I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Wine Party

The water-spattered mirror reflected a snow-white face, the cheeks and corners of the eyes flushed with a drunken crimson.

Xie Ci braced his arms with great effort against the edge of the unfamiliar white sink. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead; he felt dizzy and heavy-headed, while waves of dull pain shot through his lower abdomen.

Where was he?

He clearly remembered jumping into a lake to save a drowning boy. He had only just delivered the sobbing, frightened child to the shore—how could his surroundings have completely changed in the blink of an eye?

Xie Ci looked up to stare at the person in the mirror. A palm-sized face, cat-like eyes, and thick eyelashes clumped together from being wet with water. His dark, short hair covered a snowy forehead—it was a face so finely sculpted it was almost ethereal.

Truly strange.

The person in the mirror looked exactly like him; even the tiny mole hidden on the soft earlobe was identical. However, the smooth short hair tucked behind the ears and the strange clothes on his body silently told Xie Ci that this was not the body he was familiar with.

“I have heard legends of techniques for ‘borrowing a corpse to return a soul’ before. Could I have encountered some karmic opportunity?” Xie Ci mused, murmuring to himself in his heart.

Despite having traveled the martial world for years and being well-versed in many things, he never imagined that saving a life in the water would transport him to an entirely different world, landing him in a completely alien environment.

The overhead lights were a dim yellow, and the dark wood floor gleamed with the oily luster of fresh wax. The hard, circular basin in front of him, whiter than fine salt, felt icy and rigid.

Knock, knock, knock— The locked bathroom door was struck several times from the outside.

Xie Ci became instantly alert. Setting aside his blank confusion for the moment, he endured his physical discomfort and tip-toed quietly to the wall beside the door, listening intently to the movement outside.

“Little Xie! Director Zheng is still waiting for you to give him a toast! What’s going on with you staying in the bathroom this long?” The man’s voice outside was so oily it was nauseating, yet it instantly triggered a flood of memories in Xie Ci’s mind.

This world was several hundred years removed from his own era. Knowledge of the new world rushed into Xie Ci’s brain like a tide, reshuffling his understanding of reality without allowing for any refusal.

As Xie Ci gained a preliminary understanding of this world, the memories of the original host’s brief life surfaced as well.

The owner of this body was also named Xie Ci—same name, same surname, and he was barely nineteen years old. The original host came from a poor background; his parents had passed away in an accident when he was four. Not long after being sent to an orphanage and then adopted, his adoptive parents had a child of their own.

From then on, the host’s situation became extremely awkward. The already quiet and introverted boy grew more gloomy and self-deprecating. Since his adoptive parents’ financial condition was only average, they naturally didn’t want an adopted son spending the family’s money on schooling. Thus, after barely finishing high school, the newly adult host sensibly packed his bags and left home to work.

While good-looking people usually receive some advantages, for a beautiful boy who grew up in a secluded small county without parents, his looks became the very reason he felt out of place. Because of this, he resolutely chose to go to the prosperous City B to make a living, hoping to carve out a world for himself in the big city.

But reality rarely matches imagination. Beneath the glitz and glamour of City B lay the support of countless ordinary people. A young person from a mountain county with no education, no background, and no emotional intelligence could only struggle to survive in a “village within the city” through physical labor.

However, perhaps the heavens were kind to the host just once; a talent scout from an entertainment company handed a business card to Xie Ci while he was buying a fast-food meal at a crude stall on the edge of the city.

The original host had been ecstatic, thanking the slightly chubby middle-aged man. As he entered the phone number into his old smartphone, he thought he was finally going to live the ‘completely different life’ the man described.

A life of being loved, with both fame and fortune.

But soon, this small company with very few artists revealed its true face to the expectant Xie Ci.

Accompanying people at drinking parties, threats to undergo plastic surgery, hinted hidden rules… the list of behaviors was endless.

