I Was Forced into the Limelight After Pairing with a Top Star - Chapter 2

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Lin Wang muttered, squeezing the small card with genuine frustration.

Shi Yu paused. “What did you say?”

Lin Wang quickly recovered. “Nothing, nothing. You misheard me, Sis.”

The original novel did not spend much ink on Shi Yu, the manager. Her only scenes revolved around how she protected Lin Wang, that piece of useless trash, even going so far as to find him a hospital and caregivers after he became paralyzed, visiting him regularly.

The reason was simple: Lin Wang’s mother had been a benefactor to Shi Yu. She had not only sponsored Shi Yu’s education from high school through university but had also paid for her father’s life-saving medical bills. Grateful and loyal, Shi Yu treated Lin Wang like her own younger brother.

At a time when even his own parents were so furious they had disowned him, Shi Yu was his absolute last straw. The original Lin Wang may have been ungrateful, but the current Lin Wang would not dream of upsetting her.

“I misheard you? Lin Wang, do you even realize what kind of pathetic state you are in right now?”

Lin Wang drew a blank. He honestly did not.

“Fine, since you are such a busy man with a short memory, let me remind you,” Shi Yu said, sounding like she wanted to slap him. “You debuted at nineteen after high school without going to college. Your acting career peaked at being the fifth male lead in a web drama. Your endorsement fees and acting pay combined are not even enough to cover the cars you bought and the money you lost in the stock market.”

“Last year, you developed a gambling addiction. Not only did you lose all your fixed assets, but you also stole 3 million from your father’s card, borrowed over 7 million from friends and family, and took out more than 20 million in high-interest loans; with interest, that has probably hit 100 million by now!”

“Because you were late yesterday, you did not just lose the endorsement; the breach of contract fee is over 100,000. Lin Wang, you are going to kill yourself with these antics sooner or later!”

Lin Wang listened to this string of disasters as if he were hearing a story. By the end, he felt a strange sense of admiration; this kid really knew how to ruin a life.

In the book, “Lin Wang” was only twenty-five. Lin Wang himself had lived to be thirty in his previous life. He had lived a wild life in his twenties too, but he had never self-destructed quite like this.

Since Lin Wang often spoke nonsense when he was out of his mind, Shi Yu did not dwell on his earlier comment. She shifted back to her warning. “I do not know where you got wind of Chi Yuan’s private itinerary, but he is staying at your father’s hotel. Stop your crooked schemes and give your father some peace of mind, you hear me!”

It was more than just a scheme, Lin Wang thought, pressing his hand to his forehead with a sigh. He had already slept his way through the scheme.

The original host’s achievements in self-destruction were so vast that he was currently being cursed out not just online, but by the entire industry. Since Shi Yu had no resources for him at the moment, Lin Wang had no choice but to stay holed up at home.

Not wanting to alert his father, Lin Hanchuan, Lin Wang slipped out of the hotel quietly.

During the phone call, he had managed to fish some information out of Shi Yu. He had a place to stay in North City, a seaside house. Lin Hanchuan had given it to him to prevent him from freezing to death on the streets, but the title was under his mother’s name, Lang Zhi, to ensure the spendthrift could not sell it to gamble.

The house was not far from the hotel. Masked and capped, Lin Wang took a twenty-minute taxi ride. The door had a fingerprint lock; once identified, he pushed it open and was immediately stunned.

Good grief. The place was stripped bare.

Anything that could be sold, seemingly, had been sold. There was not even a television in the living room. Lin Wang walked further in, sighing as he went. Looking at the bedroom, which contained nothing but a lone bed, he shook his head helplessly. “My dear ancestor, you could have at least left me one appliance. Not even a flashlight.”

It was late August in North City, and the temperature was over 30°C. Lin Wang was drenched in sweat, and the house did not even have air conditioning. Fortunately, the bathroom still worked. Having eaten the hotel breakfast before leaving, he was not hungry yet, so he decided to take another shower.

When he caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror, Lin Wang was startled. Since transmigrating, he had not properly examined this face; the person in the mirror looked almost exactly like him from his previous life.

Why almost? Because this body was much thinner and weaker, with an unhealthily pale complexion. Only his height was similar, standing just over 180 cm.

Lin Wang touched the deep red finger marks on his neck; hours later, they still stung.

He was not ugly; he had a refined, delicate look. However, when he recalled the original host’s habit of wearing heavy makeup on this well-defined face, it felt completely out of place.

Thankfully, the original host had gone to the hotel to drug Chi Yuan with a bare face last night. Otherwise, his mind drifted to how he had used this fragile-looking body to ask Chi Yuan, “Why don’t you try it then?” Lin Wang found it hard to stomach and quickly cut the memory short.

Lying on the bed, Lin Wang took some time to research “himself.”

He typed “Lin Wang” into the Weibo search bar. Immediately, results popped up: “Lin Wang: Flop but Loud,” “Lin Wang Disrespects Veteran Actor,” “Lin Wang Slapped with Reality After Claiming to be Close Friends with Actor XX.”

Quite the colorful history.

Lin Wang thought for a moment and then typed “Chi Yuan.”

The top related searches were: “Chi Yuan Checks into Hotel Late at Night,” “Chi Yuan’s Alleged Romance,” and “Chi Yuan’s Private Itinerary Leaked.”

