The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH1

Chapter 1 – The ‘Joy’ of Owing 400 Millions

The city’s neon lights flicker in the late night, the dim streetlights casting shadows on empty streets. Inside a dark apartment, only the light from the window outlines the room’s shape. The faint sound of running water echoes.

A person lies motionless by the bathtub, as if completely asleep, water spilling over onto his clothes and pants.

“Hiss—”

The person at the bathtub’s edge suddenly stirs, followed by a series of sharp intakes of breath.

Chen Bai opens his eyes, greeted by a completely unfamiliar scene.

Unfamiliar surroundings, a strange bathroom… and his hand still soaking in a bathtub full of hot water, the water around it stained red.

“…”

He closes his eyes and opens them again, but nothing changes.

What in the world?

Chen Bai’s first thought is that he’s still unconscious, and this is just a hallucination. But the coldness and pain he feels are too real, convincing him this isn’t an illusion.

He was just an ordinary person, burdened with millions in debt inherited from his parents. One moment he collapsed on his way to work, and the next, he woke up in this completely unfamiliar place.

In those brief moments before his collapse, he was vaguely aware of his surroundings and had even received some strange new information in his mind.

The information was the plot of a book, a stand-in romance novel, where the side character was modeled after him—same name, same appearance—and burdened with millions in debt. In desperation, he signed a contract to become a stand-in for the male lead’s lost love, only to spiral into a tragic love story.

Whoever hated him enough to write an entire novel about him really had it out for him.

The plot was absurd, but even more absurd was the contract lying at the edge of the bathtub—the infamous stand-in agreement. The side character had already signed it, and if time flowed the same way here as it did in the real world, the date on the contract was today.

The side character, who shared his name, had taken his life before even beginning his stand-in career.

And now, it seemed Chen Bai had become that side character.

I Died, But Lived Again, in a Bizarre Way

Chen Bai had died, but now he was alive again, in a strange new way.

At least, for now, he was still alive.

After sorting out the situation, the first thing that popped into Chen Bai’s mind was the millions in debt.

“…”

The debt had multiplied, leaving Chen Bai gasping for air. He even considered plunging his hand back into the bathtub for a moment.

With too much blood loss, his consciousness started to fade. He looked around and spotted a phone on the sink through the dim light. Using the last of his strength, he dialed 120 (emergency services). Before losing consciousness entirely, he managed to push the phone to a dry spot, collapsing on the floor that was gradually being submerged by the overflowing water.

A person may die, but the phone must survive.

An ambulance rushed down the street, its red and blue lights flashing.

“…”

When Chen Bai woke up again, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

It was now daylight, and the smell of disinfectant filled his nose. His vision cleared, and he turned his head to see a branch outside the window, trembling, with only one last leaf hanging on.

Sounds came from outside the door as the doctor entered the room. She saw him lying there, pale, staring out at the last leaf on the branch.

The scene looked incredibly bleak, so the doctor reassured him: “Don’t worry, you were saved just in time. Even if all the leaves fall, you won’t die.”

Chen Bai thanked her for the comfort and calmly replied, “No, I was just thinking that the amount of money I owe is more than the leaves that will grow next year.”

Doctor: “…?”

Even the doctor found it hard to comfort him after that. After the routine check-up, she left the room.

Once alone again, Chen Bai looked at the stitches on his hand and realized he was still in this novel’s world. He quickly accepted this fact.

After all, even if he didn’t accept it, his debts would.

He accepted reality well enough—considering a few million in debt had bought him another life.

No one understands the value of life more than someone who has died once.

The doctor, being kind, had brought his phone back for him. It was placed on the cabinet next to him.

After the doctor completed her check and the nurse changed his bandages, Chen Bai took a deep breath, picked up his phone, and braced himself to check his bank balance.

Good news: He still had twenty thousand in savings.

Bad news: He owed four hundred million.

Good news: Due to the novel’s loose logic, as long as the debt didn’t go overdue, there wouldn’t be any interest.

Bad news: The next overdue payment of three million was due next year.

“…”

Before the doctor could come back, Chen Bai had already learned how to pinch his own philtrum to stop himself from fainting.

A precious life was almost lost again, but luckily, his quick reflexes saved him.

After staying in the hospital for a few days, Chen Bai quickly arranged for his discharge.

His already-poor financial situation had become even more precarious after the hospital bills.

Following the address on his phone, he found the apartment building. It was a bit far, so he splurged on a bus ticket.

During the ride, he went through most of the information on the phone, reading the messages of the original side character to get a sense of the current situation.

A few years ago, the side character had signed with a big entertainment company. He had great looks but was lazy about work because his family was rich. As a result, the company shelved him, and he remained a C-list actor.

Then, tragedy struck. His parents passed away, and he had to move from a villa to a small apartment. Overwhelmed by the pressure, the side character eventually couldn’t take it anymore.

Chen Bai found a note in the calendar marked with “Huo Chuan” for next month.

Huo Chuan was the big boss in the novel. He had a long-lost love whom he missed terribly. To cope, he found a stand-in who looked similar—previously the original side character, but now it was Chen Bai.

“…”

Putting aside the fact that Chen Bai still considered himself straight, as a normal person, he found it hard to make any sense of this plot.

When the bus arrived, he pushed these thoughts aside, put away his phone, and walked to the apartment building from memory. After climbing the stairs, he pulled out the only key and hesitantly unlocked the door.

The drain had been blocked by a towel. The first thing he did was drain the water in the bathroom to avoid causing unnecessary property damage and further straining his already precarious financial situation.

After cleaning the bathroom, Chen Bai took a tour of the apartment, assessing his assets.

Once he finished, he understood why the original side character had been driven to despair.

There wasn’t much of value in the apartment. All the furniture belonged to the landlord. The only things that belonged to the original side character and were worth anything were a computer and a set of dusty streaming equipment.

These must have been bought when the original side character still had dreams of becoming a star. They were top-of-the-line and expensive at the time. Chen Bai looked up their resale value, but the ridiculously low price made him wince.

There was clearly a reason why the original side character hadn’t sold them.

Since his injuries hadn’t fully healed, Chen Bai couldn’t go out to work yet. Faced with his current situation, he decided to return to his old job for the time being.

He had previously worked as a game companion and live streamer, specializing in first-person shooter games. However, as he aged, his reaction time and focus declined, and due to some other reasons, he switched careers.

When he signed the lease for his current apartment, he realized his new body was younger than his original one. He was still at an age where he could pursue this line of work.

With the philosophy that you should take advantage of opportunities while you can, Chen Bai reassembled the streaming equipment that hadn’t been sold.

The computer was already equipped with streaming software and games, ready to go.

The original side character had loved playing games but wasn’t very good at them. Most of his high rankings and achievements had been bought with the help of others, at quite a hefty price.

Chen Bai scrolled through the screen, unable to hold back a click of his tongue.

These competitors lacked professionalism. If they had given the job to him, he’d have guaranteed a cheaper price with a whole row of titles thrown in. Unfortunately, the original side character hadn’t met someone as fair as him.

It had been some time since, and the ranks that had been paid for had dropped back down, almost like starting from zero again.

Starting from zero was fine.

Sitting cross-legged on his chair, Chen Bai fiddled with the controls to refresh his memory. After taking a sip from his water cup, he adjusted the equipment and started his livestream.