The original host had thought this man, Wang Mingde, was his benefactor, never imagining he had fallen into an inescapable trap. To the company, a beautiful young person with no education or background was simply a piece of fresh meat, kept only to be sold when a satisfactory gold-sponsor came along.

As for the host’s resistance? A breach-of-contract fine of several million was enough to crush him.

After holding out for four months, the penniless host finally compromised. He agreed to accompany investors for drinks but absolutely refused to accept any other arrangements from the company.

Looking at Xie Ci—who was blessed with the face of a femme fatale but lacked the wits to use it, his manager Wang Mingde sneered in his heart: No matter how tough your bones are, money, status, and wine will eventually wear them soft. Once you’re at the table, what you say and do will no longer be up to you.

Thus, at tonight’s table, various types of red, white, and yellow liquor were lined up. The host’s constitution was already weak, and after four months of extreme frugality, a few glasses of wine were enough to take his life.

The bitterness and pain in those memories were clear. Xie Ci rubbed his throbbing head and sighed softly. The original host of this world was truly pitiful. His journey had been a series of hurdles, with no elders to plan for him and no true friends to support him; he had thrown away his young life for nothing.

“Since you and I share this fate, and I have borrowed your corpse to return my soul, I will surely avenge your wrongs and do my best to fulfill your wishes,” Xie Ci promised silently as he gazed at the beauty in the mirror.

Bang—Bang! The person at the door, receiving no response, ran out of patience. The knocking became increasingly crude.

“I’m warning you, Boss Zheng has been waiting for you for four months! If you just nod tonight, your role as the male lead starts filming tomorrow!” Seeing no movement inside, Wang Mingde lowered his voice. “If you make Boss Zheng happy tonight, you’ll have everything. Don’t be ungrateful!“

There was still no response from within. Wang Mingde’s triangular eyes burned with rage. He had been standing at the door for ten minutes, and Zheng Ping was still waiting back at the table for him to deliver the person!

At the thought of this, his teeth itched with hatred. He hadn’t expected that Xie Ci, despite having the face of a weak and timid beauty, could stubbornly starve for four months just to defy him. Thinking of how Zheng Ping had made things difficult for him over these four months because he couldn’t get a taste of the little beauty, Wang Mingde couldn’t wait to give this tactless newcomer a lesson.

Tough? He wanted to see just how long Xie Ci’s toughness would last!

After waiting another minute and seeing no reaction, Wang Mingde grew increasingly impatient. Just as he was about to knock again, before his thick palm—stained with beer and grease, could rise, the door opened inward with a creak.

“Stop knocking.” Xie Ci didn’t say much. He bypassed the stunned Wang Mingde and walked straight to the round wooden table beyond the screen, sitting in the spot from his memory.

After sitting down in the host’s usual gloomy and dull manner, Xie Ci knew his way of speaking still carried his old habits, so he tried to minimize his presence. He planned to wait for the party to end and then find a quiet place to sort out the mess in his head.

“Little Xie, are you okay?” A low inquiry came from his side. Xie Ci turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the worried young man next to him.

Mo Li. A newcomer who, like the host, had been tricked into this wretched company. Being under Wang Mingde’s management as well, he and the host were considered “comrades in adversity.“

Xie Ci curved his lips into a smile. The beauty on his face almost stole everyone’s breath away. Mo Li, who was being stared at, felt his brain go blank, completely forgetting what he intended to say next.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Xie Ci responded softly to the host’s only good friend, not noticing the daze in the other’s eyes.

“Ah, oh, okay, as long as you’re fine.” Watching Xie Ci turn back, Mo Li felt that his friend—who usually kept his head down and looked gloomy—seemed like a completely different person. Although he knew Xie Ci was an absolute beauty from the first moment he entered the company, he had never been so captivated by his appearance as he was just now.

But thinking of this “Hongmen Banquet” of a drinking party with its impure motives, Mo Li only felt that Xie Ci’s situation had become even more dangerous.

