The Scum Gong Refuses the Crematorium [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 10

“Bang—”

As the two sat in silence, a loud crash suddenly erupted not far from them.

They turned their gaze toward the source.

Song Liguang had appeared in the bar at some unknown point, wearing a hat and a mask. He had somehow knocked over the drinks ordered by a table of guests in front of him.

Guo Hang had no choice but to hurry over to apologize to the patrons.

Coming to his senses, Song Liguang also bowed and apologized. Seeing that the guests didn’t seem truly angry, he told Guo Hang to put their tab on his account before slowly making his way toward Sheng Yan’s table.

Lu Mingyue looked at Sheng Yan with a touch of helplessness. “He followed us again. Brother Sheng, your charm is just too great.”

He was complaining about how difficult Song Liguang was to deal with.

Sheng Yan glanced at him. “Want to kiss again?”

In Sheng Yan’s view, if the payment wasn’t enough, he could just provide a bit more.

“Cough.” Lu Mingyue choked on his own breath, his cheeks flushing slightly. Could he say that what just happened was a misunderstanding?

Since the “payment” had already been given, Sheng Yan didn’t hold back. “Deal with him.”

“Alright.” Lu Mingyue offered a small smile. He didn’t want to continue this daily shadowboxing with Song Liguang either. Since Sheng Yan had spoken, he didn’t mind acting as his blade.

“Are… are you two together?”

Song Liguang walked over, his face pale.

Lu Mingyue took Sheng Yan’s arm and smiled at him. “As you can see.”

Song Liguang saw Lu Mingyue intimately leaning against Sheng Yan’s arm. Sheng Yan didn’t dodge; he simply cooperated, looking at him quietly. Song Liguang’s expression flickered with humiliation.

Inwardly, he was losing his mind.

It’s impossible.

Over the past period, he had been fighting Lu Mingyue tooth and nail at the company, and he had never seen him contact Sheng Yan. How on earth did these two get mixed up together?!

He forced his gaze toward Sheng Yan. “Mr… Mr. Sheng?”

“It’s over between us.” Sheng Yan’s eyes were calm as he looked at Song Liguang. “Being someone’s stand-in is not a proper path. Now that your life is back on track and you have a bright future of your own, you should look forward.”

Song Liguang should have understood these things long ago. For some reason, he still didn’t get it.

Lu Mingyue chimed in from the side, “We’re really grateful for how well Mr. Song looked after our Brother Sheng over the past few years. We sincerely hope Mr. Song has a smooth journey ahead, a promising future, and finds his own happiness.”

“I… I…”

Song Liguang was left speechless by their back-and-forth. He wanted to say something, but felt that anything he said would be futile.

After all, he was just a stand-in.

What could he say? What should he say? He couldn’t exactly say, ‘Mr. Sheng, I love you too, please look at me.’ As a stand-in, he knew the sponsor didn’t have him in his heart. Could he really voice those words?

No.

But could Song Liguang truly be content watching his sponsor and the White Moonlight in domestic bliss?

No.

Setting aside the System’s mission, considering the years of silent effort he had put in, could he simply hand Sheng Yan over to Lu Mingyue on a silver platter?

Never!

“I’m very grateful for the help Mr. Sheng has given me over the years.” Song Liguang bowed to Sheng Yan, his eyes rimmed with red. “Without Mr. Sheng, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

“I know I’m not worthy of Mr. Sheng,” Song Liguang’s voice grew hoarse. “I… I never expected anything to happen between us.”

“I…” Song Liguang began to cry. “I just treated Mr. Sheng as my family.”

“Mr. Sheng knows…” Song Liguang sniffled. “My family situation isn’t good.”

“I just want to stay by Mr. Sheng’s side as a family member. Please, Mr. Sheng, don’t drive me away.”

This pathetic, pitiful display was almost enough to move Lu Mingyue.

Unfortunately, Lu Mingyue had a heart of stone and was a master of the “heartless blade.” “Mr. Song has misunderstood. Given that you took better care of Brother Sheng than a nanny for five years, both he and I view you as family. We’re nothing but grateful; how could we drive you away?”

“Right, Brother Sheng?” Lu Mingyue looked at Sheng Yan after speaking.

Song Liguang heard the subtext in Lu Mingyue’s words and secretly ground his teeth. He actually insulted me by calling me a nanny.

Sheng Yan’s gaze fell on Song Liguang. Looking at his slender frame wrapped in clothes and his tearful appearance, a sudden, inexplicable pang of heartache welled up in his chest.

His fingers moved slightly beneath his gloves.

Something was wrong.

A normal stand-in, even if they loved the sponsor, should leave gloomily once the sponsor explicitly stated they had a boyfriend. Why was he so hard to get rid of?

Was it for money? He was a popular star now; he earned plenty.

Was it for the person? Sheng Yan didn’t like him; what was there to gain?

True love? True love should mean wishing him well.

Psychological trauma? Possibly.

But Sheng Yan leaned toward another theory.

A Protagonist Mission-taker.

