Did Assistant Xie Make the Trending Searches Today? - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rebirth

When Xie He-ting woke up, he found himself soaking in a white porcelain bathtub.

Shivering, he climbed out of the water and found a large piece of cloth to wrap himself in. His mind was chaotic as he stumbled into a place that looked like a bedroom. Only after lying down for a while did he start to feel a bit more clear-headed.

Gazing at this strange room, the usually easy-going Young Master Xie wanted to cry but had no tears. His pale little face crumpled together, and his heart felt as bitter as the taste in his mouth.

In earlier years, he had heard storytellers say that those with great destiny would, after death, possess the body of someone who had just passed away.

This young man named “Xie He-ting” seemed to have died not long ago. To his surprise, he had ended up taking advantage of the situation.

However, the memories the original host left him were pitifully sparse. Aside from knowing his name, how many people were in his family, his occupation, and a few friends, all other information consisted of fragmented snippets.

Xie He-ting looked around blankly; this territory was so foreign it left him at a total loss.

“Di-di-di-di—”

A piercing sound rang out. Xie He-ting shuddered in fright, his reddened eyes darting around frantically. It took a good while before he found the source of the noise—it was a flat little square box vibrating incessantly, with a green thing jumping up and down on it.

Xie He-ting’s Adam’s apple rolled. He cautiously shuffled toward the glass coffee table and poked it with a chopstick.

The box continued to vibrate on its own, offering no other reaction.

“Could it be a dead object?” Xie He-ting murmured.

Just as he was hesitating over whether to pick the thing up, the box that had been “di-di”-ing non-stop suddenly fell silent.

Xie He-ting breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize his forehead was drenched in sweat. Before his heart could settle back into his chest—“Ding-dong— Ding-dong—”

The pitch-black main door was screaming too! Just as Xie He-ting felt his heart leap into his throat, he heard an unfamiliar male voice shouting anxiously: “Xie He-ting, are you home? It’s me, Jiang Ye.”

He had a memory of this “Jiang Ye”, he was one of the original host’s few friends.

He stood up to open the door, but the latch in this place was incredibly strange; it took a lot of fumbling before he finally got it open.

The moment the door cracked open, a figure wearing a hoodie flashed inside.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you picking up the phone while you’re at home! If the paparazzi caught a photo of this, Sister Xia would scold me to death!”

Phone? Was he talking about that box monster that was screaming earlier?

From the sound of it, it was used to contact others. Xie He-ting silently noted this term in his heart.

Jiang Ye was originally prepared to complain more, but once he saw Xie He-ting’s appearance, his voice stalled. He scanned him up and down: “What happened to you? Are you sick?”

The young man before him had shoulder-length curly hair stuck messily to his face. A heavy pair of black-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and he was draped in a quilt. Water was dripping from his hair and clothes, he looked like he had just been fished out of a river.

“It is nothing.” Xie He-ting loosened the quilt and straightened his hair and clothes before asking, “What business do you have?”

Jiang Ye was amused by his tone: “Yo, why are you talking so formally? Are you possessed by a ghost?”

Xie He-ting’s hands, hanging nervously at his sides, uncontrollably clenched into fists.

Was he found out?

Would he call a Taoist priest to bind his soul and take it away?

Xie He-ting quietly took a step back toward the front door. He had just learned how to open it; if Jiang Ye showed any sign of trouble, he could run out immediately.

Jiang Ye didn’t seem to notice anything unusual and went on: “Anyway, let’s talk business.”

Xie He-ting carefully observed Jiang Ye’s expression. It didn’t look like he had discovered anything wrong. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief but remained on guard. Fearing he would expose himself the moment he spoke, he remained silent and waited for Jiang Ye to continue.

Thinking about what he had to say next, Jiang Ye felt a bit embarrassed: “Ahem, it’s like this. You know I was originally supposed to participate as a guest in that same-sex live-stream dating show you’re in charge of. But Sister Xia negotiated a really great script for me, and the schedules clash…”

Meeting Xie He-ting’s clean and clear gaze, his tone softened as he said with difficulty: “So, can you take my place as a participant? The director’s team has already agreed.”