“Little Xie, are you shy now that you’ve seen Director Zheng?” Wang Mingde, who had returned to the party, instantly put on a smiling face. Acting affectionate, he brought a glass of wine to Xie Ci.

“Don’t just sit here like a fool! Quick, quick, go give Director Zheng a few more toasts!” As he spoke, Wang Mingde shoved a glass into Xie Ci’s hand, pressuring his artist to jump into the trap.

“Brother Wang, look, Little Xie is already about to pass out from drinking. Let me toast Director Zheng for him instead.” Beside them, Mo Li couldn’t stand the manager’s behavior and, suppressing his disgust, tried to take the glass from Wang Mingde.

“Hey, hey, Old Wang, this newcomer you brought is quite tactless!” A balding, drunken man beside Mo Li chuckled, completely undermining Mo Li’s attempt to help.

“Exactly. Director Zheng doesn’t give just anyone the honor of a toast,” a man with heavy makeup added in a pinched voice. His sickly thin forearm rested on the thigh of Zheng Ping, who sat in the main seat, emitting an ambiguous atmosphere.

The whole table burst into laughter. The luxury private room was reeking of alcohol, and choking cigarette smoke clung to everyone’s jackets—be they cheap or expensive.

Xie Ci had seen much during his travels in the martial world. Even in a brand-new world, he could easily sense the ill intentions of this party. A group of groveling sycophants—in the past, he wouldn’t have even deigned to sit at the same table as them.

Xie Ci stood up. Amidst the murky scent of alcohol, his soft features appeared even more elegant and refined, though his cat-like eyes looked sharp due to his cold gaze. Pulling Mo Li—who looked embarrassed from being mocked—he started walking toward the door, giving the fawning Wang Mingde no face at all.

“Little Xie, what’s wrong?” Mo Li looked bewildered. Although it was humiliating to have to smile while being maliciously teased, as an 18th-tier artist with no capital in the entertainment industry, one had to keep a smiling face even if insulted by these investors. Furthermore, in his memory, Xie Ci was always a submissive and introverted character who didn’t like talking to peers; only a “visual-chaser” like Mo Li could persist in becoming his friend.

Xie Ci had only taken a few steps toward the door before being blocked by two large men. Clearly, this was not going to end peacefully.

“Little Xie, you haven’t finished the wine I have here. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Zheng Ping’s voice was thick and muddy, his body—drained by lust and alcohol, leaning heavily against the back of his wide wooden chair. On the table in front of him sat several glasses filled to the brim with liquor, swaying ominously under the warm light.

“Is a person like you even worthy of a toast from me?” Xie Ci’s voice was still weak, but the sharpness of his words left Zheng Ping with no face at all.

Toward the man who had indirectly caused the death of the host, he couldn’t muster a single pleasant expression. Moreover, everyone at the table was clearly watching him. Although he remembered the martial arts he had learned, this body was far too frail. If a conflict broke out, he couldn’t guarantee he could escape unscathed.

The previously noisy room fell instantly silent. Several investors who did business with Zheng Ping didn’t dare to continue joking once they saw his face turn black with humiliation. As for the lovers following them, they sensibly shut their mouths. For a moment, only Zheng Ping’s increasingly heavy breathing could be heard.

“Xie Ci, don’t refuse a favor when it’s offered. Four months of playing hard to get is enough. You’re out here selling yourself, so what are you acting all pure for?“

Zheng Ping was stung into rage. Being shamed in front of his business partners by a small actor he had long claimed to have conquered made his face swell with anger. Staring at Xie Ci’s cold eyes, he felt fire coursing through his abdomen and chest, making him want to bite the beauty’s slender white neck to vent his fury.

Xie Ci felt a wave of nausea. The gaze from the alcohol-drained Zheng Ping was truly disgusting. He turned back, pulled Mo Li, and continued toward the door.

By now, Mo Li was completely stunned. Is this really the snail-like, wooden beauty friend I know? He began to wonder if he had drunk too much and was hallucinating.

