on the short video platform praised him for being particularly motivated recently. In the past, he would usually post two videos a week. But now it was almost one video per day. The most important thing was that Xie Qing never spoke in the previous videos, but it was different this time.

Fans were so excited that they wished they could crawl into the video to see what Xie Qing looked like after hearing his voice that they had imagined countless times.

Xie Qing hadn’t gone back home tonight and only made dinner for one. Since he wasn’t in good health, he ate a relatively light dinner. He simply cooked pork ribs soup and rice. He added corn to the pork ribs soup and stewed the soup until the ribs were so soft that meat could be easily removed from the bone13.

After eating most of the bowl of rice, Xie Qing searched through his storage ring for a while until he finally found a pill that nourishes blood and qi.

There were many treasures in the storage ring. The things inside included a lot of pills and porcelain, all of which were collected by Xie Qing in the cultivation world. His real body had suffered a lot, so it would be a good idea to supplement himself with some pills.

After tidying up the things in his house, Xie Qing listened to his parents’ suggestions and went out to wander around. A couple walked past him with their young son. As Xie Qing looked up, he happened to meet the eyes of the child that turned his head back. The child waved at Xie Qing without any shyness.

Xie Qing pursed his lips and waved back with a smile.

The evening heat that night couldn’t stop the enthusiasm of the residents. Xie Qing sat on the sides of a big flower bed and quietly watched the aunts who were dancing14 in the square. Speaking of which, in order to take care of him and Gu Mingguo for so many years, his mother had no time to do what she liked. When he was young, Xie Qing remembered hearing Gu Mingguo proudly announce that Zheng Jie had learnt to dance.

At that time, Zheng Jie would be embarrassed and push Gu Mingguo aside.

Thinking of the things that happened more than ten years ago, Xie Qing couldn’t help but close his eyes and smile. It was also at this time that a figure sat down beside him who was under the streetlamp. Xie Qing subconsciously turned his head to look and met a pair of dark eyes.

The other person looked like an old man in his eighties with grey hair and a beard. His eyes, however, looked extraordinarily bright. At first glance, there was no fatigue of the elderly in him at all. The other party looked full of energy.

The old man looked at him up and down for a while and stroked his beard, “Young one, you don’t seem to be in good health?”

“Are you a doctor?”

“A doctor specializing in traditional Chinese medicine.” The old man waved his hand and looked at Xie Qing with a smile that Xie Qing couldn’t understand. Without waiting for Xie Qing to say anything, the old man spoke once more, “I feel like you look strangely familiar, young child.”

Xie Qing understood.

Even though he didn’t have a good relationship with Xie Ling, he wouldn’t be angered by this matter. He just smiled and said, “You mean that big star Xie Ling, right? We do look a bit alike.”

The old man smiled without saying a word.

Soon, more people came, but Xie Qing didn’t feel uncomfortable. The two old and young sat on the edge of the same flower bed as they looked on towards the lively scene in front of them, occasionally saying a few words. It wasn’t until the aunts dancing in the square turned off their music and prepared to leave that the old man stood up straight with his hands behind his back, also preparing to leave. He looked back at Xie Qing.

“Boy, come find me in the city hospital if you have time. My surname is Zhou.”

“Thank you, I understand.”

Watching the old man leave, Xie Qing noticed that it was getting late, so he walked back home.

At this moment, Elder Zhou15, who had wandered back to the building next door, slowly took out his mobile phone and dialled a number, “Stinky boy, I saw a young man who looks very similar to that Xie Ling. Around twenty-seven to twenty-eight. Is that the person you are looking for?”

There seemed to be a slight pause from the person on the other side, “Are you sure?”

“They look exactly the same. I believe that they are twins. There’s a mole on his face, I believe you young people call it a tear mole? Anyways, he’s much more comfortable to look at than that big star. It’s just that his body doesn’t look very healthy. His face looks pale and weak at first glance.”

“Where are you now? I’ll be right over.”

“Why not tomorrow? You can go find me directly tomorrow.”

After Elder Zhou finished speaking, he noticed that the other party was a bit hesitant and reluctant. The old man rolled his eyes towards the sky and said angrily, “This old man will drag him to the hospital tomorrow. You can wait there.”

“That’s great. Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s fine. Your patronage can be counted as labour fees16 for me.”

…

…

The night fell and the crowds in the square dispersed. The area around the apartment building was empty, except for the occasional meowing of a stray cat.