“Besides, aren’t you short on money? I promise the compensation will definitely satisfy you!”

Jiang Ye never understood it—this friend of his lived in a large luxury flat and his mother was wealthy, so why was he always poor as dirt? He really didn’t know where the money went.

Memories of the original host and Jiang Ye gradually surfaced in Xie He-ting’s mind.

The original host and Jiang Ye were classmates at the Communication University, both majoring in Radio and Television Directing. Because of his outstanding looks, Jiang Ye was scouted by a talent agent before graduation and became an artist.

The original host followed the standard path, entering Orange TV through campus recruitment as a director. Because of his strong abilities, he became a permanent employee in just a few months and landed a project for Orange TV’s most popular S-tier variety show this year, The Signal of Love, becoming an assistant variety director.

After a brief reflection, he realized he couldn’t understand a single thing about the work the original host did.

As for the “guest” Jiang Ye mentioned? It probably meant going to the show as a visitor.

Being a visitor was better than working. Plus, there was a reward.

In his past life, Young Master Xie never worried about silver. But now his soul was in this young man, and the ancient jade, jewelry, gold beads, and gold beans he used to treasure were all gone!

He had checked just now—the original host didn’t even have a single small gold melon seed on him. Although he didn’t know what currency was used in this world, if he wanted to survive, he would need to eat and drink.

He needed silver.

However, Xie He-ting still felt something was off. According to the original host’s memory, Jiang Ye had spent a lot of effort to win this opportunity and even called specifically to brag. Why would he suddenly stop participating and ask him to be a substitute?

“You are not telling the truth.” He tried his best to mimic the other’s speaking style.

Jiang Ye felt a bit guilty under his gaze.

As the first 24-hour synchronized live-stream same-sex dating show approved by the NRTA, The Signal of Love was already viral before it even aired. The reason was simple: the concept was novel, and the guests were big names.

Although the “civilian” guests hadn’t been announced yet, the celebrity guests were each more eye-catching than the last: international supermodel Zhou Yanrong, genius singer Shi Jixing, and the Triple Crown Movie Star Shen Ji.

Jiang Ye landing this role was pure “dog-sh!t luck.”

Based on his status, he wouldn’t have been able to join this show. However, a BL-adaptation drama he was in recently became a minor hit, and his management contract was with Orange TV. The station wanted to inject fresh blood and support their own artist, so they gave him a slot to basically play along.

Jiang Ye had been dazed by the sudden stroke of luck and agreed, but when his manager Zhao Xia returned from a business trip, she scolded him until his head spun.

Jiang Ye was purely straight. Participating in a gay dating show—if he didn’t “sell the chemistry” well, it would be career suicide. Furthermore, he became famous through a BL-adaptation, so his acting range was already restricted. Taking this variety show might not make him a star, but it would definitely make things difficult for him later.

But when they wanted to switch people, the director refused to agree.

The more famous these artists were, the more they acted like sly spirits with too many schemes. They wanted a piece of the pie because the show was hot, but they were afraid the public opinion would tighten after it aired. Despite the good resources, not many people wanted to record it.

The final result was for Zhao Xia to find a substitute. Otherwise, Jiang Ye would still have to go. The director said he wanted a civilian, as 3 stars and 4 civilians would be more interesting.

Zhao Xia had been in the industry for years and had resources. She compiled a list, but felt these civilians were lacking in the looks department.

Right before sending it to the director, she somehow remembered that Jiang Ye had a classmate working as an assistant on this very show. His looks were beyond reproach, and he seemed to be a music blogger with a small following. She immediately attached his name and photo to the submission.

Of course, Jiang Ye couldn’t explain all these backstories to Xie He-ting.

He played the emotional card, saying sincerely: “Everything I told you is true. The resource Sister Xia negotiated for me is exceptionally good. I’m an actor, so I should focus on acting. I really can’t miss that contract, so I had no choice but to ask for your help.”