The two men at the door looked at the furious Zheng Ping, uncertain of their employer’s attitude, so they simply stood there firmly to block the way.

Xie Ci gripped two wooden chopsticks in the palm of his right hand, calculating how much of his strength this body could actually channel.

“Leaving? If you behaved yourself, I might have shown some tender mercy…” Seeing Xie Ci getting closer to the door, Zheng Ping feared the swan would fly away. He stood up from his seat and jogged toward the intercepted Xie Ci. As he neared, Zheng Ping felt the fire within him burn even brighter. Ignoring his friends in the room, his lustful expression was undisguised.

Whoosh— A brown shadow shot out from Xie Ci’s palm.

Following the sharp sound of breaking air, a dull, solid thud followed. A chopstick was driven deep into the wooden floor right in front of Zheng Ping’s leather shoes.

“Ah—!” Someone nearby cried out in shock. The chopstick had pierced the floor by a good four or five centimeters. Had it been tilted slightly, it would have been enough to impale Zheng Ping’s foot.

The lust on Zheng Ping’s face was instantly replaced by cold sweat. He had invested quite a bit in the entertainment industry and had seen such feats in martial arts dramas before.

But those were all special effects!

Watching that chopstick shoot toward him with his own eyes, he had nearly been scared out of his wits.

“Move. Don’t refuse a favor when it’s offered,” Xie Ci said, throwing Zheng Ping’s own words back at him.

Seeing the silence in the room, Xie Ci knew his goal was achieved. As expected, the two “paper tigers” at the door sensibly stepped aside and opened the door for them.

“My god… I, you, Xie Ci, I think I really am drunk.” Mo Li was dumbstruck. When Xie Ci shot the chopstick with one hand, he only felt a warmth in his palm, and in the blink of an eye, the chopstick was stuck in the floor.

Before he could react, Xie Ci had already pulled him out of the room. By this time, Zheng Ping had recovered from the shock, standing in the room with a face full of gloom as he watched the two leave.

“Don’t be ungrateful. I’ll let you off today; don’t come pestering me in the future.” Xie Ci’s face was icy. He stopped at the door, raised his hand, and shot another chopstick, which stood straight up in the floor at the entrance, scaring Zheng Ping’s two henchmen into retreating.

“Xiuheng, this… I’m not old enough to be seeing things, am I?” Zhang Yunjiang, who had just witnessed this scene in the hallway, was shell-shocked. He had directed many martial arts dramas in the past and knew some old masters with real skills, but he never expected to see a scene from his movies come to life here.

Ji Xiuheng stood tall, his high bridge of the nose carving a deep silhouette on his face. Like Zhang Yunjiang, he had witnessed Xie Ci protecting himself with the chopsticks.

Half of the young man’s profile was as hazy as a jade Guanyin; though his frame was thin, his movements were incredibly clean and decisive. When that chopstick hit the floor, the thud was audible even to them by the door of the next room.

According to the person he was pulling, this man’s name was Xie Ci?

“Director Zhang, perhaps there’s room for one more candidate in the audition the day after tomorrow?” Ji Xiuheng spoke unhurriedly, a flicker of interest appearing in his amber eyes.

“You mean ‘Silver Thirteen’?” Zhang Yunjiang didn’t initially catch Ji Xiuheng’s meaning, but thinking back to that scene and the role of “Silver Thirteen” that the crew had struggled to cast, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

“A stroke of luck! Xiao Wang, go ask who the manager of that young man named Xie Ci is, and send him an audition invitation.“

“Understood, Director Zhang.“

The more Zhang Yunjiang thought about it, the more satisfied he became, his joy undisguised. Meanwhile, Ji Xiuheng remained composed, merely repeating the name “Xie Ci” in his mind.

He hoped this Xie Ci wouldn’t disappoint him. Compared to a clumsy nepotism hire, he’d much rather pick someone he found pleasing to the eye to act alongside.

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