Lin Wang clicked on the second one.

The lead post had been edited this morning and already had tens of thousands of likes and comments. The attached photos were heavily watermarked by XX Entertainment, but one could vaguely make out a tall man in a black baseball cap entering the hotel at night.

In the photos of him leaving, the man had changed his clothes, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The post claimed with great certainty that Chi Yuan was on a private trip and was accompanied by a “fair lady” during the night, subtly hinting at hookups, sleeping with fans, and poor moral character.

Although the “Schrödinger’s Lady” was not photographed, the blogger listed evidence with confidence; an obsessed sasaeng fan had hacked the hotel records and leaked them.

The fan had ruthlessly invaded the hotel’s backend system, discovering that Chi Yuan had called room service for clean clothes significantly smaller than his own size. In the morning, he had also asked staff to buy hangover medicine. It was well known that Chi Yuan had a high tolerance for alcohol and never needed such things.

The most critical piece of evidence was that all the condoms in the suite had been used.

By the time Lin Wang exited the app, the post had reached the top of the trending list. It had taken only fifteen minutes to explode.

The situation had spiraled. According to the original plot, both loan sharks and Chi Yuan would be gunning for Lin Wang. Despite this disastrous start, Lin Wang felt he was doing okay.

The original host had snuck in; no one except Chi Yuan knew who had spent the night. Lin Wang had no intention of leaking the story to embarrass Chi Yuan, so Chi Yuan had no reason to target him like in the original book.

Besides, Lin Wang figured they had actually been quite compatible last night.

Chi Yuan hated staying up late.

The soreness in his eyes the next day would trigger unpleasant memories. Over time, even the act of staying awake became repulsive.

Occasionally, he would intentionally let himself remember, then lie motionless in bed all day; like eating a sugar-coated pill, knowing it was poisonous but licking the sweetness and swallowing anyway.

Chi Yuan was not feeling great right now; he had a headache, tinnitus, and dry eyes. He lay on the sofa, eyes closed, trying to recover. To an outsider, however, he did not look distressed; his expression had not changed, and he looked as if he were simply asleep.

He had left the hotel before 7:00 AM and had collapsed onto the sofa without even changing. He was still wearing the black T-shirt from the paparazzi shots. With his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs, his hand, resting on the edge of the sofa, sported several vintage silver rings. His thumb rhythmically slid a ring off and back on.

He looked perfectly fine.

Yu Qi, Chi Yuan’s manager for ten years, had watched this condition worsen day by day. He felt for the guy, but Chi Yuan never gave him a chance to show pity; any budding sympathy was usually strangled at the source by Chi Yuan himself.

“If you are not going to talk, get out,” Chi Yuan said, his voice husky and lazy from the all-nighter.

The phone in Yu Qi’s pocket rang repeatedly, but he silenced it. The industry’s most experienced manager sat on his haunches by the sofa, looking at Chi Yuan as if he were at a funeral. “You are my father. From now on, you are my real father. Next time you want to sleep with someone, can you please give your son a heads-up?”

Chi Yuan had been famous for so many years; countless eyes were on him, waiting to leech off his fame. People wanted to tear him apart, and fake news and rumors were constant. But actually sleeping with someone? This was a first.

The evidence was damning, Chi Yuan had not warned him, and the PR team was spinning in circles.

Yu Qi’s phone was nearly ringing off the hook, so he turned it off. Seeing Chi Yuan looking like he might fall asleep the next second, he hurried to report while he was still conscious. “The other person’s identity has been found. He is the son of the owner of that hotel you stayed at. He also has another troublesome identity: the industry’s most notorious clout-chasing eighteenth-tier flop, Lin Wang.”

Besides Yu Qi’s voice, Chi Yuan heard a phantom buzzing in his ears. He was not sleepy at all; even with his eyes closed, he could clearly recall how Lin Wang, flushed with wine, had knelt before him last night, speechless.

Since the guy was already in his hotel room, Chi Yuan had guessed his identity back then. Now, he listened to Yu Qi’s nagging with half an ear, his mind wandering.

“The team has not been able to contact Lin Wang or his manager yet. We are prepared; if he dares to leak a single word, we will intercept it instantly.”

Chi Yuan rubbed his temples and finally opened his eyes. The bloodshot streaks in them startled Yu Qi.

“Go back to sleep,” Yu Qi said, waving his hand like a repentant sinner. “I will handle this. I will not let it escalate.”

Chi Yuan reached for his phone with his left hand, clicked on a photo, and tossed it over without looking. Within minutes, his voice had gone completely hoarse. “Contact him. Tell him to come over.”

Speaking caused the wound on the corner of his mouth to sting. The cut was deep; deep enough that even the kiss had tasted of blood.

Yu Qi scrambled to catch the phone. Unsurprisingly, the photo was of Lin Wang, sleeping peacefully with only his head showing, though the handprints on his neck made it look a bit like a crime scene photo.

Having known Chi Yuan for ten years, Yu Qi guessed immediately what he wanted with Lin Wang. It was not the first time Yu Qi had done Chi Yuan’s dirty work. “Are you sure? We do not know his background.”

Chi Yuan rolled over, turning his back to Yu Qi, and threw back two words.

“I am sure.”