What to Do When Pretending to Be an Alpha Gets Exhausting [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 6

“Director An, was that person really Ye Xingyuan? He hasn’t filmed for more than half a year, so why does it feel like he’s become a different person? Just that trial scene today—he could almost suppress Ji Chuxi. Ji Chuxi debuted as a child star. Although his temper is bad, there’s nothing to criticize about his acting.”

During the lunch break, the assistant director sat in front of the director with his lunch box, clicking his tongue in wonder.

The director picked up a chicken drumstick and took a bite, clearly in a very good mood. “This time, we might really have picked up a treasure.”

“What do you mean?” the assistant director asked.

The director quickly glanced around, then lowered his voice. “Why do you think Ye Xingyuan still hasn’t been shelved by Xingyao Media? With the way he acted up before, the company should have cut ties and abandoned him long ago. But now, his manager Zhao Lu has recently still been looking everywhere for resources for him. When she came to me, I originally wanted to refuse. Later, Ji Chuxi happened to hear about it and insisted that I agree, so I did. Thinking about it now, it’s a good thing I agreed.”

“Could it be that he wants to make a comeback?” the assistant director asked in shock.

“Shh, keep your voice down. It’s not hard to understand if Ye Xingyuan wants to make a comeback. His popularity is still very high right now. As long as the news is related to him, the search term’s popularity breaks a hundred million. Although it’s all negative dirt, black-red popularity is still popularity. As long as one of his skills finally clicks, turning black into black-red will be as easy as flipping his hand.”

“Damn. Xingyao Media’s ability to create stars really isn’t just bragging.” The assistant director sighed. “In just half a year, they made an elm-wood block finally understand things. It’s like he’s become a completely different person.”

The director became even happier. “Originally, with Best Actor Pei and Ji Chuxi, this drama’s ratings were already guaranteed. But now it seems our new drama might be able to set a new ratings record.”

“Then let me congratulate Director An in advance.”

The two looked at each other and smiled, then raised their water cups and clinked them together.

Ye Xingyuan returned to the hotel where the crew was staying.

The room the crew had booked for him was the most ordinary twin room.

The facilities inside were extremely simple. There were only two single beds and a television that looked very old.

Even the bathroom was very small.

Fortunately, the bedding looked fairly clean.

Xu Xiaopan set down the luggage he was carrying and carefully asked, “Brother Xing, should I book a bigger room for you?”

Little Fatty still remembered that when Brother Xing filmed a supporting role in a web drama last year, the crew arranged a rather poor room for him. It had been slightly better than this one, but Brother Xing threw a long tantrum. In the end, the crew had to book him a luxury suite before he finally let it go.

“No need to change. There are two beds. That’s enough.” Ye Xingyuan walked to the bathroom door, poked his head out, and said to Xu Xiaopan, “Help me ask for an ice pack. I need a cold compress to reduce the swelling.”

Little Fatty froze for a moment, but quickly reacted and ran out.

Ye Xingyuan stood in front of the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.

Half his face was swollen high, and it was also stained with dust. Covered in dirt, he looked like a filthy kid.

He lightly pressed the tip of his tongue against the swollen part of his cheek. It hurt so much he hissed and quickly gave up.

He turned on the faucet.

When he washed his hands, he brushed against the wound on his palm. Only then did he notice that a large patch of his palm had been scraped red, and several small cuts had been pierced by bits of gravel.

Although it was not serious, it still burned with pain when it touched water.

Ye Xingyuan washed his face clean, propped himself up against the sink, and casually flicked away the water droplets at the ends of his hair.

He left a wet handprint on the mirror and looked at himself reflected inside. “So this is the fresh and exciting challenge you were talking about?”

System 001 appeared with two hehe laughs. “The truly exciting part is still coming later. Don’t be anxious.”

“You should be grateful you don’t have a physical body. Otherwise, I’d knock your teeth out.” Ye Xingyuan slid his palm across the mirror, completely wiping away the handprint. With a lazy expression, he withdrew his hand and rinsed away the small amount of blood on his palm. “Bring up the mission list for this world. Let me see it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, rows of white text appeared on the mirror.

Original Owner: Ye Xingyuan.

Gender: Male Alpha.

Height: 180 cm.