It wasn’t that he had PTSD from doing too many villain missions; it was a very sharp intuition. He previously thought Song Liguang’s influence was due to his own system. But he had already put his system in “solitary confinement,” meaning he should be completely detached from it. Any system-added buffs shouldn’t be able to affect him.

Yet, Song Liguang was still affecting him.

As a villain, he had endured being flayed and tortured. What kind of agony had he not experienced? How could he be moved to heartache by someone suffering from unrequited love?

Where did this influence come from?

Unless there was something unusual happening with Song Liguang as well. As someone once told him: “Only a system can counter a system.”

The only thing that could affect him was another system. And in this small world, Song Liguang was clearly the “shining protagonist” everyone revolved around.

“Yes,” Sheng Yan nodded to Song Liguang, responding to Lu Mingyue’s words.

Beneath his mask, Song Liguang nearly bit through his lip, yet he forced a smile. “Thank you, Mr. Sheng. Thank you, Mr. Lu.”

He called a waiter and ordered a drink, raising his glass to the two of them. “In the name of family, I wish you both happiness.”

“Thanks.” Lu Mingyue raised his glass but didn’t clink it with his.

“Mhm.” Sheng Yan merely swirled his glass and gave a faint response.

Song Liguang pulled down his mask and downed the alcohol, his face deathly pale. Under the dim lights, he looked utterly desolate.

But Sheng Yan and Lu Mingyue felt nothing.

“This.” After finishing his drink, Song Liguang hurriedly took off a necklace with a key on it and handed it to Sheng Yan. “This is the key to the bedroom you gave me when you brought me back to Chengnan No. 1. It’s time to return it to its rightful owner.”

As if he could no longer bear it, he thrust the key into Sheng Yan’s hand and ran out of the booth area.

He didn’t notice the waiters moving back and forth with glasses. He crashed right into one, soaking the waiter in drinks.

“I’m sorry,” Song Liguang apologized without looking back and left the bar. Anyway, he had crashed into things more than once tonight, and the bar had his tab. One more time didn’t matter.

He was gone, leaving the waiter standing by Sheng Yan’s table, soaked and dazed.

Sheng Yan and Lu Mingyue simultaneously pulled out handkerchiefs and offered them. “Clean yourself up.”

Lu Mingyue added, “Don’t worry, he put it on his tab. Your boss won’t dock your pay.”

“Thank you.” The waiter finally came to, looked at the two exquisite handkerchiefs, shook his head, and declined. Instead, he grabbed napkins from the table to wipe off the excess alcohol.

Guo Hang, having just smoothed things over with the other guests, walked over and saw the soaked waiter. His patience for Song Liguang was at an end. “I told you that Song Liguang is toxic. Every time he comes here, there’s no peace.”

“Xiao Meng, go to the bar and have the bartender make another round of those drinks, then go change your clothes.”

“Okay,” the waiter named Xiao Meng replied, wiped himself down, and obediently went to the bar.

Sheng Yan said no more, but Lu Mingyue teased, “Shouldn’t you give him a raise? He took quite a hit and a big scare.”

Guo Hang replied casually, “I will, I will. I’ll make sure to add ‘mental distress fees’ to Song Liguang’s tab later.”

Lu Mingyue fell silent.

Guo Hang teased him in return: “So, you come back from abroad and realize our Brother Sheng is the best after all, huh? You two got together?”

Lu Mingyue and Sheng Yan both started to speak.

Guo Hang interrupted immediately: “Ah, ah, ah! Let’s get one thing straight—you can’t deny it. I saw everything just now!”

“Objection overruled!”

Guo Hang had been keeping an eye on Sheng Yan’s table while handling the other mess. He had seen their behavior clearly. They were kissing and teaming up to fight off a lingering ex-lover; if they weren’t together, who would believe it?

Lu Mingyue felt a bit awkward. His plan to ask Sheng Yan for a raise tonight had gone up in smoke anyway, so there was no point in staying. He grabbed his coat and stood up. “It’s fine, I’ll head back first.”

Guo Hang stopped him just in time. “You just got here and you’re already slipping away? Tonight we drink until we’re under the table. You’re not leaving until you’re drunk.”

Trapped, Lu Mingyue didn’t know whether to stay or go. He looked at Sheng Yan, hoping he might say something to let him leave.

Instead, he saw Sheng Yan silently push the unfinished drink back toward him, clearly suggesting he drink more.

Lu Mingyue: “…”

Seriously, brother? If you’re not embarrassed, you think no one else is, right?

Lu Mingyue had no choice but to sit back down.

Guo Hang was satisfied. “That’s more like it.”

Sheng Yan also said to him, “When you come out to play, you should enjoy yourself.” He wasn’t the type to throw someone away after using them. Letting him leave after only two sips of wine would seem heartless.

“How are we drinking?” Since he couldn’t leave, Lu Mingyue forced himself to forget the awkwardness and picked up his glass to join them.