Xie He-ting calmly brushed his hand away: “You want my help, but you did not inform me in advance; instead, you submitted my name first. Is this how you treat a friend?”

“I’m sorry! It was Sister Xia acting on her own; she gave your ID photo to the director’s team. I swear I didn’t know beforehand! They submitted several names, but they picked your photo at a single glance.”

Although the current Xie He-ting was unkempt, wearing a set of grey-black clothes that looked gloomy and slovenly, Jiang Ye had seen his true face hidden behind the bangs and glasses.

The photo they provided to the director’s team was the ID photo from when Xie He-ting entered university—the only clear record of his real appearance.

Jiang Ye could still remember the shock he felt seeing that photo. Even as a straight man, he was stunned. Like a pervert, he had even used a photo restoration tool on it and looked at it constantly—which was how Sister Xia saw it.

But he couldn’t be blamed. If even a well-traveled gold-standard manager like Sister Xia remembered him after seeing the photo, what about the director’s team who had seen plenty of beauties? They had picked him in an instant.

Xie He-ting realized that while Jiang Ye was “requesting” his help, he was actually “notifying” him.

But he didn’t have a valid enough reason to refuse.

If he didn’t participate in the variety show, he would have to go to work. He knew almost nothing about this world, let alone the original host’s job duties, which were like “heavenly scripts” to him. If he were to do it, someone would likely notice something wrong within an hour.

As for simply not going to work or suddenly quitting? A person deviating from their original daily routine was very conspicuous.

He didn’t want to be discovered. He didn’t want to be caught by a Taoist priest. He wanted to try his best to survive in this strange world.

“Fine. I agree.”

Jiang Ye was prepared to keep playing the emotional card, but he hadn’t expected Xie He-ting to agree so quickly. He was stunned for a moment: “Huh? You agreed?”

Xie He-ting nodded.

Jiang Ye was so moved he didn’t know what to say. He grabbed Xie He-ting’s hand excitedly: “We’re brothers for life! If you need anything, ring the bell. I’ll go through fire and water for you.”

Xie He-ting’s mind immediately wandered. Ring the bell? Like a shaman holding a bell and ringing it constantly? He vaguely remembered his mother hiring a shaman for him once; that person also held a bell and rang it non-stop. It felt like a labor-intensive task.

If contacting people was that troublesome, he wondered how strong the original host’s body was.

“Oh, right. Sister Xia already spoke with your supervisor. You don’t need to go to the office for the next few days. The show films in three days. We’ll talk again after the first week of recording is done.”

Xie He-ting had been worrying about how to handle work tomorrow; Jiang Ye’s words solved his urgent problem.

“Very well, thank you.”

“Then I won’t disturb your rest. This afternoon, Sister Xia will arrange for someone to come and tidy you up. Remember to answer your phone when they call.” Fearing he would go back on his word, Jiang Ye vanished in a flash: “I’m heading out, I still have work.”

After Jiang Ye left, Xie He-ting sat on the sofa in a daze.

He raised his somewhat unsightly hand resting on his knee and observed it carefully in the sunlight. There were some yellow stains between his right index and middle fingers, smelling like opium smoke.

His father was strict; such things were absolutely forbidden.

And the calluses on his finger joints—built up day after day from practicing calligraphy—could no longer be felt.

This was not his hand. Although the person he saw in the mirror earlier shared seventy to eighty percent of his original looks, it wasn’t him either.

He was a Hanlin Scholar, the youngest son of the Crown Prince’s tutor, Xie Yuan. His mother was the Emperor’s only sister, Princess Changyang. His elder brother was the Great Yan Dynasty’s famed General Lingyun. He was Xie He-ting, courtesy name Jiu-gao. The elegant “Jade Tree” Young Master of the Xie family.

He had accidentally drowned in the spring.

Now, he was reborn in the body of a young man in a strange dynasty named Xie He-ting.

Thinking of this, Xie He-ting sniffled sadly.

Suddenly, his mind froze.

Wait… what did Jiang Ye say before leaving? In three days, he was going to “film a variety show”?

He didn’t know how to do anything yet!

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