Age: 21.

Wish 1: Stop chasing after the heartthrob Omega, Su Luoqing, and live for himself and his family.

Wish 2: Protect his family well, and do not drag them into bankruptcy, accidents, or other disasters.

Wish 3: Focus on his career, become famous all over the world, and surpass Pei Yanchen.

The final wish was even marked with emphasis.

Ye Xingyuan complained, “Just how…”

System 001 giggled and cut in, “How positive and ambitious the original owner is.”

Ye Xingyuan’s face turned cold. “Bah. How overconfident he is. He doesn’t even know his own weight, yet he wants to surpass Pei Yanchen? Pei Yanchen is the protagonist of this world. He’s the strongest, most popular, and most well-liked Alpha in the entire book. His height alone, 188 cm, already crushes him by half a head. Tell me, what am I supposed to use to surpass him?”

System 001 said cheerfully, “There’s no need to lose heart so early. As the saying goes, as long as your thinking doesn’t slide downhill, there are always more solutions than difficulties.”

“Get lost.”

Ye Xingyuan casually pulled out a few tissues, wiped the water droplets from his face, and threw them into the trash basket.

He walked out of the bathroom.

Then he lay on the bed and browsed his phone.

“Brother Xing, I brought the ice pack up.” Xu Xiaopan walked over, panting, with the ice pack in hand.

Ye Xingyuan took the ice pack and pressed it against his face, glancing at Xu Xiaopan. “You ran up here?”

Xu Xiaopan scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. “I ran a short stretch. I’m chubby but weak, so I get breathless easily.”

While icing his face, Ye Xingyuan browsed his phone.

He did not look through his own information. Instead, he searched for news about Pei Yanchen and Su Luoqing.

Judging from the current plot progress, Pei Yanchen and Su Luoqing were still only ordinary acquaintances who merely nodded when they met.

Pei Yanchen was filming on the set of The Aloof Prince and the Playful Princess Consort, while Su Luoqing had gone abroad to shoot a work engagement. Calculating the time, he would probably return next week.

Not long after that, they would enter the same variety show, Let’s Go Adventure, and gradually develop feelings for each other on the show.

Let’s Go Adventure was a brand-new adventure variety show made up of six fixed cast members. In every episode, the six of them would go to a different place to take on adventures and explore the meaning of life.

The first two episodes of the show had very average responses, but starting from the third episode, the production team tied Pei Yanchen and Su Luoqing together to hype them as a CP, attracting a huge wave of CP fans. Using that as the turning point, they made the show popular.

Ye Xingyuan furrowed his brows slightly, his fair fingertips brushing across the soft curve of his beautifully shaped lips.

For him, going on a variety show was the best and fastest way to whitewash himself.

Let’s Go Adventure was also the hottest variety show that would come out at the end of this year. Missing it would be too much of a pity.

Ye Xingyuan found the official Weibo of Let’s Go Adventure. Underneath, there was a pile of comments recommending their own idols.

The loudest calls were for Pei Yanchen, the most Alpha-like man in the entertainment industry, and Su Luoqing, the most popular Omega.

Among thousands of comments, not a single one mentioned him.

He was reading the comments when the incoming call display suddenly popped up, scaring him so much his phone nearly slipped and hit his face.

On the wide phone screen were three glaring characters: Ye Mingzhe.

His CEO older brother, whose character setting was being a younger-brother-con.

“Hello, Brother, why are you looking for me…”

“Where are you right now?” Before Ye Xingyuan could finish brewing his pleasing words, Ye Mingzhe roughly interrupted him.

“I’m on set.” Ye Xingyuan sat up cross-legged.

“That rotten drama about some prince and princess consort?” Ye Mingzhe cursed.

“Brother, it’s not a rotten drama. It’s a high-quality television drama that’s definitely going to explode at the end of this year.” Ye Xingyuan felt his ears buzzing slightly and moved the phone a little farther away.

Ye Mingzhe’s voice still came through very clearly. “You went to the same crew as Pei Yanchen and Ji Chuxi? And you’re playing a disgusting villainous role? A cannon fodder supporting role that doesn’t even count in the billing? Who made you go? Zhao Lu? Tell her to contact me. This is outrageous. How can my younger brother be someone else’s supporting actor!?”