Guo Hang laughed. “Drink however you want. I don’t have many rules here.” He took a gulp of his drink and, thinking of the recently departed Song Liguang, sighed. “Although I really don’t think much of Song Liguang as a person, I have to admit his movies are quite good. His acting is solid in several films, and the online response is great. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be as famous as he is today, having to go in full disguise just to visit a bar.”

The others present didn’t know much about this, so they couldn’t chime in.

However, Sheng Yan caught the envy in his tone and suddenly said, “Then why don’t you just film one that has better acting, a better response, and is more famous than his?”

Guo Hang froze. “Me? How am I supposed to film that?”

Sheng Yan countered: “With your hands. Isn’t that what you studied?”

If Sheng Yan hadn’t mentioned it, Guo Hang would have almost forgotten his college major. He had once been full of passion and fire when he got into the Directing Department of the Yanjing Film Academy, swearing to make a film that would shock the world.

But he was defeated before the battle began. Near graduation, before he could roll up his sleeves, his family went bankrupt. His passion dissipated instantly, and all he could think about was survival.

Thinking of this, Guo Hang laughed. “What, are you going to invest in me?”

Sheng Yan nodded. “Mhm.”

If he could invest in Song Liguang to chase his dreams in the entertainment industry, why couldn’t he invest in a friend who also had dreams?

Guo Hang was shocked. “Wow, the kid’s grown up! You finally know how to support me! If you’d said this years ago, I’d have treated you like an ancestor. But how long has it been since I graduated? I’ve forgotten everything I learned.”

“Why did you suddenly think of asking me to film a movie?”

Sheng Yan used his gloved fingertip to pick up the necklace Song Liguang had left on the table. With his other gloved hand, he pulled off the glove that had touched the necklace and threw both into the trash can. He said coldly and with a hint of world-weariness: “Because I have ‘Protagonist Aversion Syndrome’.”

Therefore, anything the protagonist wanted to achieve, he wanted to destroy.

Since Song Liguang was the protagonist of this world, and he was currently a popular star, his ultimate achievement would obviously be winning awards and being worshipped as a god of the industry.

Coincidentally, the original owner of this body and his friends once had such a dream. Why not combine the two and ruin the protagonist’s path to divinity?

Guo Hang didn’t quite understand the “protagonist” comment, assuming he was talking about movies. He laughed loudly. “Fine! Since Brother Sheng has spoken, I won’t be polite. Then Brother Sheng, find my idol, James Ray, to mentor me! I believe that under his guidance, I can definitely make a blockbuster that shocks the world!”

Guo Hang was clearly boasting. Who was James Ray? He was a world-famous director with multiple international awards and significant global influence. No matter how much money Sheng Yan had, he might not be able to hire him.

Everyone thought Sheng Yan was joking, so no one took it seriously. Only Lu Mingyue noticed that Sheng Yan’s expression didn’t look like he was kidding; he truly wanted to invest in Guo Hang.

“James Ray, is it?” Lu Mingyue looked at Guo Hang, thinking it might be possible. “I actually have a decent relationship with him. How about I give him a call and see if he’s free?”

Seeing Lu Mingyue join in, Guo Hang agreed without thinking. “Sure, go ahead and call.”

He figured these two were teaming up to tease him. He wanted to see how he’d actually make that call.

Lu Mingyue actually took out his phone, found a contact, and placed a video call.

Guo Hang waited for him to fake it.

The other side picked up, and a face all too familiar to Guo Hang appeared on the screen. The man looked at Lu Mingyue in surprise: “Moon?”

Lu Mingyue greeted him: “Long time no see, James.”

Seeing the living, breathing James Ray on the screen, Guo Hang became instantly hyper. “AAAAAAAAAH! It’s real! It’s actually real!”

The noise was so loud Sheng Yan covered his ears and tried to hide his face in the shadows. Being stared at by so many people in the bar was embarrassing.

But Guo Hang clearly lacked self-awareness. He squeezed in front of Lu Mingyue’s screen and passionately greeted his idol. Lu Mingyue then chatted with James for a bit, asking him to mentor Guo Hang. James happened to be free and readily agreed.

After hanging up, Guo Hang was still in a daze.

“Am I really going to film a movie?”

“And be mentored by my idol personally?”

“I’m not dreaming, am I?”

He looked at Lu Mingyue.

Lu Mingyue smiled. “You’re not.”

He looked at Sheng Yan.

Sheng Yan gave a firm nod.

And then Guo Hang went wild, running around the bar looking for people to drink with in his excitement.

Lu Mingyue finally got to sit back down.

Looking at Guo Hang acting like an excited child, Sheng Yan said to Lu Mingyue, “I didn’t realize you had such a network.”

Lu Mingyue paused, then smiled. “When it comes to networks, how could I compare to you, Brother Sheng? With just a few words, you made it so I couldn’t escape your grasp.”

He was complaining about the original owner leaking his bottom price, which blocked his investments and forced him to cooperate.

Sheng Yan smiled, pointed to the bar, and referenced how Lu Mingyue had chased him there just for a cup of tea. “So, now it’s my turn to be unable to escape your grasp.”