Xie Qing leaned against the wall of the stairwell as coldness pierced through his thin shirt into his skin.

He raised his eyes and looked at Yu Kaize in a casual manner.

Xie Qing wasn’t at all surprised to find Yu Kaize there. It just so happened that as he was about to go upstairs, Yu Kaize, who was dressed in black and was wearing a mask with the words ‘going to do bad things’ written all over him, had rushed towards him, grabbing his arm and pressing him against the wall.

The eyes exposed above the mask were bloodshot and filled with evil, “Xie Qing, is this what you mean by a meeting ceremony gift?”

The hand around his neck tightened, making Xie Qing felt particularly uncomfortable. He raised his eyes slightly, feeling a bit suffocated. Yu Kaize was so angry that he completely ignored the reaction of the person in front of him.

Rather, even if he realized it, Yu Kaize still wouldn’t let go of his hand.

He even wanted to kill Xie Qing.

Xie Qing had caused him a lot of trouble. Fans let go of their feelings for him and he received a continuous stream of ridicule on the internet. Additionally, it caused Xie Ling to look at him with a bit of disappointment.

All of this was because of Xie Qing.

“You really hate me that much? Hate me to the point of wanting to destroy me?”

“Shouldn’t I hate you? You’ve got me in a wall choke against the wall of the emergency exit of my apartment building.” Xie Qing’s voice was hoarse, but his lips curled up slightly, “For your own selfish desires, you treated me as Xie Ling. Finding someone to be a stand-in who looks exactly like Xie Ling, does it make you feel like the two of you can be affectionate?”

Looking at Yu Kaize’s face, he asked softly, “Have you people ever thought about how I would feel? Have you thought about how Xie Ling would feel? Additionally, using my parents to threaten me?”

“That’s what Li Youbai, that st*pid c*nt, did!”

“That’s why, Li Youbai would have the same ending as you.” Xie Qing said calmly, “The things you all are so proud of. Your reputation, family background and dignity, I’ll trample it all down, step by step.”

Yu Kaize was stunned yet shocked and amused at the same time.

What stunned him was the fact that Xie Qing, a fool, dared to say such a thing.

The funny thing was, does he even know what he’s talking about? Did he take himself seriously?

However, before Yu Kaize could mock him, the smile on Xie Qing’s face deepened.

Yu Kaize noticed this and a bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.

Immediately afterwards, Xie Qing’s voice sounded once more, “You’ve been to my house so many times. But you haven’t noticed that the police station is right next door, right?”

There was no time for him to react as the door behind him was suddenly kicked open from the outside, followed by loud voices. A hand was then pressed on Yu Kaize’s shoulder.

“What are you trying to do?!”

Yu Kaize staggered from being held. When he fell back, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of his eye.

It was Liang Hong.

At the same time, a few young policemen in uniform stood on top of him.

And Xie Qing, who had escaped from his grip, lightly touched his already purple neck and said in a hoarse voice, “Officer, I want to report a crime. This person has broken into my house several times and harassed me.” 

1

Frankly in this chapter he’s called Sheng Jie instead of Meng Jie, but later chapters used Meng, so let’s go with this

2

more like a chibi

3

like with all its hair up

4

taking advantage of the chaos

5

teammates that hold you back instead of helping you

6

said to be a woman that was so beautiful she captivated rulers and turned them into a fatuous ruler. Some say that she’s the incarnation of a fox demon

7

like a treasure chest… full of surprises… like a cursed goblet or sth

8

Well now a familiar sentence… my family uses this saying a lot. They’d also say ‘did I step on your tail’ if someone were to fight with someone. Of course they would answer with a ‘Yes, you stepped on my tail’

9

like lose everything. His support and love from fans in the industry, from everyone around him

10

the raws used only ‘xiao kelian’. Should be ‘little pitiful’ but I felt adding the word flower seems better

11

Xie Ling

12

Xie Qing

13

my fav soup to make back when I was in uni and living alone…

14

Xinghe is experiencing culture shock rn~ Xinghe didn’t know people actually did this irl~ It’s called square dancing. Back when I lived in uni dorms, I used to walk to the nearby supermarket… Next to the supermarket was this huge empty lot that the elderly would go to to exercise together…

15

Truthfully, the raws said Elder Jiang, but in his intro and later chapters he’s named Zhou instead… So I’ll just change this to Zhou

16

UM3: NOOO! The old man seems nice at first!!! Is he going to hurt our baby XQ??? Me: No no rest assured~