Ye Xingyuan pressed two fingers against his brow. “Brother, Sister Lu didn’t make me take it. I chose it myself.”

“You chose it? Did you have no other choices? You just had to choose such an unlikable role?”

From the sound of it, this was someone who had read the script. He could not even bluff his way through.

“Brother, with my current situation, no one is willing to ask me to act.”

“Who said there isn’t?” Ye Mingzhe paused for two seconds. “If no one asks, then Brother will spend money and make a movie for you.”

Ye Xingyuan had received the original owner’s memories and also knew the original plot, so his feelings toward his older brother were very real.

He was touched and pursed his lips. “Brother, even if you invest in a production, anyone with even a bit of fame right now won’t be willing to film with me.”

“I don’t believe there’s anyone money can’t move.” Ye Mingzhe’s protective intent was obvious.

“But then you’d lose money terribly,” Ye Xingyuan said.

“If I lose it, I’ll think of ways to earn it back elsewhere.”

Unlike his careless and unserious younger brother, Ye Mingzhe was a proper businessman. From a very young age, he had shown astonishing business talent.

He started a business in high school, and now he had already founded his own listed company.

“Brother, isn’t your company preparing to launch a new product?” Ye Xingyuan smoothly changed the topic.

“When did you start caring about your brother’s company? But there is indeed a product called Boji Boji Yogurt that’s preparing to launch. How did you know? I don’t think I ever told you.”

Boji Boji Yogurt was the future yogurt drink that the whole nation would love, suitable for men and women, old and young.

However, in the original plot, not long after Boji Boji Yogurt went public, the Ye family began to be squeezed by all the major listed companies.

After struggling on its last legs for a while, the company went bankrupt and was eventually acquired by someone else.

Boji Boji Yogurt only exploded in popularity across the country after the acquisition, becoming a yogurt drink everyone loved.

But by then, this yogurt, personally supervised and developed by his older brother, no longer belonged to the Ye family.

Ye Mingzhe became depressed and unhappy, and in the end, even developed depression.

Perhaps because the people who loved him all ended up too miserably, the original owner, this paper character, suddenly developed self-awareness and summoned him over.

He even made three wishes.

“Brother, do you want to sponsor a show and place an advertisement?” Ye Xingyuan thought of a plan that could kill two birds with one stone.

“What? You want Brother to become a sponsor? Which show?” Ye Mingzhe practically granted all of Ye Xingyuan’s requests, which was why he had indulged him enough to enter the entertainment industry and make a mess of things for love.

“Let’s Go Adventure.”

“Ye Xingyuan!” Ye Mingzhe’s voice suddenly rose, full of anger. “Why haven’t you given up yet? He publicly cursed you on Weibo, made your reputation stink, got you besieged by fans, and made the whole country curse you, yet you’re still thinking about going on the same show as him? You… Are you trying to anger me to death?”

“Brother, Brother, don’t get worked up yet. Listen to me…” Ye Xingyuan had expected his brother to be angry, but he had not expected the flames to be this intense, firing off a whole string of curses. “I’ve given up. Really. I’ve completely and utterly given up on Su Luoqing. During this period, I’ve been living in deep water and scorching fire, all thanks to him. So after calming down, I’ve thought it through. I don’t want love anymore. I want a career. I want to start focusing seriously on my career. I want to act. I want to become popular. I want to be even more outstanding than Pei Yanchen.”

Ye Xingyuan delivered this impassioned speech and felt he had hidden his achievements and fame well.

In the end, however, the other end of the phone fell silent.

Oh no.

Had he bragged too big and burst the bubble? His brother couldn’t have seen through so quickly that his core had been replaced, right?

Ye Xingyuan clutched the phone, imagining his brother about to find someone to perform an exorcism in front of him. His heart was uneasy. “Brother? What are you doing?”

Ye Mingzhe: “Posting on Weibo. What was the official account of that show you mentioned called again? I’ve finished editing the post and am preparing to tag them to discuss money.”

Ye Xingyuan: ???

Author’s Note:

Ye Xingyuan: It’s really nice to have money.

Old Pei: Wife, everything as far as your eyes can see belongs to the Pei family. These are all my dowry.